Lyon County, Kansas
Lyon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Emporia.[1] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 32,179.[2] The county was named for Nathaniel Lyon, a general who was killed at the Battle of Wilson's Creek during the Civil War.[3]
History
[edit | edit source]Early history
[edit | edit source]For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
19th century
[edit | edit source]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 for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.
In 1806, Zebulon Pike led the Pike Expedition westward from St Louis, Missouri, of which part of their journey followed the Cottonwood River through Lyon County.[4]
In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1862, Lyon County was established from the county formerly known as Breckinridge County.[5]
In 1871, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway extended a main line from Emporia to Newton.[6]
Geography
[edit | edit source]According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 855 square miles (2,210 km2), of which 847 square miles (2,190 km2) is land and 7.9 square miles (20 km2) (0.9%) is water.[7]
Adjacent counties
[edit | edit source]- Wabaunsee County (north)
- Osage County (northeast)
- Coffey County (southeast)
- Greenwood County (south)
- Chase County (west)
- Morris County (northwest)
National protected area
[edit | edit source]Demographics
[edit | edit source]Lyon County comprises the Emporia, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area.
2020 census
[edit | edit source]As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 32,179 and a median age of 35.7 years. 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.5 males age 18 and over. 74.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 25.2% lived in rural areas.[8][9]
The racial makeup of the county was 74.0% White, 2.0% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.8% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 11.7% from some other race, and 9.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 22.5% of the population.[10]
There were 13,183 households in the county, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[9]
There were 14,957 housing units, of which 11.9% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 61.3% were owner-occupied and 38.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.0%.[9]
2000 census
[edit | edit source]As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 35,935 people, 13,691 households, and 8,639 families residing in the county. The population density was 42 inhabitants per square mile (16/km2). There were 14,757 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (6.6/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 83.27% White, 2.27% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.04% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 9.79% from other races, and 2.16% from two or more races. 16.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 13,691 households, out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.80% were married couples living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.90% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 16.20% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,819, and the median income for a family was $43,112. Males had a median income of $28,865 versus $21,338 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,724. About 9.60% of families and 14.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.60% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.
Government
[edit | edit source]Presidential elections
[edit | edit source]Typical of Kansas, Lyon County has been strongly Republican for most of its history, although in recent times, the county isn’t as Republican as other rural counties in Kansas, owing to the presence of Emporia State University. In only seven presidential elections from 1880 to the present has the county failed to back the Republican candidate, the most recent being Lyndon B. Johnson in his national landslide of 1964. The Republican party did come close to losing the county in 1992 and 2008, however.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 3,014 | 60.10% | 1,377 | 27.46% | 624 | 12.44% |
| "text-align:center;" Template:Party shading/Populist |1892 | 2,591 | 48.48% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,753 | 51.52% |
| 1896 | 2,860 | 45.91% | 3,276 | 52.59% | 93 | 1.49% |
| 1900 | 3,083 | 50.72% | 2,865 | 47.13% | 131 | 2.15% |
| 1904 | 3,450 | 62.12% | 1,461 | 26.31% | 643 | 11.58% |
| 1908 | 2,973 | 50.87% | 2,562 | 43.84% | 309 | 5.29% |
| 1912 | 962 | 17.41% | 2,363 | 42.77% | 2,200 | 39.82% |
| 1916 | 4,215 | 40.28% | 5,584 | 53.36% | 665 | 6.36% |
| 1920 | 5,492 | 61.09% | 3,303 | 36.74% | 195 | 2.17% |
| 1924 | 6,290 | 57.32% | 2,750 | 25.06% | 1,934 | 17.62% |
| 1928 | 8,753 | 75.49% | 2,761 | 23.81% | 81 | 0.70% |
| 1932 | 6,044 | 47.38% | 6,365 | 49.90% | 347 | 2.72% |
| 1936 | 6,005 | 44.73% | 7,340 | 54.67% | 80 | 0.60% |
| 1940 | 6,918 | 52.33% | 6,170 | 46.68% | 131 | 0.99% |
| 1944 | 5,710 | 52.88% | 4,984 | 46.15% | 105 | 0.97% |
| 1948 | 5,941 | 50.03% | 5,708 | 48.06% | 227 | 1.91% |
| 1952 | 8,544 | 67.98% | 3,944 | 31.38% | 80 | 0.64% |
| 1956 | 8,021 | 67.34% | 3,831 | 32.16% | 59 | 0.50% |
| 1960 | 7,470 | 60.90% | 4,755 | 38.77% | 41 | 0.33% |
| 1964 | 5,184 | 45.23% | 6,197 | 54.07% | 81 | 0.71% |
| 1968 | 6,558 | 57.30% | 4,020 | 35.12% | 868 | 7.58% |
| 1972 | 9,157 | 69.67% | 3,720 | 28.30% | 266 | 2.02% |
| 1976 | 7,062 | 52.59% | 5,634 | 41.96% | 732 | 5.45% |
| 1980 | 8,431 | 57.94% | 4,680 | 32.16% | 1,440 | 9.90% |
| 1984 | 9,796 | 69.37% | 4,188 | 29.66% | 137 | 0.97% |
| 1988 | 6,820 | 55.29% | 5,314 | 43.08% | 200 | 1.62% |
| 1992 | 5,090 | 34.73% | 4,811 | 32.83% | 4,755 | 32.44% |
| 1996 | 6,612 | 50.01% | 4,884 | 36.94% | 1,725 | 13.05% |
| 2000 | 6,652 | 53.41% | 5,190 | 41.67% | 613 | 4.92% |
| 2004 | 7,951 | 59.16% | 5,234 | 38.94% | 255 | 1.90% |
| 2008 | 6,698 | 51.88% | 5,924 | 45.88% | 289 | 2.24% |
| 2012 | 6,470 | 54.48% | 5,111 | 43.04% | 294 | 2.48% |
| 2016 | 6,552 | 52.53% | 4,649 | 37.28% | 1,271 | 10.19% |
| 2020 | 7,550 | 53.74% | 6,055 | 43.10% | 444 | 3.16% |
| 2024 | 7,462 | 56.29% | 5,515 | 41.60% | 279 | 2.10% |
| 2016 | 1 | 33.33% | 1 | 33.33% | 1 | 33.33% |
Laws
[edit | edit source]Lyon 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 percent food sales requirement. The food sales requirement was removed with voter approval in 1992.[14]
The county voted "No" on the 2022 Kansas abortion referendum, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 63% to 37% despite backing Donald Trump with 54% of the vote to Joe Biden's 43% in the 2020 presidential election.[15]
Education
[edit | edit source]Colleges and universities
[edit | edit source]- Emporia State University in Emporia
- Flint Hills Technical College in Emporia
Unified school districts
[edit | edit source]School districts include:[16]
- School district office in neighboring county[16]
- Chase County USD 284
- Lebo-Waverly USD 243
- Madison-Virgil USD 386
- Morris County USD 417
- Wabaunsee East USD 330
Communities
[edit | edit source]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Lyon County.[17]
Cities
[edit | edit source]Unincorporated communities
[edit | edit source]Townships
[edit | edit source]Lyon County is divided into eleven townships. The city of Emporia 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.
| Township | FIPS | Population center |
Population | Population density /km2 (/sq mi) |
Land area km2 (sq mi) |
Water area km2 (sq mi) |
Water % | Geographic coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes City | 00525 | 430 | 2 (4) | 279 (108) | 0 (0) | 0.15% | 38°39′54″N 96°13′50″W / 38.66500°N 96.23056°W | |
| Americus | 01700 | 1,503 | 7 (17) | 225 (87) | 1 (0) | 0.35% | 38°31′12″N 96°16′0″W / 38.52000°N 96.26667°W | |
| Center | 11800 | 1,198 | 4 (10) | 308 (119) | 3 (1) | 0.82% | 38°14′17″N 96°13′13″W / 38.23806°N 96.22028°W | |
| Elmendaro | 20687 | 788 | 4 (10) | 257 (99) | 1 (0) | 0.31% | 38°15′31″N 96°1′8″W / 38.25861°N 96.01889°W | |
| Emporia | 21300 | 907 | 8 (21) | 143 (55) | 2 (1) | 1.20% | 38°23′7″N 96°10′13″W / 38.38528°N 96.17028°W | |
| Fremont | 24750 | 903 | 5 (12) | 184 (71) | 1 (0) | 0.33% | 38°29′35″N 96°9′17″W / 38.49306°N 96.15472°W | |
| Ivy | 34700 | 269 | 3 (9) | 88 (34) | 0 (0) | 0.07% | 38°38′23″N 96°5′25″W / 38.63972°N 96.09028°W | |
| Jackson | 34825 | 979 | 4 (11) | 227 (88) | 1 (1) | 0.62% | 38°23′39″N 96°0′37″W / 38.39417°N 96.01028°W | |
| Pike | 55825 | 1,034 | 6 (17) | 139 (54) | 0 (0) | 0.35% | 38°24′13″N 96°17′39″W / 38.40361°N 96.29417°W | |
| Reading | 58625 | 487 | 3 (8) | 175 (67) | 1 (1) | 0.79% | 38°31′35″N 95°59′56″W / 38.52639°N 95.99889°W | |
| Waterloo | 75925 | 284 | 2 (5) | 154 (59) | 1 (0) | 0.40% | 38°41′32″N 96°0′26″W / 38.69222°N 96.00722°W |
Notable people
[edit | edit source]R. Lee Ermey was born in Emporia on March 24, 1944, and died on April 15, 2018. He was a retired United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant, Drill Instructor and actor. Ermey was often best known for his roles of authority figures, such as his breakout performance as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in Prefontaine, Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, and plastic army men leader Sarge in the Toy Story films.
Homer Woodson Hargiss was an innovative college football coach who regularly used the forward pass and records show that it was used as early as 1910, three years before Knute Rockne began to call the play. He was head coach at both the College of Emporia and Emporia State.[18][19] He is also credited with inventing the huddle.[20]
Jerry Kill was the head football coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He has over 100 wins in his career as a head coach, having worked as a head coach through several institutions at the college level.
Dean Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Smith coached from 1961 to 1997 and retired as the NCAA Division I men's basketball record-holder for victories (879), a record which was surpassed by Bob Knight in 2007, Mike Krzyzewski in 2011, and Jim Boeheim in 2012.[21] During his tenure as head coach of North Carolina, the team won two national titles and appeared in 11 Final Fours.[22]
William Allen White was a renowned American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death White became the iconic spokesman for middle America. He won a 1923 Pulitzer Prize for his editorial "To an Anxious Friend," published July 27, 1922, after being arrested in a dispute over free speech following objections to the way the state of Kansas handled the men who participated in the Great Railroad Strike of 1922.
Maud Wagner was the first known female tattoo artist in the United States. She was a circus performer and traveled with her husband as both tattoo artists and as "tattooed attractions."
See also
[edit | edit source]Template:See also Kansas counties
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ↑ "QuickFacts; Lyon County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
- ↑ Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume 2. Standard Publishing Company. pp. 196.
- ↑ "1806 Pike Expedition map through Lyon County" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
- ↑ "Breckinridge County, Kansas - Kansas Historical Society".
- ↑ Santa Fe Rail History
- ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
- ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
- ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ↑ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
- ↑ Schwab, Scott (November 5, 2024). "Election Results". Secretary of State of Kansas. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- ↑ Panetta, Grace (August 3, 2022). "14 of the 19 Kansas counties that rejected an anti-abortion amendment voted for Trump in 2020". Business Insider. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "2020 Census - School District Reference Map: Lyon County, KS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 2, 2024. - Text list
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "General Highway Map of Lyon County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). September 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2023.
- ↑ Emporia Gazette, 1910 Forward Pass
- ↑ Definitive use of forward pass and the option pass in 1910 by Bill Hargiss
- ↑ "THE HUDDLE DEBATE CONTINUES" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 6, 2011.
- ↑ "NCAA stats". NCAA. NCAA. Archived from the original on October 8, 2006. Retrieved February 1, 2007.
- ↑ "Dean Smith Biography". Hall of Famers. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Inc. Archived from the original on May 5, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- Notes
Further reading
[edit | edit source]- Standard Atlas of Lyon County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 84 pages; 1918.
- Standard Atlas of Lyon County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 60 pages; 1901.
- An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Lyon County, Kansas; Edwards Brothers; 58 pages; 1878.
External links
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- Lyon County - History, Kansas State Historical Society
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