Harper County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
 Harper County Courthouse inAnthony (2015) | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofKansas | |
 Kansas's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:37°12′N98°05′W / 37.200°N 98.083°W /37.200; -98.083 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kansas |
| Founded | February 26, 1867 |
| Named after | Marion Harper |
| Seat | Anthony |
| Largest city | Anthony |
| Area | |
• Total | 803 sq mi (2,080 km2) |
| • Land | 801 sq mi (2,070 km2) |
| • Water | 1.5 sq mi (3.9 km2) 0.2% |
| Population | |
• Total | 5,485 |
• Estimate (2023)[2] | 5,435 |
| • Density | 6.8/sq mi (2.6/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Area code | 620 |
| Congressional district | 4th |
| Website | HarperCountyKS.gov |
Harper County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofKansas. Itscounty seat and most populous city isAnthony.[3] As of the2020 census, the county population was 5,485.[1] The county was named for Sergeant Marion Harper of the 2nd Kansas Cavalry, who died in battle during theCivil War.[4]
For manymillennia, theGreat Plains ofNorth America was inhabited bynomadicNative Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, theKingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts ofNorth 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 keeping 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 1861Kansas became the 34thU.S. state. In 1867,Harper County was established.
The original organization of Harper County was one of the largest frauds in county government. In 1873, a group of three men organized Harper County, designating the then fictitious city of "Bluff City" as the county seat. The petition for organization used several names out of a Cincinnati city directory to represent as residents of Harper County.[5] In 1874, the state attorney general investigated, and found not a single resident of the county. The "founders" of the county had sold $40,000 worth of bonds.[6]
Harper County was settled starting in 1877, and the county was organized for a second time in 1878 by the Glenn and Robinson families. Since Bluff City could not be shown to have existed,Anthony was designated as the temporarycounty seat. In an election in 1879, Anthony won as county seat even though 2,960 votes were cast in a county with 800 legal voters.[6]
Due to new and high-paying jobs at area oil fields and wind farms, Harper County experienced an economic boom; as of 2012, rental housing and office space in towns such as Danville, Harper, and Anthony had more than quadrupled in price, in properties ranging fromdouble-wide trailers to aCarnegie library.[7] However, by 2016, the oilfracking boom had largely played out and the economies of Harper and adjacent counties suffered under the impact.[8] Earthquakes, due to induced seismicity from injection wells, had also substantially reduced in frequency and intensity, thanks to aKansas Corporation Commission order mandating cutbacks in volumes and pressures.SandRidge Energy, which along withChesapeake Energy was one of the two major producers in Harper county, appealed the order, but soon went into bankruptcy.[9][10][11]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 803 square miles (2,080 km2), of which 801 square miles (2,070 km2) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) (0.2%) is water.[12]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 4,133 | — | |
| 1890 | 13,266 | 221.0% | |
| 1900 | 10,310 | −22.3% | |
| 1910 | 14,748 | 43.0% | |
| 1920 | 13,656 | −7.4% | |
| 1930 | 12,823 | −6.1% | |
| 1940 | 12,068 | −5.9% | |
| 1950 | 10,263 | −15.0% | |
| 1960 | 9,541 | −7.0% | |
| 1970 | 7,871 | −17.5% | |
| 1980 | 7,778 | −1.2% | |
| 1990 | 7,124 | −8.4% | |
| 2000 | 6,536 | −8.3% | |
| 2010 | 6,034 | −7.7% | |
| 2020 | 5,485 | −9.1% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 5,435 | [2] | −0.9% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[13] 1790-1960[14] 1900-1990[15] 1990-2000[16] 2010-2020[1] | |||
As of the2000 census,[17][needs update] there were 6,536 people, 2,773 households, and 1,807 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 8 people per square mile (3.1 people/km2). There were 3,270 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1.5/km2). Theracial makeup of the county was 97.23%White, 0.83%Native American, 0.23%Black orAfrican American, 0.14%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 0.38% from other races, and 1.18% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 1.07% of the population.
There were 2,773households, out of which 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% weremarried couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% were non-families. 32.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.70% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 22.00% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 23.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.40 males.
Themedian income for a household in the county was $29,776, and the median income for a family was $39,866. Males had a median income of $27,869 versus $20,000 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $16,368. About 8.50% of families and 11.60% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.70% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 1,490 | 48.79% | 940 | 30.78% | 624 | 20.43% |
| 1892 | 1,288 | 38.57% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,051 | 61.43% |
| 1896 | 812 | 37.37% | 1,332 | 61.30% | 29 | 1.33% |
| 1900 | 1,190 | 47.04% | 1,261 | 49.84% | 79 | 3.12% |
| 1904 | 1,459 | 61.72% | 597 | 25.25% | 308 | 13.03% |
| 1908 | 1,490 | 48.46% | 1,404 | 45.66% | 181 | 5.89% |
| 1912 | 365 | 11.63% | 1,274 | 40.60% | 1,499 | 47.77% |
| 1916 | 1,797 | 36.79% | 2,648 | 54.22% | 439 | 8.99% |
| 1920 | 2,593 | 61.65% | 1,486 | 35.33% | 127 | 3.02% |
| 1924 | 2,280 | 53.25% | 1,321 | 30.85% | 681 | 15.90% |
| 1928 | 3,712 | 77.85% | 1,005 | 21.08% | 51 | 1.07% |
| 1932 | 2,116 | 41.13% | 2,860 | 55.59% | 169 | 3.28% |
| 1936 | 2,441 | 41.70% | 3,391 | 57.93% | 22 | 0.38% |
| 1940 | 3,205 | 55.73% | 2,478 | 43.09% | 68 | 1.18% |
| 1944 | 2,849 | 63.76% | 1,573 | 35.21% | 46 | 1.03% |
| 1948 | 2,702 | 59.25% | 1,752 | 38.42% | 106 | 2.32% |
| 1952 | 3,575 | 78.62% | 927 | 20.39% | 45 | 0.99% |
| 1956 | 3,111 | 69.99% | 1,311 | 29.49% | 23 | 0.52% |
| 1960 | 3,158 | 68.33% | 1,439 | 31.13% | 25 | 0.54% |
| 1964 | 1,969 | 51.68% | 1,813 | 47.59% | 28 | 0.73% |
| 1968 | 2,351 | 63.99% | 1,015 | 27.63% | 308 | 8.38% |
| 1972 | 2,628 | 75.71% | 729 | 21.00% | 114 | 3.28% |
| 1976 | 1,777 | 50.00% | 1,681 | 47.30% | 96 | 2.70% |
| 1980 | 2,254 | 64.18% | 990 | 28.19% | 268 | 7.63% |
| 1984 | 2,521 | 73.09% | 893 | 25.89% | 35 | 1.01% |
| 1988 | 1,941 | 59.39% | 1,235 | 37.79% | 92 | 2.82% |
| 1992 | 1,371 | 40.59% | 845 | 25.01% | 1,162 | 34.40% |
| 1996 | 1,941 | 61.44% | 836 | 26.46% | 382 | 12.09% |
| 2000 | 2,076 | 67.95% | 869 | 28.45% | 110 | 3.60% |
| 2004 | 2,154 | 73.52% | 727 | 24.81% | 49 | 1.67% |
| 2008 | 1,999 | 71.49% | 736 | 26.32% | 61 | 2.18% |
| 2012 | 1,759 | 73.63% | 550 | 23.02% | 80 | 3.35% |
| 2016 | 1,996 | 77.16% | 393 | 15.19% | 198 | 7.65% |
| 2020 | 2,168 | 80.96% | 461 | 17.21% | 49 | 1.83% |
| 2024 | 2,072 | 80.78% | 437 | 17.04% | 56 | 2.18% |
Following amendment to theKansas Constitution in 1986, Harper County remained a prohibition, or"dry", county until 2006, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.[19]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Harper County.[20]
Harper County is divided into sixtownships. The cities ofAnthony andHarper are consideredgovernmentally independent and are 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.
Harper County is one of only four counties in Kansas that have numbered, not named, townships. The other three areMorris County,Pratt County, andRooks County.
| Township | FIPS | Population center | Population | Population density /km2 (/sq mi) | Land area km2 (sq mi) | Water area km2 (sq mi) | Water % | Geographic coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Township 1 | 71201 | 1,000 | 2 (6) | 468 (181) | 1 (0) | 0.12% | 37°15′23″N98°14′0″W / 37.25639°N 98.23333°W /37.25639; -98.23333 | |
| Township 2 | 71205 | 144 | 0 (1) | 363 (140) | 1 (0) | 0.23% | 37°4′23″N98°14′22″W / 37.07306°N 98.23944°W /37.07306; -98.23944 | |
| Township 3 | 71209 | 394 | 1 (3) | 383 (148) | 2 (1) | 0.44% | 37°7′58″N98°2′7″W / 37.13278°N 98.03528°W /37.13278; -98.03528 | |
| Township 4 | 71213 | 232 | 1 (2) | 297 (115) | 0 (0) | 0.06% | 37°7′2″N97°51′45″W / 37.11722°N 97.86250°W /37.11722; -97.86250 | |
| Township 5 | 71217 | 463 | 2 (4) | 277 (107) | 0 (0) | 0.16% | 37°15′47″N97°56′23″W / 37.26306°N 97.93972°W /37.26306; -97.93972 | |
| Township 6 | 71221 | 296 | 1 (3) | 280 (108) | 0 (0) | 0.06% | 37°20′26″N97°58′17″W / 37.34056°N 97.97139°W /37.34056; -97.97139 | |
| Sources:"Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Archived fromthe original on August 2, 2002. | ||||||||
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Places adjacent to Harper County, Kansas | |
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Municipalities and communities ofHarper County, Kansas,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Townships | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
