Finney County, Kansas

Finney County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Garden City. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 38,470. The county was named for David Finney, the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 1881 and 1885. In 2020, 51.4 percent of the population in the county was Hispanic, one of a few counties in Kansas with a Hispanic majority population.

History
Finney County was established in 1867 and named after Lt. Gov. John W. Finney. The first white settlers arrived in 1878, settling along the Arkansas River and its tributaries.

Finney County began about 1880 as Buffalo County and Sequoyah County, named after Sequoyah, the Cherokee Indian responsible for the development of the Cherokee alphabet. The two counties were merged and renamed Finney County in honor of then Lieutenant Governor David Wesley Finney. The county grew to the current shape after Garfield County was annexed to it in 1893. The northeast block, separate from the otherwise rectangular area, represents what at one time was Garfield County, which is now occupied partially by the Garfield Township.

The town of Garden City was founded in 1879 by the cattle firm of Jones and Plummer, who established it as a shipping point for Texas cattle being driven along the Jones & Plummer Trail to Dodge City. Garden City grew rapidly as a railroad hub when the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroads arrived in 1888.

As described in Blackmar's Cyclopedia, Garden City "was a typical frontier town, with its gambling houses, dance halls and other adjuncts of border civilization" in its early years, but it quickly transformed into an agricultural center for southwest Kansas.

Other early settlements like Holcomb, Kalvesta, and Pierceville sprung up in the 1880s as Finney County became a prosperous region for wheat farming and cattle ranching. The county population boomed from just 537 in 1880 to over 5,000 by 1890 as homesteaders poured in.

In 1893, the former Garfield County was annexed into Finney County and organized as Garfield Township. Garfield County had originally been established in 1887 from parts of Finney County and other surrounding counties, but it struggled to maintain a viable tax base and population.

By 1910, Finney County had a population exceeding 10,000 as agriculture firmly took root in the region after its pioneering days on the frontier.

Between 2007 and 2008 Finney County became majority-minority.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1303 sqmi, of which 1302 sqmi is land and 0.7 sqmi (0.05%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Kansas by area.

Adjacent counties

 * Scott County (north)
 * Lane County (north)
 * Ness County (northeast)
 * Hodgeman County (east)
 * Haskell County (south)
 * Gray County (south)
 * Grant County (southwest)
 * Kearny County (west)

Demographics


Finney County is included in the Garden City, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

2010 census
As of the 2010 census there were 36,776 people, 12,359 households and 8,903 families living in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 77.0% White, 2.3% Black or African American, 0.9% Native American, 3.4% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 13.6% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 46.7% of the population.

2000 census
As of the 2000 census, there were 40,523 people, 12,948 households, and 9,749 families living in the county. The population density was 31 /mi2. There were 13,763 housing units at an average density of 11 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 69.05% White, 1.25% Black or African American, 0.96% Native American, 2.87% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 22.99% from other races, and 2.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.30% of the population.

There were 12,948 households, out of which 46.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.80% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.70% were non-families. 19.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.55.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 34.30% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 16.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 104.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,474, and the median income for a family was $42,839. Males had a median income of $29,948 versus $21,510 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,377. About 10.00% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.

Presidential election results
Finney County has primarily supported Republican presidential candidates throughout its history. In only six elections from 1884 to the present has the county not backed the Republican candidate, the last of these being in 1976 when Jimmy Carter won the county by only 102 votes.

Laws
Finney County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.

Unified school districts

 * Holcomb USD 363
 * Garden City USD 457

Communities
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Finney County. † means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.

Cities

 * Garden City (county seat)
 * Holcomb

Unincorporated communities

 * Friend
 * Gano
 * Kalvesta
 * Lowe
 * Mansfield
 * Peterson
 * Pierceville†
 * Plymell
 * Quinby
 * Ritchal
 * Rodkey
 * Tennis
 * Wolf

Ghost towns

 * Eminence
 * Ravanna

Townships
Finney County is divided into seven townships. The city of Garden City is considered governmentally independent and is 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.