Finney County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
 Finney County Courthouse inGarden City (2015) | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofKansas | |
 Kansas's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:37°57′38″N100°51′21″W / 37.9606°N 100.8558°W /37.9606; -100.8558 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kansas |
| Founded | February 22, 1883 |
| Named after | David W. Finney |
| Seat | Garden City |
| Largest city | Garden City |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,303 sq mi (3,370 km2) |
| • Land | 1,302 sq mi (3,370 km2) |
| • Water | 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2) 0.05% |
| Population | |
• Total | 38,470 |
| • Density | 29.5/sq mi (11.4/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | FinneyCounty.org |
Finney County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofKansas. Itscounty seat and most populous city isGarden City.[2] As of the2020 census, the county population was 38,470. The county was named forDavid Finney, the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 1881 to 1885. In 2020, 51.4 percent of the population in the county was Hispanic, one of a few counties in Kansas with a Hispanic majority population.[1]
Finney County was established in 1883 and named after Lt. Gov. John W. Finney.[3] The first white settlers arrived in 1878, settling along theArkansas River and its tributaries.[3]
What was to become Finney County began in March 1873 as Buffalo County[4] and Sequoyah County[5](named afterSequoyah, theCherokee Indian responsible for the development of theCherokee alphabet. In 1881, the northern tier of townships was removed from Buffalo County and added to Lane County; the remainder was made part of newly-created Gray County, and later was taken to form part of Finney County. The two counties were merged in 1883 and renamed Finney County, in honor of thenLieutenant GovernorDavid Wesley Finney.[6] The county grew to the current shape afterGarfield County was annexed to it in 1893 following a Supreme Court decision finding that Garfield County was less than one section/square mile short of the constitutionally defined minimum size of 432 square miles. The northeastern block, separate from the otherwise rectangular area, represents what at one time was Garfield County, which is now occupied partially by the Garfield Township. This combination of three separate counties makes Finney County the second-largest county in Kansas (after Butler County), comprising just over three times the constitutional minimum.[7]
The town of Garden City was founded in 1879 by the cattle firm of Jones and Plummer, who established it as a shipping point for Texas cattle being driven along the Jones & Plummer Trail to Dodge City.[3] Garden City grew rapidly as a railroad hub when the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroads arrived in 1888.[3]
As described in Blackmar's Cyclopedia, Garden City "was a typical frontier town, with its gambling houses, dance halls and other adjuncts of border civilization" in its early years, but it quickly transformed into an agricultural center for southwestern Kansas.[3]
Other early settlements such as Holcomb, Kalvesta, and Pierceville sprang up in the 1880s as Finney County became a prosperous region for wheat farming and cattle ranching.[3] The county population boomed from just 537 in 1880 to over 5,000 by 1890 as homesteaders poured in.[3]
In 1893, the former Garfield County was annexed into Finney County and organized as Garfield Township. Garfield County had originally been established in 1887 from parts of Finney County and other surrounding counties, but it struggled to maintain a viable tax base and population.[8]
By 1910, Finney County had a population exceeding 10,000 as agriculture firmly took root in the region after its pioneering days on the frontier.[3]
Between 2007 and 2008 Finney County became majority-minority.[9]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,303 square miles (3,370 km2), of which 1,302 square miles (3,370 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) (0.05%) is water.[10] It is the second-largest county in Kansas by area.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 4,231 | — | |
| 1900 | 3,469 | −18.0% | |
| 1910 | 6,908 | 99.1% | |
| 1920 | 7,674 | 11.1% | |
| 1930 | 11,014 | 43.5% | |
| 1940 | 10,092 | −8.4% | |
| 1950 | 15,092 | 49.5% | |
| 1960 | 16,093 | 6.6% | |
| 1970 | 18,947 | 17.7% | |
| 1980 | 23,825 | 25.7% | |
| 1990 | 33,070 | 38.8% | |
| 2000 | 40,523 | 22.5% | |
| 2010 | 36,776 | −9.2% | |
| 2020 | 38,470 | 4.6% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 37,466 | [11] | −2.6% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[12] 1790-1960[13] 1900-1990[14] 1990-2000[15] 2010-2020[1] | |||
Finney County is included in the Garden City, KSMicropolitan Statistical Area.
As of the2010 census[16] there were 36,776 people, 12,359 households and 8,903 families living in the county. Theracial makeup of the county was 77.0%White, 2.3%Black orAfrican American, 0.9%Native American, 3.4%Asian, 0.0%Pacific Islander, 13.6% from other races, and 2.9% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 46.7% of the population.
As of the2000 census,[16] there were 40,523 people, 12,948 households, and 9,749 families living in the county. Thepopulation density was 31 people per square mile (12 people/km2). There were 13,763 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4.2/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 69.05%White, 1.25%Black orAfrican American, 0.96%Native American, 2.87%Asian, 0.08%Pacific Islander, 22.99% from other races, and 2.80% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 43.30% of the population.
There were 12,948households, out of which 46.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.80% weremarried couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.70% were non-families. 19.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.55.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 34.30% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 16.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 104.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.30 males.
Themedian income for a household in the county was $38,474, and the median income for a family was $42,839. Males had a median income of $29,948 versus $21,510 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $15,377. About 10.00% of families and 14.20% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.
Finney County has primarily supported Republican presidential candidates throughout its history. In only six elections from 1884 to the present has the county not backed the Republican candidate, the last of these being in 1976 whenJimmy Carter won the county by only 102 votes.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 694 | 62.98% | 348 | 31.58% | 60 | 5.44% |
| 1892 | 478 | 58.29% | 0 | 0.00% | 342 | 41.71% |
| 1896 | 505 | 57.85% | 366 | 41.92% | 2 | 0.23% |
| 1900 | 525 | 59.86% | 336 | 38.31% | 16 | 1.82% |
| 1904 | 598 | 66.82% | 215 | 24.02% | 82 | 9.16% |
| 1908 | 1,000 | 61.46% | 551 | 33.87% | 76 | 4.67% |
| 1912 | 283 | 17.97% | 573 | 36.38% | 719 | 45.65% |
| 1916 | 1,238 | 42.75% | 1,370 | 47.31% | 288 | 9.94% |
| 1920 | 1,573 | 68.96% | 619 | 27.14% | 89 | 3.90% |
| 1924 | 1,753 | 61.66% | 614 | 21.60% | 476 | 16.74% |
| 1928 | 2,433 | 76.65% | 709 | 22.34% | 32 | 1.01% |
| 1932 | 2,116 | 47.02% | 2,300 | 51.11% | 84 | 1.87% |
| 1936 | 1,863 | 40.87% | 2,682 | 58.84% | 13 | 0.29% |
| 1940 | 2,349 | 53.39% | 2,027 | 46.07% | 24 | 0.55% |
| 1944 | 2,366 | 58.20% | 1,667 | 41.01% | 32 | 0.79% |
| 1948 | 2,508 | 50.01% | 2,367 | 47.20% | 140 | 2.79% |
| 1952 | 4,290 | 72.32% | 1,597 | 26.92% | 45 | 0.76% |
| 1956 | 3,576 | 66.87% | 1,752 | 32.76% | 20 | 0.37% |
| 1960 | 3,720 | 59.62% | 2,490 | 39.90% | 30 | 0.48% |
| 1964 | 2,201 | 37.41% | 3,639 | 61.86% | 43 | 0.73% |
| 1968 | 3,295 | 52.11% | 2,521 | 39.87% | 507 | 8.02% |
| 1972 | 4,335 | 65.66% | 2,062 | 31.23% | 205 | 3.11% |
| 1976 | 3,711 | 48.40% | 3,813 | 49.73% | 143 | 1.87% |
| 1980 | 4,831 | 58.59% | 2,689 | 32.61% | 726 | 8.80% |
| 1984 | 6,938 | 73.08% | 2,458 | 25.89% | 98 | 1.03% |
| 1988 | 5,381 | 60.14% | 3,408 | 38.09% | 158 | 1.77% |
| 1992 | 5,278 | 48.28% | 2,612 | 23.89% | 3,043 | 27.83% |
| 1996 | 6,188 | 65.43% | 2,420 | 25.59% | 849 | 8.98% |
| 2000 | 6,442 | 70.40% | 2,431 | 26.57% | 277 | 3.03% |
| 2004 | 7,479 | 75.29% | 2,351 | 23.67% | 103 | 1.04% |
| 2008 | 6,926 | 66.89% | 3,275 | 31.63% | 153 | 1.48% |
| 2012 | 6,219 | 68.46% | 2,682 | 29.52% | 183 | 2.01% |
| 2016 | 6,350 | 61.74% | 3,195 | 31.06% | 740 | 7.19% |
| 2020 | 7,236 | 61.08% | 4,325 | 36.51% | 285 | 2.41% |
| 2024 | 7,166 | 66.25% | 3,425 | 31.67% | 225 | 2.08% |
Finney County was a prohibition, or"dry", county until theKansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.[18]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Finney County.[19]
† means a community is designated aCensus-Designated Place (CDP) by theUnited States Census Bureau.
Finney County is divided into seventownships. The city ofGarden City is consideredgovernmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. 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.
Places adjacent to Finney County, Kansas | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofFinney County, Kansas,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| CDP | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Townships | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
