Morris County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
 Madonna of the Trail monument inCouncil Grove | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofKansas | |
 Kansas's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:38°42′N96°36′W / 38.7°N 96.6°W /38.7; -96.6 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kansas |
| Founded | February 11, 1859 |
| Named after | Thomas Morris |
| Seat | Council Grove |
| Largest city | Council Grove |
| Area | |
• Total | 703 sq mi (1,820 km2) |
| • Land | 695 sq mi (1,800 km2) |
| • Water | 7.6 sq mi (20 km2) 1.1% |
| Population | |
• Total | 5,386 |
• Estimate (2023)[2] | 5,334 |
| • Density | 7.7/sq mi (3.0/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | MorrisCountyKS.org |
Morris County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofKansas. Itscounty seat and largest city isCouncil Grove. As of the2020 census, the county population was 5,386.[1] The county was named forThomas Morris, a U.S. Senator from Ohio and anti-slavery advocate.
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 1848, after theMexican–American War, theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo withMexico brought into the United States all orpart of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas. In 1854, theKansas Territory was organized, then in 1861Kansas became the 34thU.S. state.
The county was established on ancient grounds of theKaw American Indian tribe. Settlers and the Kaw lived in increasingly uneasy relationship as settlers encroached on native lands.[citation needed]
Council Grove, established by European Americans in 1825, was an important supply station on theSanta Fe Trail. The community was also the site of an encampment byJohn C. Fremont in 1845 and in 1849 theOverland Mail established a supply headquarters there.[citation needed]
From 1821 to 1866, theSanta Fe Trail was active across Morris County.[3]
The county was originally organized as Wise County in 1855. The county was named for Virginia GovernorHenry A. Wise. When Wise presided over the hanging ofabolitionistJohn Brown atHarpers Ferry in 1859, abolition supporters renamed it to Morris County in honor ofThomas Morris, a formerUnited States Senator fromOhio who was an opponent of slavery.[citation needed]
From 1846 to 1873, aKaw Indian Reservation was centered aroundCouncil Grove, Kansas on 20 square miles of land.[4] In 1851, theMethodist Church established an Indian Mission in Morris County.[citation needed]
Between 1877 and 1879,Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, a former slave who escaped to freedom in 1846, staked out a settlement in Morris County for freedmen known as "Exodusters". Thousands of families migrated from thepost-ReconstructionSouth to seek more opportunities and better living conditions in theMidwest.[citation needed]
In 1887, theChicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line fromTopeka toHerington.[5] This main line connectedTopeka,Valencia,Willard,Maple Hill,Vera,Paxico,McFarland,Alma,Volland,Alta Vista,Dwight,White City,Latimer,Herington. TheChicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway was foreclosed in 1891 and taken over byChicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, which shut down in 1980 and reorganized asOklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad, merged in 1988 withMissouri Pacific Railroad, merged in 1997 withUnion Pacific Railroad. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".
In 1887,Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a branch line fromNeva (three miles west ofStrong City) toSuperior, Nebraska. This branch line connectedStrong City,Neva,Rockland,Diamond Springs,Burdick,Lost Springs,Jacobs,Hope,Navarre,Enterprise,Abilene,Talmage,Manchester,Longford,Oak Hill,Miltonvale,Aurora,Huscher,Concordia,Kackley,Courtland,Webber,Superior. At some point, the line fromNeva toLost Springs was pulled but the right of way has not been abandoned. This branch line was originally called "Strong City and Superior line" but later the name was shortened to the "Strong City line". In 1996, theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway merged withBurlington Northern Railroad and renamed to the currentBNSF Railway.
TheNational Old Trails Road, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, was established in 1912, and was routed throughHerington,Delavan, andCouncil Grove.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 703 square miles (1,820 km2), of which 695 square miles (1,800 km2) is land and 7.6 square miles (20 km2) (1.1%) is water.[6]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 770 | — | |
| 1870 | 2,225 | 189.0% | |
| 1880 | 9,265 | 316.4% | |
| 1890 | 11,381 | 22.8% | |
| 1900 | 11,967 | 5.1% | |
| 1910 | 12,397 | 3.6% | |
| 1920 | 12,005 | −3.2% | |
| 1930 | 11,859 | −1.2% | |
| 1940 | 10,363 | −12.6% | |
| 1950 | 8,485 | −18.1% | |
| 1960 | 7,392 | −12.9% | |
| 1970 | 6,432 | −13.0% | |
| 1980 | 6,419 | −0.2% | |
| 1990 | 6,198 | −3.4% | |
| 2000 | 6,104 | −1.5% | |
| 2010 | 5,923 | −3.0% | |
| 2020 | 5,386 | −9.1% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 5,334 | [7] | −1.0% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10] 1990-2000[11] 2010-2020[1] | |||
As of thecensus[12] of 2000, there were 6,104 people, 2,539 households, and 1,777 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 9 people per square mile (3.5 people/km2). There were 3,160 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.49%White, 0.34%Black orAfrican American, 0.33%Native American, 0.23%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 0.70% fromother races, and 0.88% from two or more races. 2.23% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 2,539 households, out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% weremarried couples living together, 6.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.00% were non-families. 28.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.20% under the age of 18, 5.60% from 18 to 24, 23.90% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 21.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,163, and the median income for a family was $39,717. Males had a median income of $28,912 versus $21,239 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $18,491. About 6.70% of families and 9.00% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 10.40% of those under age 18 and 13.30% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 1,612 | 58.72% | 840 | 30.60% | 293 | 10.67% |
| 1892 | 1,416 | 50.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,366 | 49.10% |
| 1896 | 1,484 | 49.92% | 1,456 | 48.97% | 33 | 1.11% |
| 1900 | 1,650 | 55.15% | 1,326 | 44.32% | 16 | 0.53% |
| 1904 | 2,007 | 70.32% | 702 | 24.60% | 145 | 5.08% |
| 1908 | 1,788 | 57.53% | 1,273 | 40.96% | 47 | 1.51% |
| 1912 | 487 | 16.49% | 1,144 | 38.73% | 1,323 | 44.79% |
| 1916 | 2,289 | 45.73% | 2,577 | 51.48% | 140 | 2.80% |
| 1920 | 3,001 | 66.19% | 1,467 | 32.36% | 66 | 1.46% |
| 1924 | 3,089 | 64.70% | 1,040 | 21.78% | 645 | 13.51% |
| 1928 | 3,830 | 79.54% | 929 | 19.29% | 56 | 1.16% |
| 1932 | 2,566 | 49.69% | 2,452 | 47.48% | 146 | 2.83% |
| 1936 | 2,751 | 49.32% | 2,805 | 50.29% | 22 | 0.39% |
| 1940 | 3,276 | 61.64% | 1,992 | 37.48% | 47 | 0.88% |
| 1944 | 2,628 | 62.11% | 1,584 | 37.44% | 19 | 0.45% |
| 1948 | 2,285 | 56.46% | 1,701 | 42.03% | 61 | 1.51% |
| 1952 | 3,263 | 74.11% | 1,124 | 25.53% | 16 | 0.36% |
| 1956 | 2,677 | 68.55% | 1,208 | 30.93% | 20 | 0.51% |
| 1960 | 2,413 | 67.40% | 1,148 | 32.07% | 19 | 0.53% |
| 1964 | 1,683 | 50.65% | 1,605 | 48.30% | 35 | 1.05% |
| 1968 | 1,938 | 60.00% | 976 | 30.22% | 316 | 9.78% |
| 1972 | 2,471 | 76.12% | 704 | 21.69% | 71 | 2.19% |
| 1976 | 1,698 | 54.74% | 1,337 | 43.10% | 67 | 2.16% |
| 1980 | 1,933 | 65.55% | 810 | 27.47% | 206 | 6.99% |
| 1984 | 2,240 | 72.19% | 820 | 26.43% | 43 | 1.39% |
| 1988 | 1,682 | 58.12% | 1,165 | 40.26% | 47 | 1.62% |
| 1992 | 1,071 | 34.43% | 957 | 30.76% | 1,083 | 34.81% |
| 1996 | 1,553 | 51.96% | 965 | 32.29% | 471 | 15.76% |
| 2000 | 1,599 | 60.55% | 882 | 33.40% | 160 | 6.06% |
| 2004 | 1,961 | 66.79% | 931 | 31.71% | 44 | 1.50% |
| 2008 | 1,875 | 66.00% | 907 | 31.93% | 59 | 2.08% |
| 2012 | 1,773 | 69.20% | 718 | 28.02% | 71 | 2.77% |
| 2016 | 1,820 | 69.36% | 601 | 22.90% | 203 | 7.74% |
| 2020 | 2,124 | 73.27% | 729 | 25.15% | 46 | 1.59% |
| 2024 | 2,021 | 72.39% | 721 | 25.82% | 50 | 1.79% |
Like all of Kansas outside the eastern cities, Morris County is powerfully Republican. Only two Democratic presidential candidates have ever carried the county –Woodrow Wilson in 1916 andFranklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, who ironically was opposingKansan governorAlf Landon.Ross Perot did tie withGeorge H. W. Bush in the county in 1992.
Following amendment to theKansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or"dry", county until 1992, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.[14]
School districts covering the county include:[15]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Morris County.[16]
‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county.
† means a community is designated aCensus-Designated Place (CDP) by theUnited States Census Bureau.
Morris County is divided into eleventownships. The cities ofCouncil Grove andHerington 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.
Places adjacent to Morris County, Kansas | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofMorris County, Kansas,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| CDP | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Townships | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This community also has portions in an adjacent county or counties. | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
