Big Creek Township is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

Russell County, Kansas Russell County (standard abbreviation: RS) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,691. The largest city and county seat is Russell. Russell, the county seat, was the home of former U.S. Senate Maj ...

, United States. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, it had a population of 479.

Geography

The center of Big Creek Township is located at (38.8711228, −98.9839787) at an elevation of . The township lies in the

Smoky Hills The Smoky Hills are an upland region of hills in the central Great Plains of North America. They are located in the Midwestern United States, encompassing north-central Kansas and a small portion of south-central Nebraska. The hills are a disse ...

region of the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

. Big Creek, a tributary of the

Smoky Hill River The Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through Colorado and Kansas.Smoky Hill River. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.br ...

and the township's namesake, flows windingly east through the southern part of the township. Walker Creek, a tributary of Big Creek, runs southeast through the southern half of the township to its confluence with Big Creek. Another tributary of the Smoky Hill, Fossil Creek, has its source in east-central Big Creek Township. Salt Creek, a tributary of the Saline River, flows east through the northern part of the township. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, Big Creek Township occupies an area of of which is land and is water. Located in west-central Russell County, it includes the city of Gorham, which is located in the west-central part of the township, and it borders Paradise Township to the north, Russell and Grant Townships to the east, Lincoln Township to the southeast, Winterset Township to the south, and Ellis County's

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and Herzog Townships to the west.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 479 people, 211 households, and 149 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 242 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 99.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.2% Native American, and 0.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.2% of the population. There were 211 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.8% were married couples living together, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27, and the average family size was 2.70. In the township, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.4 males age 18 and over.

Education

Big Creek Township lies within

unified school district A unified school district (in the states of Arizona, California, Kansas and Oregon) or unit school district (in Illinois), in the United States of America, is a school district that generally includes and operates both primary schools (kindergarten ...

407, Russell County Schools.

Transportation

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

and U.S. Route 40 run concurrently east–west through Big Creek Township, interchanging with 176th Street, a paved north–south county road, one mile south of Gorham. The former alignment of U.S. 40 runs broadly east–west through Gorham and the township, connecting to a network of mostly unpaved county roads laid out in a rough grid pattern. Another paved north–south road, Gorham-Fairport Road, runs north from old U.S. 40 one mile east of Gorham. The Kansas Pacific line of the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

runs through the township parallel to the old alignment of U.S. 40.

References

{{Authority control Townships in Russell County, Kansas Townships in Kansas