Morton County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
 Morton County Courthouse inElkhart (2009) | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofKansas | |
 Kansas's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:37°12′N101°48′W / 37.200°N 101.800°W /37.200; -101.800 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kansas |
| Founded | February 20, 1886 |
| Named after | Oliver Morton |
| Seat | Elkhart |
| Largest city | Elkhart |
| Area | |
• Total | 730 sq mi (1,900 km2) |
| • Land | 730 sq mi (1,900 km2) |
| • Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.52 km2) 0.03% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 2,701 |
• Estimate (2023) | 2,580 |
| • Density | 3.7/sq mi (1.4/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Area code | 620 |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | mtcoks.com |
Morton County is acounty in the southwestern corner of theU.S. state ofKansas. Itscounty seat and largest city isElkhart.[1] As of the2020 census, the county population was 2,701.[2] The county was named afterOliver Morton, the 14th governor of the state of Indiana.
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, the territorial gain in theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo withMexico brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas.
From 1821 to late 1860s, theSanta Fe Trail was active across Morton County.
In 1854, theKansas Territory was organized, then in 1861Kansas became the 34thU.S. state. In 1886,Morton County was carved out of Seward County and organized, and named forOliver Morton, who was aUnited States senator fromIndiana from 1867 to 1877.[3][4]
The initial organization of Morton County was marked by controversy over the location of the county seat. Two petitions were submitted, one for Frisco with 1,488 signatures and another for Richfield with 1,473. Due to discrepancies in the number of signatures compared to eligible voters, an investigation delayed the decision until November 1886, whenRichfield was officially declared the temporary county seat. Following this, Richfield was confirmed as the permanent county seat in a February 1887 election, amidst reports of political maneuvering.[4]
Settlement in Morton County came largely from other parts of Kansas. The county experienced significant fluctuations in population due to economic conditions, dropping from 2,560 in the years following its organization to as low as 304 over the next decade.[4]
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In the 1930s, the prosperity of the area was severely affected by its location within theDust Bowl. This catastrophe intensified the economic impact of theGreat Depression in the region. Morton County was the most devastated county in the Dust Bowl and lost almost one-half of its population in the 1930s. The U.S. government purchased some of the impacted and abandoned land and eventually incorporated it into theComanche National Grassland.[5]
In 1961, thecounty seat was moved fromRichfield toElkhart.[6]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 730 square miles (1,900 km2), of which 730 square miles (1,900 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) (0.03%) is water.[7] The county is the location of the8 Mile Cornertripoint, where Kansas borders Colorado and Oklahoma.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1890 | 724 | — | |
| 1900 | 304 | −58.0% | |
| 1910 | 1,333 | 338.5% | |
| 1920 | 3,177 | 138.3% | |
| 1930 | 4,092 | 28.8% | |
| 1940 | 2,186 | −46.6% | |
| 1950 | 2,610 | 19.4% | |
| 1960 | 3,354 | 28.5% | |
| 1970 | 3,576 | 6.6% | |
| 1980 | 3,454 | −3.4% | |
| 1990 | 3,480 | 0.8% | |
| 2000 | 3,496 | 0.5% | |
| 2010 | 3,233 | −7.5% | |
| 2020 | 2,701 | −16.5% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 2,580 | [8] | −4.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11] 1990-2000[12] 2010-2020[2] | |||
As of thecensus[13] of 2000, there were 3,496 people, 1,306 households, and 961 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 5 people per square mile (1.9 people/km2). There were 1,519 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (0.77/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 88.39%White, 0.20%Black orAfrican American, 1.14%Native American, 1.06%Asian, 7.52% fromother races, and 1.69% from two or more races. 14.10% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 1,306 households, out of which 36.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.20% weremarried couples living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.30% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,232, and the median income for a family was $43,494. Males had a median income of $31,875 versus $19,474 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $17,076. About 8.50% of families and 10.50% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 14.00% of those under age 18 and 5.20% of those age 65 or over.
Morton County is nearly always won by the Republican candidate for president.Jimmy Carter almost carried the county in1976, butGerald Ford eventually won by three votes, a margin of .2%. The last time a Democrat won Morton County wasLyndon B. Johnson in1964, marking the only time sinceFranklin D. Roosevelt carried it in 1936.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 333 | 58.01% | 205 | 35.71% | 36 | 6.27% |
| 1892 | 106 | 57.61% | 0 | 0.00% | 78 | 42.39% |
| 1896 | 52 | 58.43% | 36 | 40.45% | 1 | 1.12% |
| 1900 | 51 | 60.00% | 34 | 40.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1904 | 53 | 54.08% | 44 | 44.90% | 1 | 1.02% |
| 1908 | 154 | 50.49% | 140 | 45.90% | 11 | 3.61% |
| 1912 | 120 | 33.99% | 144 | 40.79% | 89 | 25.21% |
| 1916 | 405 | 42.41% | 457 | 47.85% | 93 | 9.74% |
| 1920 | 783 | 72.97% | 266 | 24.79% | 24 | 2.24% |
| 1924 | 669 | 55.02% | 286 | 23.52% | 261 | 21.46% |
| 1928 | 1,010 | 78.78% | 259 | 20.20% | 13 | 1.01% |
| 1932 | 621 | 34.63% | 1,093 | 60.96% | 79 | 4.41% |
| 1936 | 636 | 41.81% | 876 | 57.59% | 9 | 0.59% |
| 1940 | 643 | 55.72% | 503 | 43.59% | 8 | 0.69% |
| 1944 | 617 | 62.51% | 367 | 37.18% | 3 | 0.30% |
| 1948 | 624 | 52.61% | 545 | 45.95% | 17 | 1.43% |
| 1952 | 893 | 69.93% | 362 | 28.35% | 22 | 1.72% |
| 1956 | 814 | 64.76% | 436 | 34.69% | 7 | 0.56% |
| 1960 | 918 | 60.67% | 586 | 38.73% | 9 | 0.59% |
| 1964 | 609 | 39.01% | 938 | 60.09% | 14 | 0.90% |
| 1968 | 770 | 51.03% | 475 | 31.48% | 264 | 17.50% |
| 1972 | 1,165 | 72.68% | 363 | 22.65% | 75 | 4.68% |
| 1976 | 738 | 48.91% | 735 | 48.71% | 36 | 2.39% |
| 1980 | 1,157 | 69.61% | 414 | 24.91% | 91 | 5.48% |
| 1984 | 1,533 | 81.80% | 322 | 17.18% | 19 | 1.01% |
| 1988 | 1,074 | 64.35% | 569 | 34.09% | 26 | 1.56% |
| 1992 | 915 | 54.79% | 398 | 23.83% | 357 | 21.38% |
| 1996 | 1,073 | 67.87% | 376 | 23.78% | 132 | 8.35% |
| 2000 | 1,203 | 77.26% | 321 | 20.62% | 33 | 2.12% |
| 2004 | 1,287 | 81.66% | 276 | 17.51% | 13 | 0.82% |
| 2008 | 1,153 | 82.24% | 229 | 16.33% | 20 | 1.43% |
| 2012 | 1,072 | 83.88% | 189 | 14.79% | 17 | 1.33% |
| 2016 | 995 | 82.92% | 147 | 12.25% | 58 | 4.83% |
| 2020 | 1,034 | 86.31% | 150 | 12.52% | 14 | 1.17% |
| 2024 | 909 | 85.75% | 131 | 12.36% | 20 | 1.89% |
TheKansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, either with or without a minimum of 30% of sales coming from food. Morton County is one of 35 counties in the state that allows for the sale of liquor by the drink without the minimum food sales stipulation.[15]
School districts which cover portions of the county include:[16]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Morton County.[17]
Morton County is divided into sixtownships. 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.
| Township | FIPS | Population center | Population | Population density /km2 (/sq mi) | Land area km2 (sq mi) | Water area km2 (sq mi) | Water % | Geographic coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cimarron | 13350 | 67 | 0 (1) | 173 (67) | 0 (0) | 0% | 37°4′11″N101°46′45″W / 37.06972°N 101.77917°W /37.06972; -101.77917 | |
| Jones | 35650 | 17 | 0 (0) | 140 (54) | 0 (0) | 0% | 37°1′4″N101°56′56″W / 37.01778°N 101.94889°W /37.01778; -101.94889 | |
| Richfield | 59225 | 218 | 0 (1) | 649 (251) | 0 (0) | 0% | 37°14′37″N101°42′36″W / 37.24361°N 101.71000°W /37.24361; -101.71000 | |
| Rolla | 60925 | Rolla | 650 | 2 (5) | 373 (144) | 0 (0) | 0% | 37°6′46″N101°37′42″W / 37.11278°N 101.62833°W /37.11278; -101.62833 |
| Taloga | 69975 | Elkhart | 2,437 | 17 (44) | 142 (55) | 0 (0) | 0% | 37°0′22″N101°53′42″W / 37.00611°N 101.89500°W /37.00611; -101.89500 |
| Westola | 77225 | 107 | 0 (1) | 412 (159) | 0 (0) | 0.01% | 37°14′19″N101°58′40″W / 37.23861°N 101.97778°W /37.23861; -101.97778 |
Places adjacent to Morton County, Kansas | |
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Municipalities and communities ofMorton County, Kansas,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Unincorporated community | ||
| Townships |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
