Wabaunsee County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
 Wabaunsee County Courthouse inAlma (2021) | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofKansas | |
| Coordinates:39°01′07″N96°17′33″W / 39.0186°N 96.2925°W /39.0186; -96.2925 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kansas |
| Founded | 1859 |
| Named after | ChiefWaubonsie |
| Seat | Alma |
| Largest city | Alma |
| Area | |
• Total | 800 sq mi (2,100 km2) |
| • Land | 794 sq mi (2,060 km2) |
| • Water | 5.3 sq mi (14 km2) 0.7% |
| Population | |
• Total | 6,877 |
• Estimate (2023)[2] | 7,057 |
| • Density | 8.7/sq mi (3.4/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | wbcounty.org |
Wabaunsee County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofKansas. Itscounty seat isAlma.[3] As of the2020 census, the county population was 6,877.[1] The county was named for ChiefWaubonsie of thePotawatomi Indians.[4]
For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited byNative Americans. In 1803, most ofmodern Kansas was secured by theUnited States as part of theLouisiana Purchase. The first white settlers in the area were said to have been a band of outlaws known as the McDaniel Gang.[4]
In 1854, theKansas Territory was organized andWabaunsee County was created by the territorial legislature on March 25, 1859.[4] The name used since 1859 is derived from thePotawatomi "Wah-bon-seh", meaning "dawn of day" literally, and it was the name of the chief of thePotawatomi Indians.[4] Originally, the county was namedRichardson, afterWilliam Alexander Richardson, a congressman from Illinois, who introduced the first Kansas and Nebraska Bill in the House of Representatives, which made certain Indian lands territories in 1854.[5]
Also in 1854, theBeecher Bible and Rifle Church was established by a group of free-staters, who had rifles shipped to the church to be used in the free-state effort in boxes marked Bibles.[4] Captain William Mitchell, Jr., a seaman who joined the Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony that settled in Wabaunsee, played an important role in the county settlement and with the underground railroad.[4]
The county's first church, Wabaunsee Church of Christ, was founded in June 1857.[4]
In 1861Kansas became the 34thU.S. state, entering the union as a free state.
The first railroad to be built through Wabaunsee County was the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe in 1880.[6] In 1887, theChicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line fromTopeka toHerington.[7] This main line connected Topeka,Valencia,Willard,Maple Hill,Vera,Paxico,McFarland,Alma,Volland,Alta Vista,Dwight,White City,Latimer, Herington.
A massive drought beginning in 1930 resulted in a series ofdust storms that lasted until 1941. The drought combined with the onset of theGreat Depression, forced farmers off the land. This ecological disaster caused an exodus of many farmers to escape from the hostile environment of Kansas.[8][9] As the world demand for wheat plummeted, rural Kansas became poverty-stricken. The state became an eager participant in such major New Deal relief programs as theCivil Works Administration, theFederal Emergency Relief Administration, theCivilian Conservation Corps, theWorks Progress Administration, which put tens of thousands of Kansans to work as unskilled labor.[10] Republican GovernorAlf Landon also employed emergency measures, including a moratorium on mortgage foreclosures and a balanced budget initiative.[11] TheAgricultural Adjustment Administration succeeded in raising wheat prices after 1933, thus alleviating the most serious distress.[12]
During World War II, the U.S. Army located a German prisoner of war camp atLake Wabaunsee, near Eskridge. It was believed that the prisoners would be less of a security risk in North America, where there were fewer Nazi sympathizers, than they would be in Europe. The prisoners were paid $0.40 per hour and granted a daily noon lunch, in exchange for their help on farms and bridges throughout the region.[13]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 800 square miles (2,100 km2), of which 794 square miles (2,060 km2) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km2) (0.7%) is water.[14]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 1,023 | — | |
| 1870 | 3,362 | 228.6% | |
| 1880 | 8,756 | 160.4% | |
| 1890 | 11,720 | 33.9% | |
| 1900 | 12,813 | 9.3% | |
| 1910 | 12,721 | −0.7% | |
| 1920 | 11,424 | −10.2% | |
| 1930 | 10,830 | −5.2% | |
| 1940 | 9,219 | −14.9% | |
| 1950 | 7,212 | −21.8% | |
| 1960 | 6,648 | −7.8% | |
| 1970 | 6,397 | −3.8% | |
| 1980 | 6,867 | 7.3% | |
| 1990 | 6,603 | −3.8% | |
| 2000 | 6,885 | 4.3% | |
| 2010 | 7,053 | 2.4% | |
| 2020 | 6,877 | −2.5% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 7,057 | [15] | 2.6% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[16] 1790-1960[17] 1900-1990[18] 1990-2000[19] 2010-2020[1] | |||
Wabaunsee County is part of theTopeka metropolitan area.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 6,877. The median age was 43.7 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 105.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.0 males age 18 and over.[20][21]
The racial makeup of the county was 91.7% White, 0.5%Black or African American, 0.6%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Asian, 0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 0.8% from some other race, and 6.2% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.6% of the population.[21]
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[22]
There were 2,659 households in the county, of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 18.4% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[20]
There were 3,110 housing units, of which 14.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 84.3% were owner-occupied and 15.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.3%.[20]
As of thecensus[23] of 2000, there were 6,885 people, 2,633 households, and 1,958 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 9 people per square mile (3.5 people/km2). There were 3,033 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.24%White, 0.46%Black orAfrican American, 0.49%Native American, 0.15%Asian, 0.06%Pacific Islander, 0.60% fromother races, and 1.00% from two or more races. 1.86% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 2,633 households, out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.30% weremarried couples living together, 6.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.60% were non-families. 23.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.70% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,710, and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $31,629 versus $23,148 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $17,704. About 5.80% of families and 7.30% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.
County governance is overseen by a three member Board of Commissioners, each of whom is responsible for a separate district.[24]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 1,708 | 62.52% | 960 | 35.14% | 64 | 2.34% |
| 1892 | 1,356 | 46.82% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,540 | 53.18% |
| 1896 | 1,586 | 51.80% | 1,442 | 47.09% | 34 | 1.11% |
| 1900 | 1,793 | 58.06% | 1,263 | 40.90% | 32 | 1.04% |
| 1904 | 2,016 | 71.44% | 688 | 24.38% | 118 | 4.18% |
| 1908 | 1,849 | 60.25% | 1,163 | 37.90% | 57 | 1.86% |
| 1912 | 783 | 26.82% | 1,128 | 38.63% | 1,009 | 34.55% |
| 1916 | 2,640 | 58.95% | 1,706 | 38.10% | 132 | 2.95% |
| 1920 | 2,859 | 77.63% | 782 | 21.23% | 42 | 1.14% |
| 1924 | 2,742 | 65.90% | 633 | 15.21% | 786 | 18.89% |
| 1928 | 3,099 | 71.89% | 1,189 | 27.58% | 23 | 0.53% |
| 1932 | 2,304 | 47.39% | 2,465 | 50.70% | 93 | 1.91% |
| 1936 | 2,809 | 55.52% | 2,235 | 44.18% | 15 | 0.30% |
| 1940 | 3,481 | 73.64% | 1,212 | 25.64% | 34 | 0.72% |
| 1944 | 2,839 | 75.95% | 873 | 23.35% | 26 | 0.70% |
| 1948 | 2,437 | 66.80% | 1,162 | 31.85% | 49 | 1.34% |
| 1952 | 3,182 | 81.03% | 736 | 18.74% | 9 | 0.23% |
| 1956 | 2,650 | 76.63% | 802 | 23.19% | 6 | 0.17% |
| 1960 | 2,351 | 70.58% | 969 | 29.09% | 11 | 0.33% |
| 1964 | 1,839 | 58.34% | 1,287 | 40.83% | 26 | 0.82% |
| 1968 | 1,979 | 64.17% | 695 | 22.54% | 410 | 13.29% |
| 1972 | 2,461 | 76.83% | 662 | 20.67% | 80 | 2.50% |
| 1976 | 1,921 | 57.58% | 1,354 | 40.59% | 61 | 1.83% |
| 1980 | 2,255 | 67.98% | 853 | 25.72% | 209 | 6.30% |
| 1984 | 2,276 | 72.72% | 805 | 25.72% | 49 | 1.57% |
| 1988 | 1,737 | 58.54% | 1,166 | 39.30% | 64 | 2.16% |
| 1992 | 1,254 | 37.17% | 851 | 25.22% | 1,269 | 37.61% |
| 1996 | 1,884 | 55.67% | 966 | 28.55% | 534 | 15.78% |
| 2000 | 2,182 | 63.80% | 1,025 | 29.97% | 213 | 6.23% |
| 2004 | 2,531 | 70.23% | 1,001 | 27.77% | 72 | 2.00% |
| 2008 | 2,395 | 68.02% | 1,036 | 29.42% | 90 | 2.56% |
| 2012 | 2,256 | 69.05% | 918 | 28.10% | 93 | 2.85% |
| 2016 | 2,372 | 70.18% | 776 | 22.96% | 232 | 6.86% |
| 2020 | 2,845 | 72.91% | 964 | 24.71% | 93 | 2.38% |
| 2024 | 2,816 | 72.95% | 944 | 24.46% | 100 | 2.59% |
Wabaunsee County is overwhelmingly Republican. No Democratic presidential candidate has won Wabaunsee County sinceFranklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, and since at least 1888 only Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, plusWilliam Jennings Bryan in 1896, have reached 41 percent of the county's vote for the Democratic Party. The county was, however, one of three Kansas counties –Anderson andJefferson being the other two – to give a plurality toRoss Perot in 1992.
Wabaunsee 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 percent food sales requirement.[26]
School districts based in the county include:[27]
Other districts include:[27]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Wabaunsee County.[28]
‡ denotes a community with portions in an adjacent county.
† denotes a community which is designated aCensus-Designated Place (CDP) by theUnited States Census Bureau.
Wabaunsee County is divided into thirteentownships. 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 Wabaunsee County, Kansas | ||||||||||||||||
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Municipalities and communities ofWabaunsee County, Kansas,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Townships |
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| Footnotes | ‡This community also has portions in an adjacent county or counties. | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
