Ellis County, Kansas
Encyclopedia
Ellis County is a county located in Northwest Kansas
, in the Central
United States
. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 28,452. Its county seat
and most populous city is Hays
. The Hays Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Ellis County.
, 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. The food sales requirement was removed with voter approval in 1988.
over winner George H.W. Bush in the 1988 presidential election
, one of only two Kansas counties to go for Dukakis. Ellis County gave a plurality to Bill Clinton
over Bush and Ross Perot
in the 1992 presidential election
, but has been in the Republican column in each of the past four elections, giving 66 percent to Republican John McCain
to 32 percent for Democrat Barack Obama
in the 2008 election
, higher than the 57 percent McCain won statewide.
, there were 27,507 people, 11,193 households, and 6,771 families residing in the county. The population density
was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 12,078 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup
of the county was 96.10% White
, 0.67% Black or African American
, 0.21% Native American
, 0.82% Asian
, 0.02% Pacific Islander
, 1.31% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races
. Hispanic
or Latino
of any race were 2.37% of the population.
There were 11,193 household
s out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.00% were married couples
living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.50% were non-families. 30.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the county the population was spread out with 22.40% under the age of 18, 18.40% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 19.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.
The median income for a household
in the county was $32,339, and the median income for a family was $44,498. Males had a median income of $29,885 versus $21,269 for females. The per capita income
for the county was $18,259. About 6.50% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.20% of those under age 18 and 10.00% of those age 65 or over.
. The cities of Ellis
and Hays
are considered governmentally independent and are 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.
Additional information
Maps
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, in the Central
Central United States
The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States and Western United States as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the Midwestern United States plus the western and central portions of the Southern United States; the term is also sometimes used...
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 28,452. Its county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
and most populous city is Hays
Hays, Kansas
Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
. The Hays Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Ellis County.
Law and government
Ellis County was a prohibition, or "dry"Dry county
A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Hundreds of dry counties exist across the United States, almost all of them in the South...
, 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. The food sales requirement was removed with voter approval in 1988.
Geography
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 900.47 square miles (2,332.2 km²), of which 899.97 square miles (2,330.9 km²) (or 99.94%) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) (or 0.06%) is water.Politics
Ellis County is an anomaly in western Kansas, having voted several times for Democratic presidential candidates, even when the vast majority of the state's 105 counties went for the Republican nominee. Ellis County bucked the national and statewide trend by voting for Michael DukakisMichael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
over winner George H.W. Bush in the 1988 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
, one of only two Kansas counties to go for Dukakis. Ellis County gave a plurality to Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
over Bush and Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
in the 1992 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
, but has been in the Republican column in each of the past four elections, giving 66 percent to Republican John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
to 32 percent for Democrat Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in the 2008 election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
, higher than the 57 percent McCain won statewide.
Adjacent counties
- Rooks CountyRooks County, KansasRooks County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 5,181. The county seat is Stockton and the largest city is Plainville. The county was named for Private John C...
(north) - Osborne CountyOsborne County, KansasOsborne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 3,858. The largest city and county seat is Osborne.-19th century:...
(northeast) - Russell CountyRussell County, KansasRussell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. The county's population was 6,970 for the 2010 census...
(east) - Rush CountyRush County, KansasRush County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 3,307...
(south) - Ness CountyNess County, KansasNess County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 3,107. The largest city and county seat is Ness City. Ness County was named for Corporal Noah V. Ness of the 7th Kansas Cavalry...
(southwest) - Trego CountyTrego County, KansasTrego County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 3,001...
(west)
Major highways
-
Interstate 70Interstate 70 in KansasIn the U.S. state of Kansas, Interstate 70 contains the first segment to start being paved and to be completed in the Interstate Highway System. It extends from the Western border to the Eastern border covering and passing through several of the state's principal cities in the process.-Route... -
US-183U.S. Route 183U.S. Route 183 is a north–south United States highway. U.S. 183 was the last US route to be completely paved. The 20 mile segment in Loup County, Nebraska, north of Taylor, was unpaved until 1967. The highway's northern terminus is in Presho, South Dakota, at an intersection with...
Demographics
As of the U.S. Census in 2000United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, there were 27,507 people, 11,193 households, and 6,771 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 12,078 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of the county was 96.10% White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
, 0.67% Black or African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 0.21% Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, 0.82% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 0.02% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
, 1.31% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races
Multiracial
The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
. Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
of any race were 2.37% of the population.
There were 11,193 household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
s out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.00% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.50% were non-families. 30.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the county the population was spread out with 22.40% under the age of 18, 18.40% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 19.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.
The median income for a household
Median household income
The median household income is commonly used to generate data about geographic areas and divides households into two equal segments with the first half of households earning less than the median household income and the other half earning more...
in the county was $32,339, and the median income for a family was $44,498. Males had a median income of $29,885 versus $21,269 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $18,259. About 6.50% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.20% of those under age 18 and 10.00% of those age 65 or over.
Incorporated cities
Name and population (2004 estimate):- HaysHays, KansasHays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
, 19,841 (county seat) - EllisEllis, KansasEllis is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,062.- History :The Kansas Pacific Railway built a water station at the site of present-day Ellis in 1867 and then purchased the site under the Homestead Act. Three years later, in 1870, the U.S....
, 1,830 - VictoriaVictoria, KansasVictoria is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,214.-History:A group of English and Scottish colonists led by a Scotsman named George Grant founded Victoria in 1873 on land he had purchased from the Kansas Pacific Railway. They named the...
, 1,175 - SchoenchenSchoenchen, KansasSchoenchen is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 207.-History:Following a dispute over the proposed relocation of nearby Liebenthal, Volga German settlers founded Schoenchen in April 1877. They originally named the community San Antonio,...
, 213
Unincorporated places
- Antonino
- Catharine
- Emmeram
- Munjor
- Pfeifer
- Smoky Hill CitySmoky Hill City, KansasSmoky Hill City is an abandoned ghost town in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. It lies approximately southwest of Hays.-History:The land was bought by Charles K. Holliday of Topeka, and a townsite plat was filed with the county in 1899. Holliday began selling town lots. Some of the first...
- Toulon
- WalkerWalker, KansasWalker is an unincorporated community in Herzog Township, Ellis County, Kansas, United States. Walker has a post office with ZIP code 67674. -Geography:...
- Yocemento
Townships
Ellis County is divided into nine townshipsCivil township
A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...
. The cities of Ellis
Ellis, Kansas
Ellis is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,062.- History :The Kansas Pacific Railway built a water station at the site of present-day Ellis in 1867 and then purchased the site under the Homestead Act. Three years later, in 1870, the U.S....
and Hays
Hays, Kansas
Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
are considered governmentally independent and are 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Creek | 06650 | 1,798 | 7 (18) | 252 (97) | 0 (0) | 0.01% | 38°52′40"N 99°20′39"W | |
| Buckeye | 08950 | 285 | 1 (2) | 352 (136) | 0 (0) | 0.06% | 39°1′24"N 99°18′25"W | |
| Catherine | 11050 | 318 | 2 (4) | 208 (80) | 0 (0) | 0.03% | 39°0′32"N 99°11′44"W | |
| Ellis | 20475 | 386 | 1 (2) | 457 (176) | 0 (0) | 0.02% | 38°58′47"N 99°30′57"W | |
| Freedom | 24625 | 125 | 1 (3) | 117 (45) | 0 (0) | 0 % | 38°43′48"N 99°7′36"W | |
| Herzog | 31525 | 894 | 3 (7) | 325 (126) | 1 (0) | 0.18% | 38°55′29"N 99°7′19"W | |
| Lookout | 42700 | 569 | 2 (5) | 317 (122) | 0 (0) | 0.10% | 38°45′43"N 99°25′12"W | |
| Victoria | 73800 | 845 | 6 (16) | 139 (54) | 0 (0) | 0 % | 38°49′56"N 99°8′31"W | |
| Wheatland | 77650 | 401 | 3 (7) | 140 (54) | 0 (0) | 0 % | 38°46′45"N 99°16′19"W | |
| Sources: | ||||||||
Unified school districts
Private schools
- Holy Family Elementary in HaysHays, KansasHays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
- St. Mary's Elementary in EllisEllis, KansasEllis is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,062.- History :The Kansas Pacific Railway built a water station at the site of present-day Ellis in 1867 and then purchased the site under the Homestead Act. Three years later, in 1870, the U.S....
- Thomas More Prep-Marian High in HaysHays, KansasHays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
Universities and Colleges
- Fort Hays State UniversityFort Hays State UniversityFort Hays State University is a public, co-educational university located in Hays, Kansas, United States. It is the fourth-largest of the six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents, with an enrollment of approximately 11,200 students .- History :FHSU was founded in 1902 as the...
- North Central Kansas Technical College
Trivia
Ellis County is the official German Capital of Kansas. German immigrants settled in Hays, Ellis, Victoria, and nearby villages in the 1870s and 1880s.See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Ellis County, KansasNational Register of Historic Places listings in Ellis County, KansasThis is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Ellis County, Kansas.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Ellis County, Kansas, United States...
- Walker Army AirfieldWalker Army Airfield (Kansas)Walker Army Airfield is an abandoned airfield located north of Interstate 70 in Ellis County, 4 miles northeast of Victoria, Kansas....
, an abandoned World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
airfield.
Further reading
- History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook)
- Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook), (Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook)
External links
Official sitesAdditional information
Maps
- Ellis County Map, KDOT
- Kansas Highway Map, KDOT
- Kansas Railroad Map, KDOT
- Kansas School District Boundary Map, KSDE