Jefferson County, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Jefferson County is a county located in Northeast Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, in the Central
Central United States
The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States and Western United States as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of the Southern United States; the term is also sometimes used...

 United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 19,126. Its county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 is Oskaloosa
Oskaloosa, Kansas
Oskaloosa is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,113. Oskaloosa is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, and its most populous city is Valley Falls
Valley Falls, Kansas
Valley Falls is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,192. Valley Falls is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

. The county along with Shawnee
Shawnee County, Kansas
Shawnee County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States of America. Its most populous city, Topeka, is the state capital and county seat. The county's population was 177,934 for the 2010 census...

, Jackson
Jackson County, Kansas
Jackson County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 13,462. Its county seat and most populous city is Holton...

, Osage
Osage County, Kansas
Osage County is a county located in east-central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 16295. Its county seat is Lyndon, and its most populous city is Osage City. The county along with Shawnee, Jackson, Jefferson, and Wabaunsee counties is...

, and Wabaunsee
Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Wabaunsee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 7,053. Its county seat is Alma. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 counties is included in the Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...

, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, Metropolitan Statistical Area
Topeka metropolitan area
The Topeka Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of five counties in northeastern Kansas, anchored by the city of Topeka...

.

History

Settlement of the county was slowed by events prior to and during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, but the present day unincorporated community
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 of Thompsonville
Thompsonville, Kansas
Thompsonville is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1851 by a group of Mormon settlers who refused to follow the main group led by Brigham Young into the Salt Lake Valley of Utah. Among those settlers was Emily Trask Cutler, one of the...

 (3 miles northwest of Perry
Perry, Kansas
Perry is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 901 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

 on the Delaware River
Delaware River (Kansas)
The Delaware River is a river located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas. The Delaware River basin drains from the outflow of the Perry Lake reservoir...

) was the first established in 1851 by Mormon settlers who initially refused to accompany the main group led by Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...

 to the Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley
Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Murray, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 1,029,655 as of 2010...

. The settlement was first abandoned due to the violence resulting from the border wars
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...

, but was re-established when the Civil War ended.

Law and government

Jefferson County was a prohibition, or "dry"
Dry county
A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Hundreds of dry counties exist across the United States, almost all of them in the South...

, county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 556.94 square miles (1,442.5 km²), of which 536.11 square miles (1,388.5 km²) (or 96.26%) is land and 20.83 square miles (53.9 km²) (or 3.74%) is water.

Adjacent counties

  • Atchison County
    Atchison County, Kansas
    Atchison County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 16,924. Its county seat and most populous city is Atchison. The county is named in honor of David Rice Atchison, a United States Senator from Missouri...

     (north)
  • Leavenworth County
    Leavenworth County, Kansas
    Leavenworth County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 76,227. Its county seat and most populous city is Leavenworth...

     (east)
  • Douglas County
    Douglas County, Kansas
    Douglas County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 110,826...

     (south)
  • Shawnee County
    Shawnee County, Kansas
    Shawnee County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States of America. Its most populous city, Topeka, is the state capital and county seat. The county's population was 177,934 for the 2010 census...

     (southwest)
  • Jackson County
    Jackson County, Kansas
    Jackson County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 13,462. Its county seat and most populous city is Holton...

     (northwest)

Demographics

As of the U.S. Census in 2000
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

, there were 18,426 people, 6,830 households, and 5,190 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 34 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 7,491 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 of the county was 96.70% White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...

, 0.92% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, 0.37% Black or African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

, 0.17% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...

, 0.01% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...

, 0.42% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...

. Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

 of any race were 1.28% of the population.

There were 6,830 household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....

s out of which 35.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.20% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.00% were non-families. 20.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.40% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 102.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.90 males.

The median income for a household
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...

 in the county was $45,535, and the median income for a family was $50,557. Males had a median income of $36,174 versus $25,468 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the county was $19,373. About 5.30% of families and 6.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.90% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.

Incorporated cities

Name and population (2006 estimate):
  • Valley Falls
    Valley Falls, Kansas
    Valley Falls is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,192. Valley Falls is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

    , 1,190
  • Oskaloosa
    Oskaloosa, Kansas
    Oskaloosa is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,113. Oskaloosa is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

    , 1,127 (county seat)
  • Perry
    Perry, Kansas
    Perry is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 901 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

    , 884
  • McLouth
    McLouth, Kansas
    McLouth is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 868 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:McLouth is located at ....

    , 832
  • Meriden
    Meriden, Kansas
    Meriden is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 706 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Meriden is located at ....

    , 713
  • Nortonville
    Nortonville, Kansas
    Nortonville is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 620 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Nortonville is located at ....

    , 590
  • Winchester
    Winchester, Kansas
    Winchester is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 579 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Winchester is located at...

    , 570
  • Ozawkie
    Ozawkie, Kansas
    Ozawkie is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 645...

    , 567

Unincorporated communities

  • Grantville
    Grantville, Kansas
    Grantville is an unincorporated census-designated place in southwestern Jefferson County, Kansas, United States, northeast of Topeka.-Geography:Grantville is located at , off U.S. Route 24. It lies above sea level.-Economy:...

  • Lakeside Village
    Lakeside Village, Kansas
    Lakeside Village is an unincorporated community in central Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. It is located on the shores of Perry Lake. The community has a town hall despite being unincorporated; it also has a community swimming pool....

  • Mooney Creek
    Mooney Creek, Kansas
    Mooney Creek is an unincorporated rural community in northeastern Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The first settler was said to be a man named Thomas Mooney, who arrived there not long after the Kansas territory was opened up for settlement in 1854. The following decades saw a large influx...

  • Newman
    Newman, Kansas
    Newman is an unincorporated community in southern Jefferson County, Kansas, United States, off U.S. Route 24....

  • Rock Creek
    Rock Creek, Kansas
    Rock Creek is an unincorporated community in Rock Creek Township, Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. It lies along 110th Road near its intersection with K-4, west of Oskaloosa, the county seat of Jefferson County. The community is located at , at an elevation of 1,099 feet ....

  • Thompsonville
    Thompsonville, Kansas
    Thompsonville is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1851 by a group of Mormon settlers who refused to follow the main group led by Brigham Young into the Salt Lake Valley of Utah. Among those settlers was Emily Trask Cutler, one of the...

  • Williamstown
    Williamstown, Kansas
    Williamstown is an unincorporated community in southeastern Jefferson County, Kansas, United States, off U.S. Route 24....


Townships

Jefferson County is divided into twelve townships
Civil township
A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

. 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.
Township FIPS  Population
center
Population Population
density
/km² (/sq mi)
Land area
km² (sq mi)
Water area
km² (sq mi)
Water % Geographic coordinates
Delaware
Delaware Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Delaware Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,034.-Geography:Delaware Township covers an area of 88.54 square miles ; of this, 0.1 square miles or 0.11 percent is water...

 
17425 Valley Falls
Valley Falls, Kansas
Valley Falls is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,192. Valley Falls is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

 
2,034 9 (23) 229 (88) 0 (0) 0.11% 39°21′6"N 95°28′31"W
Fairview
Fairview Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Fairview Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,510.-Geography:Fairview Township covers an area of 34.79 square miles ; of this, 7.72 square miles or 22.21 percent is water...

 
22525 Rural Ozawkie 1,510 22 (56) 70 (27) 20 (8) 22.20% 39°10′49"N 95°26′50"W
Jefferson
Jefferson Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Jefferson Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,240.-Geography:Jefferson Township covers an area of 58.25 square miles ; of this, 0.14 square miles or 0.24 percent is water...

35250 Winchester
Winchester, Kansas
Winchester is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 579 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Winchester is located at...

 
1,240 8 (21) 151 (58) 0 (0) 0.24% 39°19′37"N 95°16′11"W
Kaw
Kaw Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Kaw Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA.-External links:* *...

 
36125 Grantville
Grantville, Kansas
Grantville is an unincorporated census-designated place in southwestern Jefferson County, Kansas, United States, northeast of Topeka.-Geography:Grantville is located at , off U.S. Route 24. It lies above sea level.-Economy:...

 
1,409 16 (43) 86 (33) 2 (1) 1.78% 39°5′41"N 95°32′55"W
Kentucky
Kentucky Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Kentucky Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,576.-Geography:Kentucky Township covers an area of 41.56 square miles ; of this, 5.48 square miles or 13.17 percent is water...

 
36575 Perry
Perry, Kansas
Perry is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 901 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

 
1,576 17 (44) 93 (36) 14 (5) 13.18% 39°5′18"N 95°24′42"W
Norton
Norton Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Norton Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 955.-Geography:Norton Township covers an area of 39.06 square miles ; of this, 0.12 square miles or 0.3 percent is water...

 
51475 Nortonville
Nortonville, Kansas
Nortonville is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 620 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Nortonville is located at ....

 
955 9 (25) 101 (39) 0 (0) 0.30% 39°24′13"N 95°18′47"W
Oskaloosa
Oskaloosa Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Oskaloosa Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,142.-Geography:Oskaloosa Township covers an area of 57.61 square miles ; of this, 0.1 square miles or 0.17 percent is water...

 
53400 Oskaloosa
Oskaloosa, Kansas
Oskaloosa is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,113. Oskaloosa is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 
2,142 14 (37) 149 (58) 0 (0) 0.17% 39°13′12"N 95°18′58"W
Ozawkie
Ozawkie Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Ozawkie Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,408.-Geography:Ozawkie Township covers an area of 42.78 square miles ; of this, 5.45 square miles or 12.74 percent is water...

 
53950 Ozawkie
Ozawkie, Kansas
Ozawkie is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 645...

 
1,408 15 (38) 97 (37) 14 (5) 12.74% 39°14′32"N 95°26′3"W
Rock Creek
Rock Creek Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Rock Creek Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 2,718.-Geography:Rock Creek Township covers an area of 54.68 square miles ; of this, 0.5 square miles or 0.92 percent is water...

 
60575 Meriden
Meriden, Kansas
Meriden is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 706 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Meriden is located at ....

 
2,718 19 (50) 140 (54) 1 (1) 0.92% 39°12′52"N 95°32′58"W
Rural
Rural Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Rural Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 804.-Geography:Rural Township covers an area of 32.19 square miles ; of this, 0.37 square miles or 1.14 percent is water...

 
61700 Williamstown
Williamstown, Kansas
Williamstown is an unincorporated community in southeastern Jefferson County, Kansas, United States, off U.S. Route 24....

 
804 10 (25) 82 (32) 1 (0) 1.14% 39°4′31"N 95°18′52"W
Sarcoxie
Sarcoxie Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Sarcoxie Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 958.-Geography:Sarcoxie Township covers an area of 31.03 square miles ; of this, 0.14 square miles or 0.45 percent is water...

 
63100 Rural Lawrence 958 12 (31) 80 (31) 0 (0) 0.45% 39°5′13"N 95°14′50"W
Union
Union Township, Jefferson County, Kansas
Union Township is a township in Jefferson County, Kansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,672.-Geography:Union Township covers an area of 42.83 square miles ; of this, 0.13 square miles or 0.3 percent is water...

 
72150 McLouth
McLouth, Kansas
McLouth is a city in Jefferson County, Kansas, United States. The population was 868 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:McLouth is located at ....

 
1,672 15 (39) 111 (43) 0 (0) 0.30% 39°12′41"N 95°12′26"W
Sources:

Unified school districts

  • USD 338 - Valley Falls
  • USD 339 - Jefferson County North
  • USD 340 - Jefferson West
    Jefferson West USD 340
    The Jefferson West School District , commonly called "Jeff West" is a school district covering in parts of three counties in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas...

  • USD 341 - Oskaloosa
  • USD 342 - McLouth
  • USD 343 - Perry-Lecompton
    Perry-Lecompton USD 343
    Perry-Lecompton USD 343 is a unified school district serving portions of southern Jefferson County and northwestern Douglas County...


Further reading


External links

Official sites
Additional information
Maps


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