Kiowa County, Kansas

Kiowa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Greensburg. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,460. The county is named after the Kiowa tribe.

19th century
In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1867, Kiowa County was established and named after the Kiowa tribe. In 1875. The county’s land was given to nearby county, but in 1886, Kiowa County was reestablished and organized.

The Santa Fe Railroad was built into the county around the time it was organized. The Greensburg Well, one of the largest hand-dug wells in the world, was built in 1887-1888. It has been a popular tourist attraction since 1939. The well is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The first oil well in Kiowa County was drilled in 1917.

Mabel Chase ran for county sheriff after her husband’s time in the office was term-limited and became the state's first female sheriff. Her husband provided her the family’s armored 1926 Hudson Super Six, and she was the first sheriff in Kansas to be supplied with a Thompson submachine gun. Chase conducted raids on local stills.

21st century
On the evening of May 4, 2007, Greensburg was devastated by an EF5 tornado during the May 2007 tornado outbreak. It killed 11 and destroyed 95% of the community.

The Kiowa County Courthouse was renovated with new windows and roof after the 2007 tornado damaged it. Originally, construction of the building started in 1920.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 723 sqmi, of which 723 sqmi is land and 0.2 sqmi (0.03%) is water.

Kiowa County has a large number of iron-rich meteorites in its soil due to the Brenham meteor fall over 10 thousand years ago.

Adjacent counties

 * Edwards County (north)
 * Pratt County (east)
 * Barber County (southeast)
 * Comanche County (south)
 * Clark County (southwest)
 * Ford County (west)

Major highways

 * US 54
 * US 183
 * US 400

Kiowa County has only U.S. highways, no state highways.

Demographics


As of the census of 2000, there were 3,278 people, 1,365 households, and 924 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 /mi2. There were 1,643 housing units at an average density of 2 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 97.19% White, 0.21% Black or African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.98% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. 2.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,365 households, out of which 27.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.60% were married couples living together, 5.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 30.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.00% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 21.80% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 21.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,576, and the median income for a family was $40,950. Males had a median income of $29,063 versus $20,764 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,207. About 7.40% of families and 10.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.50% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.

Presidential elections
Like all of the High Plains, Kiowa County is Republican. The only Democrat to ever win a majority in the county has been Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, who ironically achieved the feat against incumbent Kansas governor Alf Landon. Woodrow Wilson won a plurality in 1916, but since 1944 only three Democrats have reached thirty percent of the county's vote, and Michael Dukakis in 1988 during a major drought and consequent farm crisis is the last Democrat to receive so much as twenty percent.

Colleges

 * Barclay College, Haviland

Unified school districts

 * Kiowa County USD 422
 * Haviland USD 474

Communities
List of current townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Kiowa County.

Incorporated cities

 * Greensburg (county seat)
 * Haviland
 * Mullinville

Unincorporated communities

 * Belvidere
 * Brenham
 * Joy
 * Wellsford

Townships
Kiowa County has only one township, and none of the cities within the county are considered governmentally independent; all figures for the township include those of the cities.