Pottawatomie County, Kansas
Pottawatomie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Westmoreland.[1] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 25,348.[2] The county was named for the Potawatomi tribe.
History
[edit | edit source]Early history
[edit | edit source]For millennia, the Great Plains of North America were inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th to 18th centuries, 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, by the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
19th century
[edit | edit source]In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, 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.
In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized under the provisions of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state.
In 1857, Pottawatomie County was established by the Kansas Territorial legislature, out of land formerly included in Riley County. The present county seat of Westmoreland was selected by a vote held in 1882.
Geography
[edit | edit source]According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 862 square miles (2,230 km2), of which 841 square miles (2,180 km2) is land and 21 square miles (54 km2) (2.4%) is water.[3]
Adjacent counties
[edit | edit source]- Marshall County (north)
- Nemaha County (northeast)
- Jackson County (east)
- Shawnee County (southeast)
- Wabaunsee County (south)
- Riley County (west)
Demographics
[edit | edit source]Template:US Census population Pottawatomie County is part of the Manhattan metropolitan area.
2020 census
[edit | edit source]As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 25,348. The median age was 36.0 years. 29.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.8 males age 18 and over.[4][5]
The racial makeup of the county was 89.2% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.2% from some other race, and 7.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.6% of the population.[5]
34.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 65.5% lived in rural areas.[6]
There were 9,050 households in the county, of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 19.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[4]
There were 9,866 housing units, of which 8.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.7% were owner-occupied and 21.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.6%.[4]
2000 census
[edit | edit source]As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 18,209 people, 6,771 households, and 4,929 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile (8.5 people/km2). There were 7,311 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (3.5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.32% White, 0.66% Black or African American, 0.59% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races. 2.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 6,771 households, out of which 36.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.40% were married couples living together, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.20% were non-families. 23.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.50% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $40,176, and the median income for a family was $47,261. Males had a median income of $31,368 versus $23,238 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,785. About 6.40% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.10% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over.
Government
[edit | edit source]Presidential elections
[edit | edit source]| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 2,419 | 58.94% | 1,471 | 35.84% | 214 | 5.21% |
| 1892 | 2,107 | 49.80% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,124 | 50.20% |
| 1896 | 2,308 | 49.95% | 2,276 | 49.25% | 37 | 0.80% |
| 1900 | 2,556 | 56.41% | 1,929 | 42.57% | 46 | 1.02% |
| 1904 | 2,632 | 69.85% | 1,045 | 27.73% | 91 | 2.42% |
| 1908 | 2,650 | 60.78% | 1,680 | 38.53% | 30 | 0.69% |
| 1912 | 1,058 | 25.09% | 1,599 | 37.93% | 1,559 | 36.98% |
| 1916 | 3,688 | 55.66% | 2,834 | 42.77% | 104 | 1.57% |
| 1920 | 4,481 | 76.95% | 1,293 | 22.21% | 49 | 0.84% |
| 1924 | 4,340 | 68.28% | 1,471 | 23.14% | 545 | 8.57% |
| 1928 | 4,451 | 65.30% | 2,341 | 34.35% | 24 | 0.35% |
| 1932 | 3,339 | 45.45% | 3,910 | 53.23% | 97 | 1.32% |
| 1936 | 3,977 | 53.76% | 3,284 | 44.39% | 137 | 1.85% |
| 1940 | 5,045 | 69.12% | 2,226 | 30.50% | 28 | 0.38% |
| 1944 | 4,074 | 70.01% | 1,727 | 29.68% | 18 | 0.31% |
| 1948 | 3,709 | 62.64% | 2,167 | 36.60% | 45 | 0.76% |
| 1952 | 4,944 | 77.94% | 1,387 | 21.87% | 12 | 0.19% |
| 1956 | 4,335 | 74.97% | 1,422 | 24.59% | 25 | 0.43% |
| 1960 | 3,666 | 63.16% | 2,125 | 36.61% | 13 | 0.22% |
| 1964 | 2,606 | 51.40% | 2,432 | 47.97% | 32 | 0.63% |
| 1968 | 3,267 | 63.68% | 1,368 | 26.67% | 495 | 9.65% |
| 1972 | 3,947 | 73.51% | 1,298 | 24.18% | 124 | 2.31% |
| 1976 | 3,483 | 59.06% | 2,316 | 39.27% | 98 | 1.66% |
| 1980 | 3,895 | 63.40% | 1,724 | 28.06% | 525 | 8.54% |
| 1984 | 4,598 | 71.09% | 1,798 | 27.80% | 72 | 1.11% |
| 1988 | 3,897 | 59.51% | 2,544 | 38.85% | 108 | 1.65% |
| 1992 | 3,106 | 38.87% | 2,099 | 26.27% | 2,785 | 34.86% |
| 1996 | 4,504 | 58.16% | 1,997 | 25.79% | 1,243 | 16.05% |
| 2000 | 4,985 | 64.48% | 2,037 | 26.35% | 709 | 9.17% |
| 2004 | 6,326 | 71.70% | 2,176 | 24.66% | 321 | 3.64% |
| 2008 | 6,929 | 70.15% | 2,599 | 26.31% | 349 | 3.53% |
| 2012 | 6,804 | 71.78% | 2,335 | 24.63% | 340 | 3.59% |
| 2016 | 7,612 | 71.19% | 2,225 | 20.81% | 856 | 8.01% |
| 2020 | 9,452 | 72.25% | 3,313 | 25.32% | 318 | 2.43% |
| 2024 | 9,811 | 72.83% | 3,394 | 25.19% | 267 | 1.98% |
| 2016 | 1 | 33.33% | 1 | 33.33% | 1 | 33.33% |
Typical of rural Kansas, Pottawatomie County is mostly Republican. The only Democratic presidential candidate to gain a majority in Pottawatomie County has been Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, while since 1940 only Lyndon Johnson in 1964 has received so much as forty percent of the county's vote.
Laws
[edit | edit source]Pottawatomie 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.[9]
Education
[edit | edit source]
Unified school districts
[edit | edit source]The Unified School Districts that serve Pottawatomie County include:[10]
- School district office in neighboring county[10]
- Riley County USD 378
- Manhattan–Ogden USD 383
- Blue Valley USD 384
- Valley Heights USD 498
- Vermillion USD 380
Private schools
[edit | edit source]- St. Marys Academy & College (St. Marys)
- Flint Hills Christian School (Manhattan)
Communities
[edit | edit source]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Pottawatomie County.[11]
Cities
[edit | edit source]‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county.
- Belvue
- Emmett
- Havensville
- Louisville
- Manhattan‡ (most in Riley County)
- Olsburg
- Onaga
- St. George
- St. Marys‡
- Wamego
- Westmoreland (county seat)
- Wheaton
Unincorporated communities
[edit | edit source]Former communities
[edit | edit source]Prior to the creation of Tuttle Creek Lake, the community of Garrison existed in west central Pottawatomie County.
Townships
[edit | edit source]Pottawatomie County is divided into twenty-three townships. The city of Manhattan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belvue | 05950 | 404 | 4 (11) | 96 (37) | 1 (0) | 1.05% | 39°14′7″N 96°11′21″W / 39.23528°N 96.18917°W | |
| Blue | 07550 | 1,802 | 16 (41) | 114 (44) | 14 (5) | 10.66% | 39°13′44″N 96°31′49″W / 39.22889°N 96.53028°W | |
| Blue Valley | 07725 | 339 | 3 (8) | 115 (44) | 13 (5) | 9.95% | 39°26′22″N 96°38′6″W / 39.43944°N 96.63500°W | |
| Center | 12000 | 104 | 1 (3) | 78 (30) | 0 (0) | 0.04% | 39°21′4″N 96°14′10″W / 39.35111°N 96.23611°W | |
| Clear Creek | 13800 | 113 | 1 (3) | 93 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.03% | 39°31′6″N 96°23′36″W / 39.51833°N 96.39333°W | |
| Emmett | 21125 | 478 | 6 (16) | 77 (30) | 0 (0) | 0.61% | 39°18′11″N 96°3′46″W / 39.30306°N 96.06278°W | |
| Grant | 27950 | 293 | 4 (10) | 77 (30) | 0 (0) | 0% | 39°31′27″N 96°5′4″W / 39.52417°N 96.08444°W | |
| Green | 28450 | 188 | 2 (4) | 125 (48) | 14 (5) | 9.91% | 39°21′14″N 96°36′6″W / 39.35389°N 96.60167°W | |
| Lincoln | 41000 | 124 | 2 (4) | 77 (30) | 0 (0) | 0.18% | 39°25′37″N 96°3′26″W / 39.42694°N 96.05722°W | |
| Lone Tree | 42550 | 239 | 3 (7) | 93 (36) | 0 (0) | 0% | 39°30′54″N 96°18′18″W / 39.51500°N 96.30500°W | |
| Louisville | 42950 | 735 | 8 (20) | 95 (37) | 0 (0) | 0.04% | 39°15′40″N 96°19′10″W / 39.26111°N 96.31944°W | |
| Mill Creek | 46700 | 1,000 | 9 (24) | 108 (42) | 0 (0) | 0% | 39°30′11″N 96°10′50″W / 39.50306°N 96.18056°W | |
| Pottawatomie | 57250 | 499 | 3 (8) | 155 (60) | 0 (0) | 0.02% | 39°20′5″N 96°26′26″W / 39.33472°N 96.44056°W | |
| Rock Creek | 60625 | 653 | 7 (18) | 93 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.19% | 39°25′41″N 96°24′10″W / 39.42806°N 96.40278°W | |
| St. Clere | 62150 | 83 | 1 (3) | 77 (30) | 0 (0) | 0.21% | 39°21′36″N 96°5′30″W / 39.36000°N 96.09167°W | |
| St. George | 62225 | 2,629 | 30 (79) | 87 (33) | 1 (1) | 1.69% | 39°11′46″N 96°24′56″W / 39.19611°N 96.41556°W | |
| St. Marys | 62425 | 2,789 | 28 (73) | 99 (38) | 1 (0) | 0.60% | 39°11′58″N 96°4′19″W / 39.19944°N 96.07194°W | |
| Shannon | 64300 | 235 | 2 (6) | 104 (40) | 0 (0) | 0.08% | 39°26′19″N 96°30′50″W / 39.43861°N 96.51389°W | |
| Sherman | 65050 | 126 | 1 (3) | 94 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.02% | 39°25′54″N 96°17′29″W / 39.43167°N 96.29139°W | |
| Spring Creek | 67475 | 61 | 1 (2) | 103 (40) | 0 (0) | 0.08% | 39°31′50″N 96°31′19″W / 39.53056°N 96.52194°W | |
| Union | 72250 | 164 | 2 (5) | 94 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.03% | 39°20′20″N 96°19′34″W / 39.33889°N 96.32611°W | |
| Vienna | 73875 | 92 | 1 (3) | 78 (30) | 0 (0) | 0.03% | 39°25′40″N 96°10′28″W / 39.42778°N 96.17444°W | |
| Wamego | 75350 | 5,056 | 100 (260) | 50 (19) | 2 (1) | 3.20% | 39°12′19″N 96°18′20″W / 39.20528°N 96.30556°W |
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; Pottawatomie County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
- ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
- ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
- ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ↑ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "2020 Census - School District Reference Map: Pottawatomie County, KS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 2, 2024. - Text list
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "General Highway Map of Pottawatomie County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). October 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 27, 2023.
- Notes
Further reading
[edit | edit source]- Handbook of Pottawatomie and Riley Counties, Kansas; Modern Ago; 20 pages; 1880s.
- Standard Atlas of Pottawatomie County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 57 pages; 1905.
- Onaga Courier's Township Map of Pottawatomie County, Kansas; Onaga Courier; 59 pages; 1899.
External links
[edit | edit source] |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pottawatomie County, Kansas. |
- County
- Pottawatomie County - Official Website
- Pottawatomie County - Directory of Public Officials
- Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation - PCEDC
- Maps
- Pottawatomie County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
- Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
- Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society
Template:Pottawatomie County, Kansas Template:Kansas Coordinates: 39°20′N 96°18′W / 39.333°N 96.300°W
- Use American English from June 2025
- Use mdy dates from April 2024
- Official website not in Wikidata
- Coordinates not on Wikidata
- Pottawatomie County, Kansas
- Kansas counties
- Kansas placenames of Native American origin
- 1857 establishments in Kansas Territory
- Manhattan metropolitan area, Kansas
- Populated places in the United States established in 1857