Meade County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
 Dalton Gang Hideout and Museum inMeade (2006) | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofKansas | |
 Kansas's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:37°14′N100°22′W / 37.233°N 100.367°W /37.233; -100.367 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kansas |
| Founded | March 20, 1873 |
| Named after | George G. Meade |
| Seat | Meade |
| Largest city | Meade |
| Area | |
• Total | 979 sq mi (2,540 km2) |
| • Land | 978 sq mi (2,530 km2) |
| • Water | 1.3 sq mi (3.4 km2) 0.1% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 4,055 |
• Estimate (2023) | 3,911 |
| • Density | 4.15/sq mi (1.60/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Area code | 620 |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | County website |
Meade County is acounty located in theU.S. state ofKansas. Itscounty seat and largest city isMeade.[1] As of the2020 census, the county population was 4,055.[2] The county was created in 1873 and named in honor ofGeorge Meade, a Union general during theCivil War.[3]
For millennia, theGreat Plains of North America were inhabited bynomadicNative Americans.
In 1854, theKansas Territory was organized, then in 1861Kansas became the 34thU.S. state.
In 1873, Meade County was established. The first permanent settlement in the county was established in 1878 at Meade City, 12 miles north of the city of Meade. Pearlette was settled shortly thereafter in 1879 by a company of sixteen families fromZanesville, Ohio led by John Jobling.[4] The railroad first entered the country in 1887, ending a decade in which supplies had to be hauled from Dodge City.[4]
On August 24, 1874, in Meade County,Mochi, Medicine Water, and the other members of their band ofCheyenne massacred a surveying party led by Capt. Oliver Francis Short, who had fought in the Union Army during the American Civil War. This event became known as the Lone Tree Massacre. Short, his 14-year-old son Truman, and four other members of the party were killed, with three of them being scalped.[5][6]
Meade County became known as a hotbed of thievery and cattle rustling in the 1880s and 1890s. Eva Dalton Whipple lived with her husband in Meade County and allowed her house to be used as a hide for her brothers, the infamous Dalton Gang. TheDalton Gang Hideout and Museum was restored by theWPA in the 1930s and today is on the National Register of Historic Places.[6]
A large sinkhole filled with saltwater, known as the Salt Well, appeared in the county on March 16, 1879. William Sturgis first produced commercial solar salt from the Salt Well in 1880, and floating in its salty water was a tourist attraction at the turn of the 20th century.[7]
Like the rest of southwestern Kansas, Meade County was devastated by theDust Bowl in the 1930s.[6]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 979 square miles (2,540 km2), of which 978 square miles (2,530 km2) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km2) (0.1%) is water.[8]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 296 | — | |
| 1890 | 2,542 | 758.8% | |
| 1900 | 1,581 | −37.8% | |
| 1910 | 5,055 | 219.7% | |
| 1920 | 5,542 | 9.6% | |
| 1930 | 6,858 | 23.7% | |
| 1940 | 5,522 | −19.5% | |
| 1950 | 5,710 | 3.4% | |
| 1960 | 5,505 | −3.6% | |
| 1970 | 4,912 | −10.8% | |
| 1980 | 4,788 | −2.5% | |
| 1990 | 4,247 | −11.3% | |
| 2000 | 4,631 | 9.0% | |
| 2010 | 4,575 | −1.2% | |
| 2020 | 4,055 | −11.4% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 3,911 | [9] | −3.6% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12] 1990-2000[13] 2010-2020[2] | |||
As of thecensus[14] of 2000, there were 4,631 people, 1,728 households, and 1,252 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 5 people per square mile (1.9 people/km2). There were 1,968 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (0.77/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 91.10%White, 0.39%Black orAfrican American, 0.54%Native American, 0.22%Asian, 6.24% fromother races, and 1.51% from two or more races. 10.90% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 1,728 households, out of which 36.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.70% weremarried couples living together, 4.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.50% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 19.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,761, and the median income for a family was $41,550. Males had a median income of $29,295 versus $20,153 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $16,824. About 6.70% of families and 9.30% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 11.90% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.
Meade County is usually carried byRepublican candidates. The last time aDemocratic presidential candidate carried the county was in 1936, whenFranklin D. Roosevelt won a landslide victory nationwide.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 578 | 56.78% | 342 | 33.60% | 98 | 9.63% |
| 1892 | 261 | 54.83% | 0 | 0.00% | 215 | 45.17% |
| 1896 | 203 | 50.50% | 195 | 48.51% | 4 | 1.00% |
| 1900 | 238 | 53.24% | 209 | 46.76% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1904 | 383 | 66.38% | 166 | 28.77% | 28 | 4.85% |
| 1908 | 560 | 56.22% | 386 | 38.76% | 50 | 5.02% |
| 1912 | 204 | 18.26% | 383 | 34.29% | 530 | 47.45% |
| 1916 | 973 | 44.96% | 977 | 45.15% | 214 | 9.89% |
| 1920 | 1,236 | 70.95% | 483 | 27.73% | 23 | 1.32% |
| 1924 | 1,290 | 66.94% | 472 | 24.49% | 165 | 8.56% |
| 1928 | 1,709 | 73.16% | 618 | 26.46% | 9 | 0.39% |
| 1932 | 1,248 | 49.50% | 1,231 | 48.83% | 42 | 1.67% |
| 1936 | 1,218 | 46.58% | 1,394 | 53.31% | 3 | 0.11% |
| 1940 | 1,618 | 61.13% | 970 | 36.65% | 59 | 2.23% |
| 1944 | 1,424 | 68.23% | 631 | 30.23% | 32 | 1.53% |
| 1948 | 1,406 | 60.19% | 834 | 35.70% | 96 | 4.11% |
| 1952 | 2,061 | 76.90% | 568 | 21.19% | 51 | 1.90% |
| 1956 | 1,720 | 74.30% | 575 | 24.84% | 20 | 0.86% |
| 1960 | 1,826 | 70.47% | 754 | 29.10% | 11 | 0.42% |
| 1964 | 1,290 | 51.77% | 1,179 | 47.31% | 23 | 0.92% |
| 1968 | 1,511 | 66.24% | 572 | 25.08% | 198 | 8.68% |
| 1972 | 1,712 | 74.56% | 526 | 22.91% | 58 | 2.53% |
| 1976 | 1,109 | 51.53% | 983 | 45.68% | 60 | 2.79% |
| 1980 | 1,618 | 71.66% | 482 | 21.35% | 158 | 7.00% |
| 1984 | 1,804 | 77.16% | 491 | 21.00% | 43 | 1.84% |
| 1988 | 1,322 | 65.19% | 664 | 32.74% | 42 | 2.07% |
| 1992 | 1,135 | 52.45% | 430 | 19.87% | 599 | 27.68% |
| 1996 | 1,443 | 70.08% | 426 | 20.69% | 190 | 9.23% |
| 2000 | 1,604 | 78.13% | 400 | 19.48% | 49 | 2.39% |
| 2004 | 1,748 | 82.41% | 356 | 16.78% | 17 | 0.80% |
| 2008 | 1,540 | 79.75% | 357 | 18.49% | 34 | 1.76% |
| 2012 | 1,428 | 83.56% | 258 | 15.10% | 23 | 1.35% |
| 2016 | 1,415 | 81.70% | 210 | 12.12% | 107 | 6.18% |
| 2020 | 1,523 | 83.45% | 263 | 14.41% | 39 | 2.14% |
| 2024 | 1,427 | 84.19% | 247 | 14.57% | 21 | 1.24% |
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. Meade County is one of 67 counties in the state that allows for the sale of liquor by the drink with the minimum food sales stipulation.[16]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Meade County.[17]
Meade County is divided into ninetownships. 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.
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Places adjacent to Meade County, Kansas | |
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Municipalities and communities ofMeade County, Kansas,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Townships |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
