Butler County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
 Butler County Courthouse inEl Dorado (2011) | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofKansas | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kansas |
| Founded | August 25, 1855 |
| Named after | Andrew Pickens Butler |
| Seat | El Dorado |
| Largest city | Andover |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,447 sq mi (3,750 km2) |
| • Land | 1,430 sq mi (3,700 km2) |
| • Water | 17 sq mi (44 km2) 1.2% |
| Population | |
• Total | 67,380 |
• Estimate (2023)[2] | 68,632 |
| • Density | 47.1/sq mi (18.2/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Area code | 316 |
| Congressional district | 4th |
| Website | bucoks.com |
Butler County is acounty in theU.S. state ofKansas and is the largest county in the state by total area.[3] Itscounty seat isEl Dorado and its most populous city isAndover.[4] As of the2020 census, the county population was 67,380.[1] The county was named forAndrew Butler, a U.S. Senator from South Carolina who coauthored theKansas–Nebraska Act.
For many millennia, theGreat Plains ofNorth America was inhabited by nomadicNative Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, 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 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 withSpain brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas. In 1854, theKansas Territory was organized, then in 1861Kansas became the 34thU.S. state.
In 1855, Butler County was founded. It was named in honor of aU.S. Senator from South Carolina,Andrew Butler (1796-1857), who was one of the authors of theKansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and a strong advocate of Kansas becoming aslave state.[5]
In 1877, theFlorence, El Dorado, and Walnut Valley Railroad Company built a branch line fromFlorence toEl Dorado, in 1881 it was extended toDouglass, and later toArkansas City.[6] The line was leased and operated by theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The line fromFlorence toEl Dorado was abandoned in 1942.[7] The original branch line connectedFlorence,Burns,De Graff,El Dorado,Augusta,Douglass,Rock,Akron,Winfield,Arkansas City.
In 1887, theChicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a branch line north–south fromHerington toCaldwell.[8] This branch line connectedHerington,Lost Springs,Lincolnville,Antelope,Marion,Aulne,Peabody,Elbing,Whitewater,Furley,Kechi,Wichita,Peck,Corbin,Wellington,Caldwell. By 1893, this branch line was incrementally built toFort Worth, Texas. This line is called the "OKT". TheChicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway was foreclosed in 1891 and was 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, and finally merged in 1997 withUnion Pacific Railroad. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".
In 2010, theKeystone-Cushing Pipeline (Phase II) was constructed north to south through Butler County (nearPotwin,Towanda,Augusta,Douglass), with much controversy over tax exemption and environmental concerns (if a leak ever occurs).[9][10] A pumping station namedBurns was built two miles north ofPotwin, and new power lines were built from a high-voltage line 0.3 mile east ofDe Graff.[11]
In an unusual technical glitch, a farmstead approximately four miles northeast of Potwin became the default site of 600 millionIP addresses (due to their lack of fine granularity) when the Massachusetts-based digital mapping companyMaxMind changed the putativegeographic center of the contiguous United States from 39.8333333,-98.585522 to 38.0000,-97.0000.[12][13]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the county has an area of 1,447 square miles (3,750 km2), of which 1,430 square miles (3,700 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (1.2%) is water.[14] It is the largest county by area in Kansas.[15]
Sources: National Atlas,[16] U.S. Census Bureau[17]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 437 | — | |
| 1870 | 3,035 | 594.5% | |
| 1880 | 18,586 | 512.4% | |
| 1890 | 24,055 | 29.4% | |
| 1900 | 23,363 | −2.9% | |
| 1910 | 23,059 | −1.3% | |
| 1920 | 43,842 | 90.1% | |
| 1930 | 35,904 | −18.1% | |
| 1940 | 32,013 | −10.8% | |
| 1950 | 31,001 | −3.2% | |
| 1960 | 38,395 | 23.9% | |
| 1970 | 38,658 | 0.7% | |
| 1980 | 44,782 | 15.8% | |
| 1990 | 50,580 | 12.9% | |
| 2000 | 59,482 | 17.6% | |
| 2010 | 65,880 | 10.8% | |
| 2020 | 67,380 | 2.3% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 68,632 | [2] | 1.9% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[18] 1790-1960[19] 1900-1990[20] 1990-2000[21] 2010-2020[1] | |||
Butler County is part of theWichita metropolitan area.
As of the2020 census, the county had a population of 67,380. The median age was 38.3 years. 25.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.3 males age 18 and over. 53.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 46.1% lived in rural areas.[22][23]
The racial makeup of the county was 86.3% White, 2.2%Black or African American, 0.8%American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%Asian, 0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 1.4% from some other race, and 7.8% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.3% of the population.[24]
There were 24,660 households in the county, of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 21.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 23.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[22]
There were 26,901 housing units, of which 8.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.4% were owner-occupied and 25.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.2%.[22]
As of thecensus of 2000, 59,482 people, 21,527 households, and 16,059 families resided in the county. The population density was 42 inhabitants per square mile (16/km2). There were 23,176 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6.2/km2). The county'sracial makeup was 94.94%White, 1.38%Black orAfrican American, 0.91%Native American, 0.40%Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.69%two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 2.25% of the population.
There were 21,527households, of which 37.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.60% weremarried couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.40% were non-families. 21.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.60% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.80 males.
The county'smedian household income was $45,474, and the median family income was $53,632. Males had a median income of $38,675 versus $26,109 for females. The county'sper capita income was $20,150. About 5.40% of families and 7.30% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 9.00% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 3,172 | 55.36% | 1,616 | 28.20% | 942 | 16.44% |
| 1892 | 2,650 | 48.62% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,800 | 51.38% |
| 1896 | 2,414 | 44.91% | 2,926 | 54.44% | 35 | 0.65% |
| 1900 | 2,947 | 50.64% | 2,752 | 47.29% | 120 | 2.06% |
| 1904 | 3,306 | 61.90% | 1,540 | 28.83% | 495 | 9.27% |
| 1908 | 3,049 | 53.97% | 2,290 | 40.54% | 310 | 5.49% |
| 1912 | 971 | 18.30% | 2,005 | 37.79% | 2,330 | 43.91% |
| 1916 | 3,614 | 43.16% | 4,248 | 50.73% | 511 | 6.10% |
| 1920 | 6,821 | 60.56% | 4,112 | 36.51% | 331 | 2.94% |
| 1924 | 7,367 | 57.93% | 3,642 | 28.64% | 1,707 | 13.42% |
| 1928 | 10,168 | 79.43% | 2,533 | 19.79% | 101 | 0.79% |
| 1932 | 6,116 | 43.70% | 7,447 | 53.22% | 431 | 3.08% |
| 1936 | 6,204 | 39.99% | 9,283 | 59.84% | 27 | 0.17% |
| 1940 | 7,619 | 49.60% | 7,615 | 49.58% | 126 | 0.82% |
| 1944 | 7,064 | 53.50% | 6,084 | 46.08% | 55 | 0.42% |
| 1948 | 6,551 | 50.58% | 6,269 | 48.40% | 132 | 1.02% |
| 1952 | 10,179 | 65.04% | 5,359 | 34.24% | 113 | 0.72% |
| 1956 | 9,591 | 60.73% | 6,158 | 38.99% | 45 | 0.28% |
| 1960 | 10,059 | 58.37% | 7,112 | 41.27% | 61 | 0.35% |
| 1964 | 6,364 | 40.97% | 9,061 | 58.34% | 107 | 0.69% |
| 1968 | 7,893 | 50.79% | 5,952 | 38.30% | 1,696 | 10.91% |
| 1972 | 11,045 | 67.39% | 4,669 | 28.49% | 675 | 4.12% |
| 1976 | 8,390 | 48.45% | 8,540 | 49.32% | 386 | 2.23% |
| 1980 | 10,210 | 55.33% | 6,875 | 37.26% | 1,368 | 7.41% |
| 1984 | 12,976 | 66.33% | 6,371 | 32.56% | 217 | 1.11% |
| 1988 | 10,976 | 57.60% | 7,690 | 40.35% | 390 | 2.05% |
| 1992 | 9,166 | 38.79% | 7,029 | 29.75% | 7,434 | 31.46% |
| 1996 | 13,979 | 58.70% | 7,294 | 30.63% | 2,543 | 10.68% |
| 2000 | 13,377 | 63.69% | 6,755 | 32.16% | 870 | 4.14% |
| 2004 | 18,438 | 70.16% | 7,495 | 28.52% | 347 | 1.32% |
| 2008 | 18,155 | 65.13% | 9,159 | 32.86% | 559 | 2.01% |
| 2012 | 18,157 | 69.61% | 7,282 | 27.92% | 646 | 2.48% |
| 2016 | 19,073 | 68.96% | 6,573 | 23.77% | 2,011 | 7.27% |
| 2020 | 22,634 | 69.60% | 9,181 | 28.23% | 705 | 2.17% |
| 2024 | 22,426 | 69.49% | 9,150 | 28.35% | 695 | 2.15% |
Like of most of Kansas’ counties, Butler County is solidly Republican. In2008,John McCain carried the county by a nearly two-to-one margin overBarack Obama. Since 1992, no Democratic candidate has received so much as forty percent of the county's vote.[25] The last Democratic candidate to carry the county wasJimmy Carter in1976.
Butler 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% food sales requirement.[26]
School districts include:[27]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Butler County.[28]
† means a community is designated aCensus-Designated Place (CDP) by theUnited States Census Bureau.
Butler County is divided into twenty-ninetownships. The cities ofAugusta andEl Dorado 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 Butler County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
Municipalities and communities ofButler County, Kansas,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Townships | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
