Gove County, Kansas | |
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 Location within the U.S. state ofKansas | |
 Kansas's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:38°55′12″N100°29′48″W / 38.92°N 100.4967°W /38.92; -100.4967 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kansas |
| Founded | March 11, 1868 |
| Named after | Grenville L. Gove |
| Seat | Gove City |
| Largest city | Quinter |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,072 sq mi (2,780 km2) |
| • Land | 1,072 sq mi (2,780 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.26 km2) 0.01% |
| Population | |
• Total | 2,718 |
| • Density | 2.5/sq mi (0.97/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | govecountyks.org |
Gove County is acounty in theU.S. state ofKansas. Itscounty seat isGove City,[2] and its most populous city isQuinter. As of the2020 census, the county population was 2,718.[1] The county was named for Granville Gove, a captain of Company G of the11th Kansas Cavalry Regiment Volunteer Cavalry, who died from battle wounds during the American Civil War.
Eighty million years ago, Gove County was part of an ancient inland sea known as theWestern Interior Seaway. Many students still visit theCastle Rock Badlands today to explore fossils.[3]
For manymillennia, theGreat Plains of North America were inhabited bynomadicNative Americans. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, theKingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after theFrench and Indian War, France secretly cededNew France toSpain, per theTreaty of Fontainebleau.
In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but kept the title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land formodern-day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000-square-mileLouisiana Purchase for 2.83cents peracre.
In 1854, theKansas Territory was organized; then in 1861, Kansas became the 34thU.S. state. In 1868, Gove County was established and named forGranville Llewellyn Gove, member of the11th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry, and son of Moses Gove, a former mayor ofManhattan, Kansas.[4][5]
In 2020,USA Today profiled Gove County during theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and called it the "deadliest place in America" due to it having the highest death rate from COVID-19 compared to any other county in the nation: One out of every 132 people. The first deaths were reported on October 7; as of November 2020, 20 residents died from the virus, and 314 other positive cases were reported. The article attributed the high death rate to predominant public opposition towards wearingface masks, doubts over the pandemic's severity, and the county's highmedian age, all of which left residents highly vulnerable.[6]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,072 square miles (2,780 km2), of which 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (0.01%) is covered by water.[7]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 1,196 | — | |
| 1890 | 2,994 | 150.3% | |
| 1900 | 2,441 | −18.5% | |
| 1910 | 6,044 | 147.6% | |
| 1920 | 4,748 | −21.4% | |
| 1930 | 5,643 | 18.9% | |
| 1940 | 4,793 | −15.1% | |
| 1950 | 4,447 | −7.2% | |
| 1960 | 4,107 | −7.6% | |
| 1970 | 3,940 | −4.1% | |
| 1980 | 3,726 | −5.4% | |
| 1990 | 3,231 | −13.3% | |
| 2000 | 3,068 | −5.0% | |
| 2010 | 2,695 | −12.2% | |
| 2020 | 2,718 | 0.9% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 2,735 | [8] | 0.6% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11] 1990-2000[12] 2010-2020[1] | |||
As of the2000 census,[13] 3,068 people, 1,245 households, and 861 families resided in the county. Thepopulation density was 3 people per square mile (1.2 people/km2). The 1,423 housing units had an average density of 1 per square mile (0.39/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 97.95%White, 0.10%Black orAfrican American, 0.16%Native American, 0.10%Asian, 0.72% from other races, and 0.98% fromtwo or more races.Hispanics orLatinos of any race were 1.24% of the population.
Of the 1,245households, 28.4% had children under 18 living with them, 63.5% were married couples living together, 3.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were not families. About 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county, the age distribution was 26.2% under 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.
Themedian income for a household in the county was $33,510, and for a family was $40,438. Males had a median income of $26,863 versus $21,357 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $17,852. About 8.0% of families and 10.30% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 13.9% of those under 18 and 6.9% of those 65 or over.
In 2020, Gove County had 2,600 residents, and the median age was about 50, a decade older than the national average.[6]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 586 | 65.84% | 278 | 31.24% | 26 | 2.92% |
| 1892 | 327 | 56.87% | 0 | 0.00% | 248 | 43.13% |
| 1896 | 279 | 55.36% | 204 | 40.48% | 21 | 4.17% |
| 1900 | 368 | 58.41% | 253 | 40.16% | 9 | 1.43% |
| 1904 | 470 | 63.17% | 204 | 27.42% | 70 | 9.41% |
| 1908 | 632 | 55.15% | 456 | 39.79% | 58 | 5.06% |
| 1912 | 170 | 18.56% | 355 | 38.76% | 391 | 42.69% |
| 1916 | 642 | 40.07% | 862 | 53.81% | 98 | 6.12% |
| 1920 | 950 | 74.92% | 285 | 22.48% | 33 | 2.60% |
| 1924 | 1,211 | 67.77% | 400 | 22.38% | 176 | 9.85% |
| 1928 | 1,470 | 70.95% | 590 | 28.47% | 12 | 0.58% |
| 1932 | 1,043 | 45.75% | 1,186 | 52.02% | 51 | 2.24% |
| 1936 | 1,107 | 49.75% | 1,090 | 48.99% | 28 | 1.26% |
| 1940 | 1,352 | 66.31% | 659 | 32.32% | 28 | 1.37% |
| 1944 | 1,125 | 72.02% | 420 | 26.89% | 17 | 1.09% |
| 1948 | 1,030 | 57.48% | 719 | 40.12% | 43 | 2.40% |
| 1952 | 1,453 | 75.84% | 453 | 23.64% | 10 | 0.52% |
| 1956 | 1,315 | 72.29% | 492 | 27.05% | 12 | 0.66% |
| 1960 | 1,065 | 55.85% | 828 | 43.42% | 14 | 0.73% |
| 1964 | 774 | 42.69% | 1,022 | 56.37% | 17 | 0.94% |
| 1968 | 1,018 | 59.05% | 538 | 31.21% | 168 | 9.74% |
| 1972 | 1,226 | 69.86% | 466 | 26.55% | 63 | 3.59% |
| 1976 | 860 | 48.95% | 848 | 48.26% | 49 | 2.79% |
| 1980 | 1,263 | 71.11% | 396 | 22.30% | 117 | 6.59% |
| 1984 | 1,310 | 73.43% | 426 | 23.88% | 48 | 2.69% |
| 1988 | 966 | 57.36% | 663 | 39.37% | 55 | 3.27% |
| 1992 | 792 | 46.42% | 379 | 22.22% | 535 | 31.36% |
| 1996 | 1,123 | 69.19% | 351 | 21.63% | 149 | 9.18% |
| 2000 | 1,122 | 75.05% | 296 | 19.80% | 77 | 5.15% |
| 2004 | 1,196 | 81.53% | 247 | 16.84% | 24 | 1.64% |
| 2008 | 1,136 | 80.11% | 261 | 18.41% | 21 | 1.48% |
| 2012 | 1,168 | 84.45% | 176 | 12.73% | 39 | 2.82% |
| 2016 | 1,140 | 84.88% | 149 | 11.09% | 54 | 4.02% |
| 2020 | 1,291 | 87.76% | 166 | 11.28% | 14 | 0.95% |
| 2024 | 1,227 | 87.77% | 150 | 10.73% | 21 | 1.50% |
Although theKansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, Gove County has remained a prohibition, or"dry", county.[15]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Gove County.[16]
‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county.
Gove County is divided into ninetownships. None of the cities within the county are consideredgovernmentally 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.
Places adjacent to Gove County, Kansas | |
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Municipalities and communities ofGove County, Kansas,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Ghost towns | ||
| Townships | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This community also has portions in an adjacent county or counties. | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
