Bourbon County, Kansas

Bourbon County
Bourbon County
County
	Bourbon County Courthouse in Fort Scott (2016)
	Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
	Kansas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 37°51′N 94°51′W / 37.850°N 94.850°W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	August 25, 1855
Named for	Bourbon County, Kentucky
Seat	Fort Scott
Largest city	Fort Scott
Area
• Total	639 sq mi (1,660 km2)
• Land	635 sq mi (1,640 km2)
• Water	3.6 sq mi (9 km2) 0.6%
Population (2020)
• Total	14,360
• Density	22.6/sq mi (8.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	620
Congressional district	2nd
Website	BourbonCountyKS.org

Its county seat and most populous city is Fort Scott. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 14,360. The county was named after Bourbon County, Kentucky, the former home of many early settlers.

History

Early history

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

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 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1855, Bourbon County was established.

21st century

Bourbon virus, a new strain of thogotovirus, was first discovered in Bourbon County. In the spring of 2014 an otherwise healthy man was bitten by a tick, contracting the virus, dying 11 days later from organ failure.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 639 square miles (1,660 km²), of which 635 square miles (1,640 km²) is land and 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²) (0.6%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Linn County (north)
Vernon County, Missouri (east)
Crawford County (south)
Neosho County (southwest)
Allen County (west)
Anderson County (northwest)

National protected area

Fort Scott National Historic Site

Major highways

Sources: National Atlas, U.S. Census Bureau

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	6,101	—
1870	15,076	147.1%
1880	19,591	29.9%
1890	28,575	45.9%
1900	24,712	−13.5%
1910	24,007	−2.9%
1920	23,198	−3.4%
1930	22,386	−3.5%
1940	20,944	−6.4%
1950	19,153	−8.6%
1960	16,090	−16.0%
1970	15,215	−5.4%
1980	15,969	5.0%
1990	14,966	−6.3%
2000	15,379	2.8%
2010	15,173	−1.3%
2020	14,360	−5.4%
2023 (est.)	14,408	0.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

As of the 2000 census, there were 15,379 people, 6,161 households, and 4,127 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile (9.3 people/km²). There were 7,135 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.06% White, 3.08% Black or African American, 0.84% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population.

There were 6,161 households, out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 29.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.80% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 24.20% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,199, and the median income for a family was $39,239. Males had a median income of $27,043 versus $20,983 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,393. About 9.50% of families and 13.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.00% of those under age 18 and 13.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Bourbon County is a strongly Republican county. Only six presidential elections from 1888 to the present have resulted in Republicans failing to win the county, with the last of these being in 1964.

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Bourbon County, Kansas
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	5,023	75.24%	1,541	23.08%	112	1.68%
2016	4,424	71.64%	1,336	21.64%	415	6.72%
2012	4,102	65.59%	1,996	31.92%	156	2.49%
2008	4,240	62.53%	2,394	35.30%	147	2.17%
2004	4,372	65.39%	2,216	33.14%	98	1.47%
2000	3,852	61.07%	2,211	35.05%	245	3.88%
1996	3,318	50.17%	2,491	37.66%	805	12.17%
1992	2,876	40.17%	2,509	35.05%	1,774	24.78%
1988	3,660	57.80%	2,623	41.42%	49	0.77%
1984	4,858	68.40%	2,175	30.63%	69	0.97%
1980	4,263	59.22%	2,605	36.19%	331	4.60%
1976	3,589	51.80%	3,237	46.72%	103	1.49%
1972	4,776	70.09%	1,912	28.06%	126	1.85%
1968	3,983	56.87%	2,241	32.00%	780	11.14%
1964	3,290	44.93%	3,980	54.35%	53	0.72%
1960	5,062	63.03%	2,928	36.46%	41	0.51%
1956	5,306	62.39%	3,151	37.05%	47	0.55%
1952	5,785	65.26%	3,023	34.10%	56	0.63%
1948	4,225	51.43%	3,879	47.22%	111	1.35%
1944	4,790	56.68%	3,622	42.86%	39	0.46%
1940	5,751	53.61%	4,898	45.66%	78	0.73%
1936	5,402	48.58%	5,714	51.38%	4	0.04%
1932	4,277	42.62%	5,577	55.58%	181	1.80%
1928	7,251	75.88%	2,223	23.26%	82	0.86%
1924	4,210	48.96%	2,850	33.15%	1,538	17.89%
1920	4,194	52.09%	3,632	45.11%	225	2.79%
1916	3,370	37.58%	5,209	58.09%	388	4.33%
1912	1,448	27.04%	2,209	41.25%	1,698	31.71%
1908	2,695	47.83%	2,686	47.67%	253	4.49%
1904	3,234	59.26%	1,808	33.13%	415	7.60%
1900	3,024	51.36%	2,799	47.54%	65	1.10%
1896	2,900	48.20%	3,067	50.97%	50	0.83%
1892	2,803	49.24%	0	0.00%	2,889	50.76%
1888	3,569	57.07%	1,831	29.28%	854	13.66%

Laws

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1992, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.

Education

Colleges

Fort Scott Community College

Unified school districts

Communities

† means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Bourbon County is divided into eleven townships. The city of Fort Scott 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
Drywood	18750		394	3 (8)	120 (47)	0 (0)	0.19%	37°43′19″N 94°40′36″W / 37.72194°N 94.67667°W / 37.72194; -94.67667
Franklin	24300		312	2 (4)	185 (71)	0 (0)	0.13%	37°59′41″N 94°59′14″W / 37.99472°N 94.98722°W / 37.99472; -94.98722
Freedom	24600	Fulton	505	4 (12)	113 (44)	0 (0)	0.17%	38°0′4″N 94°44′45″W / 38.00111°N 94.74583°W / 38.00111; -94.74583
Marion	44650	Bronson, Uniontown	1,165	4 (12)	259 (100)	0 (0)	0.19%	37°51′14″N 95°1′12″W / 37.85389°N 95.02000°W / 37.85389; -95.02000
Marmaton	44900		815	6 (15)	145 (56)	0 (0)	0.13%	37°48′57″N 94°50′16″W / 37.81583°N 94.83778°W / 37.81583; -94.83778
Mill Creek	46675		472	3 (9)	136 (52)	1 (0)	0.42%	37°54′45″N 94°50′14″W / 37.91250°N 94.83722°W / 37.91250; -94.83722
Osage	53100		394	3 (8)	125 (48)	0 (0)	0.16%	37°58′40″N 94°39′33″W / 37.97778°N 94.65917°W / 37.97778; -94.65917
Pawnee	54775		308	2 (6)	126 (49)	0 (0)	0.31%	37°43′31″N 94°50′30″W / 37.72528°N 94.84167°W / 37.72528; -94.84167
Scott	63500		2,326	13 (34)	179 (69)	2 (1)	0.94%	37°48′35″N 94°41′30″W / 37.80972°N 94.69167°W / 37.80972; -94.69167
Timberhill	70600	Mapleton	256	3 (7)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.05%	38°0′31″N 94°52′57″W / 38.00861°N 94.88250°W / 38.00861; -94.88250
Walnut	74850		135	1 (2)	154 (59)	0 (0)	0.13%	37°43′10″N 94°59′0″W / 37.71944°N 94.98333°W / 37.71944; -94.98333
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Archived from the original on August 2, 2002.

Notable people

Jonathan M. Davis, 22nd Governor of Kansas; born in Bourbon County.
Richard Christy, drummer and radio personality; born and raised in Bourbon County
Sarah C. Hall, president, Bourbon County Equal Suffrage Association; lived in Fort Scott, Bourbon County 1870-1911

References

External links

County

Maps

Bourbon County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society

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