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Wabaunsee County, Kansas

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Wabaunsee County, Kansas
County
Wabaunsee County Courthouse in Alma (2021)
Wabaunsee County Courthouse in Alma (2021)
Map of Kansas highlighting Wabaunsee County
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Coordinates: 39°01′07″N 96°17′33″W / 39.0186°N 96.2925°W / 39.0186; -96.2925
Country United States
State Kansas
Founded1859
Named afterChief Waubonsie
SeatAlma
Largest cityAlma
Area
 • Total
800 sq mi (2,100 km2)
 • Land794 sq mi (2,060 km2)
 • Water5.3 sq mi (14 km2)  0.7%
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • Total
6,877
 • Estimate 
(2025)
7,018 Increase
 • Density8.7/sq mi (3.4/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district2nd
Websitewbcounty.org

Wabaunsee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Alma.[2] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 6,877.[1] The county was named for Chief Waubonsie of the Potawatomi Indians.[3]

History

[edit]
Wabaunsee County Poor Farm, located 4 mi (6.4 km) south of Alma, 1901

19th century

[edit]

For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. In 1803, most of modern Kansas was secured by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The first white settlers in the area were said to have been a band of outlaws known as the McDaniel Gang.[3]

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized and Wabaunsee County was created by the territorial legislature on March 25, 1859.[3] The name used since 1859 is derived from the Potawatomi "Wah-bon-seh", meaning "dawn of day" literally, and it was the name of the chief of the Potawatomi Indians.[3] Originally, the county was named Richardson, after William Alexander Richardson, a congressman from Illinois, who introduced the first Kansas and Nebraska Bill in the House of Representatives, which made certain Indian lands territories in 1854.[4]

Also in 1854, the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church was established by a group of free-staters, who had rifles shipped to the church to be used in the free-state effort in boxes marked Bibles.[3] Captain William Mitchell, Jr., a seaman who joined the Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony that settled in Wabaunsee, played an important role in the county settlement and with the underground railroad.[3]

The county's first church, Wabaunsee Church of Christ, was founded in June 1857.[3]

In 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state, entering the union as a free state.

The first railroad to be built through Wabaunsee County was the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe in 1880.[5] In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line from Topeka to Herington.[6] This main line connected Topeka, Valencia, Willard, Maple Hill, Vera, Paxico, McFarland, Alma, Volland, Alta Vista, Dwight, White City, Latimer, Herington.

20th century

[edit]

A massive drought beginning in 1930 resulted in a series of dust storms that lasted until 1941. The drought combined with the onset of the Great Depression, forced farmers off the land. This ecological disaster caused an exodus of many farmers to escape from the hostile environment of Kansas.[7][8] As the world demand for wheat plummeted, rural Kansas became poverty-stricken. The state became an eager participant in such major New Deal relief programs as the Civil Works Administration, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, which put tens of thousands of Kansans to work as unskilled labor.[9] Republican Governor Alf Landon also employed emergency measures, including a moratorium on mortgage foreclosures and a balanced budget initiative.[10] The Agricultural Adjustment Administration succeeded in raising wheat prices after 1933, thus alleviating the most serious distress.[11]

During World War II, the U.S. Army located a German prisoner of war camp at Lake Wabaunsee, near Eskridge. It was believed that the prisoners would be less of a security risk in North America, where there were fewer Nazi sympathizers, than they would be in Europe. The prisoners were paid $0.40 per hour and granted a daily noon lunch, in exchange for their help on farms and bridges throughout the region.[12]

Geography

[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 800 square miles (2,100 km2), of which 794 square miles (2,060 km2) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km2) (0.7%) is water.[13]

Adjacent counties

[edit]

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18601,023—
18703,362228.6%
18808,756160.4%
189011,72033.9%
190012,8139.3%
191012,721−0.7%
192011,424−10.2%
193010,830−5.2%
19409,219−14.9%
19507,212−21.8%
19606,648−7.8%
19706,397−3.8%
19806,8677.3%
19906,603−3.8%
20006,8854.3%
20107,0532.4%
20206,877−2.5%
2025 (est.)7,018[14] Increase2.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[15]
1790-1960[16] 1900-1990[17]
1990-2000[18] 2010-2020[1]

Wabaunsee County is part of the Topeka metropolitan area.

Racial and ethnic composition

[edit]
Wabaunsee County, Kansas – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the U.S. Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 1980[19] Pop 1990[20] Pop 2000[21] Pop 2010[22] Pop 2020[23] % 1980 % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 6,714 6,415 6,628 6,664 6,185 97.77% 97.15% 96.27% 94.48% 89.94%
Black or African American alone (NH) 51 41 26 28 31 0.74% 0.62% 0.38% 0.40% 0.45%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 11 24 32 33 29 0.16% 0.36% 0.46% 0.47% 0.42%
Asian alone (NH) 6 7 10 10 12 0.09% 0.11% 0.15% 0.14% 0.17%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) x [24] x [25] 1 0 4 x x 0.01% 0.00% 0.06%
Other race alone (NH) 25 0 4 2 21 0.36% 0.00% 0.06% 0.03% 0.31%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) x [26] x [27] 56 111 278 x x 0.81% 1.57% 4.04%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 60 116 128 205 317 0.87% 1.76% 1.86% 2.91% 4.61%
Total 6,867 6,603 6,885 7,053 6,877 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2020 census

[edit]

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 6,877. The median age was 43.7 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 105.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.0 males age 18 and over.[28][29]

The racial makeup of the county was 91.7% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.8% from some other race, and 6.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.6% of the population.[29]

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[30]

There were 2,659 households in the county, of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 18.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[28]

There were 3,110 housing units, of which 14.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 84.3% were owner-occupied and 15.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.3%.[28]

2000 census

[edit]

As of the census[31] of 2000, there were 6,885 people, 2,633 households, and 1,958 families residing in the county. The population density was 9 people per square mile (3.5 people/km2). There were 3,033 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.24% White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. 1.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,633 households, out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.30% were married couples living together, 6.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.60% were non-families. 23.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.70% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,710, and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $31,629 versus $23,148 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,704. About 5.80% of families and 7.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

Government

[edit]

County governance is overseen by a three member Board of Commissioners, each of whom is responsible for a separate district.[32]

Presidential elections

[edit]
Presidential election results
United States presidential election results for Wabaunsee County, Kansas[33][34]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
1888 1,708 62.52% 960 35.14% 64 2.34%
1892 1,356 46.82% 0 0.00% 1,540 53.18%
1896 1,586 51.80% 1,442 47.09% 34 1.11%
1900 1,793 58.06% 1,263 40.90% 32 1.04%
1904 2,016 71.44% 688 24.38% 118 4.18%
1908 1,849 60.25% 1,163 37.90% 57 1.86%
1912 783 26.82% 1,128 38.63% 1,009 34.55%
1916 2,640 58.95% 1,706 38.10% 132 2.95%
1920 2,859 77.63% 782 21.23% 42 1.14%
1924 2,742 65.90% 633 15.21% 786 18.89%
1928 3,099 71.89% 1,189 27.58% 23 0.53%
1932 2,304 47.39% 2,465 50.70% 93 1.91%
1936 2,809 55.52% 2,235 44.18% 15 0.30%
1940 3,481 73.64% 1,212 25.64% 34 0.72%
1944 2,839 75.95% 873 23.35% 26 0.70%
1948 2,437 66.80% 1,162 31.85% 49 1.34%
1952 3,182 81.03% 736 18.74% 9 0.23%
1956 2,650 76.63% 802 23.19% 6 0.17%
1960 2,351 70.58% 969 29.09% 11 0.33%
1964 1,839 58.34% 1,287 40.83% 26 0.82%
1968 1,979 64.17% 695 22.54% 410 13.29%
1972 2,461 76.83% 662 20.67% 80 2.50%
1976 1,921 57.58% 1,354 40.59% 61 1.83%
1980 2,255 67.98% 853 25.72% 209 6.30%
1984 2,276 72.72% 805 25.72% 49 1.57%
1988 1,737 58.54% 1,166 39.30% 64 2.16%
1992 1,254 37.17% 851 25.22% 1,269 37.61%
1996 1,884 55.67% 966 28.55% 534 15.78%
2000 2,182 63.80% 1,025 29.97% 213 6.23%
2004 2,531 70.23% 1,001 27.77% 72 2.00%
2008 2,395 68.02% 1,036 29.42% 90 2.56%
2012 2,256 69.05% 918 28.10% 93 2.85%
2016 2,372 70.18% 776 22.96% 232 6.86%
2020 2,845 72.91% 964 24.71% 93 2.38%
2024 2,816 73.41% 944 24.61% 76 1.98%

Wabaunsee County is overwhelmingly Republican. No Democratic presidential candidate has won Wabaunsee County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, and since at least 1888 only Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, plus William Jennings Bryan in 1896, have reached 41 percent of the county's vote for the Democratic Party. The county was, however, one of three Kansas counties – Anderson and Jefferson being the other two – to give a plurality to Ross Perot in 1992.

Laws

[edit]

Wabaunsee County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.[35]

Education

[edit]

Unified school districts

[edit]

School districts based in the county include:[36]

Other districts include:[36]

Communities

[edit]
2005 map of Wabaunsee County from KDOT[37] (map legend)

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Wabaunsee County.[37]

Cities

[edit]

‡ denotes a community with portions in an adjacent county.

Unincorporated communities

[edit]

† denotes a community which is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.

Ghost towns

[edit]

Townships

[edit]
1915 railroad map of Wabaunsee County

Wabaunsee County is divided into thirteen townships. None of the cities within the county are considered governmentally independent, and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.

Sources: 2000 U.S. Gazetteer from the U.S. Census Bureau.
TownshipFIPSPopulation
center		 PopulationPopulation
density
/km2 (/sq mi)		 Land area
km2 (sq mi)		Water area
km2 (sq mi)		Water % Geographic coordinates
Alma01375Alma1,13711 (28)104 (40)0 (0)0%39°1′8″N 96°17′33″W / 39.01889°N 96.29250°W / 39.01889; -96.29250
Farmer231251191 (2)172 (66)0 (0)0.07%38°55′37″N 96°18′44″W / 38.92694°N 96.31222°W / 38.92694; -96.31222
Garfield25850Alta Visa5905 (13)118 (45)0 (0)0.09%38°51′44″N 96°27′20″W / 38.86222°N 96.45556°W / 38.86222; -96.45556
Kaw361502422 (6)110 (42)2 (1)1.55%39°10′16″N 96°9′46″W / 39.17111°N 96.16278°W / 39.17111; -96.16278
Maple Hill44525Maple Hill9305 (13)190 (73)1 (0)0.55%39°4′43″N 96°0′52″W / 39.07861°N 96.01444°W / 39.07861; -96.01444
Mill Creek46725Lake Wabaunsee2932 (4)192 (74)1 (0)0.43%38°53′23″N 96°11′23″W / 38.88972°N 96.18972°W / 38.88972; -96.18972
Mission Creek473004952 (6)209 (81)0 (0)0.04%38°55′49″N 96°3′0″W / 38.93028°N 96.05000°W / 38.93028; -96.05000
Newbury50275Paxico / McFarland1,0455 (13)203 (78)0 (0)0.06%39°3′44″N 96°11′18″W / 39.06222°N 96.18833°W / 39.06222; -96.18833
Plumb56800Harveyville6405 (13)129 (50)0 (0)0.17%38°47′56″N 95°58′36″W / 38.79889°N 95.97667°W / 38.79889; -95.97667
Rock Creek60650840 (1)171 (66)0 (0)0.05%38°46′58″N 96°18′15″W / 38.78278°N 96.30417°W / 38.78278; -96.30417
Wabaunsee74250Wabaunsee4553 (7)172 (66)2 (1)1.05%39°6′57″N 96°18′21″W / 39.11583°N 96.30583°W / 39.11583; -96.30583
Washington75800831 (1)148 (57)0 (0)0.02%38°57′49″N 96°25′14″W / 38.96361°N 96.42056°W / 38.96361; -96.42056
Wilmington79525Eskridge7725 (13)150 (58)0 (0)0.03%38°49′54″N 96°6′14″W / 38.83167°N 96.10389°W / 38.83167; -96.10389

See also

[edit]
Community information for Kansas

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 "QuickFacts; Wabaunsee County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wabaunsee County, Kansas, Kansapedia. (accessed July 27, 2013)
  4. ↑ "Wabaunsee County History". Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  5. ↑ Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume 2. Standard Publishing Company. pp. 853.
  6. ↑ "Rock Island Rail History". Archived from the original on June 19, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
  7. ↑ Timothy Eagan, The Worst Hard Tim : the Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
  8. ↑ Craig Miner,Next Year Country: Dust to Dust in Western Kansas, 1890-1940 (2007)
  9. ↑ Peter Fearon, "Kansas History and the New Deal Era," Kansas History, Autumn 2007, Vol. 30 Issue 3, pp 192-223
  10. ↑ Donald R. McCoy, Landon of Kansas (1966)
  11. ↑ Peter Fearon, "Regulation and Response: Kansas Wheat Farmers and the New Deal," Rural History, Oct 2007, Vol. 18 Issue 2, pp 245-264
  12. ↑ "Lake Wabaunsee". Lake Wabaunsee. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  13. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  14. ↑ "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2025". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
  15. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  19. ↑ "1980 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Kansas- Table 15 Persons by Race: 198О • Table 16 - Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race: 1980" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. p. 12-21. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2025.
  20. ↑ "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Kansas: Tables 4, 5, 6 - Race and Hispanic Origin" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. p. 11-44. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2026.
  21. ↑ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Wabaunsee County, Kansas". United States Census Bureau.
  22. ↑ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Wabaunsee County, Kansas". United States Census Bureau.
  23. ↑ "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Wabaunsee County, Kansas". United States Census Bureau.
  24. ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
  25. ↑ included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
  26. ↑ not an option in the 1980 Census
  27. ↑ not an option in the 1990 Census
  28. 1 2 3 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  29. 1 2 "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  30. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  31. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  32. ↑ Wabaunsee County, County Commission, accessed September 1, 2023
  33. ↑ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
  34. ↑ Schwab, Scott (November 5, 2024). "Election Results". Secretary of State of Kansas. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  35. ↑ "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  36. 1 2 "2020 Census - School District Reference Map: Wabaunsee County, KS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 2, 2024. - Text list
  37. 1 2 "General Highway Map of Wabaunsee County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). October 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2023.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
County
Historical
Maps

38°58′N 96°11′W / 38.967°N 96.183°W / 38.967; -96.183

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