Clark County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and most populous city is Ashland. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 1,991. The county was named after Charles Clarke.

History

Clark County, Kansas, was established on February 26, 1867, from the territory of the former Peketon County, and named for Charles F. Clarke, a captain in the 6th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, though the final 'e' was later dropped. As an unorganized county, it was initially attached to Ford County for judicial purposes until 1883, when it was incorporated into Ford County on account of its sparse population and prosperous cattle ranches. This inclusion displeased the settlers of Clark County, and Clark County was again detached from Ford County in March 1885, this time attached to Comanche County for judicial purposes. Clark County was finally organized in May 1885, with the county seat at Ashland. The opening of the Mount Jesus Trail, passing near a hill in the center of the county named Mount Jesus by the Custer expedition in 1868 on its way from Fort Dodge to Fort Supply, along with the onset of Texas cattle drives through the county, marked the beginning of American settlement in Clark County. Settlement intensified with the establishment of a road ranch by John Glenn in 1874 near present-day Ashland, the beginning of weekly stagecoach service along the Mount Jesus Trail in 1875, and the opening of additional cattle ranches in 1876. Efforts to create a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

colony in the late 1870s near Mount Casino were abandoned after resistance from cattlemen and an Indian raid. Clark City hosted the first school and newspaper in the county, but both activities shifted to Ashland as the latter town grew, including by direct payments to Clark City residents to relocate. Ultimately Ashland became the county's dominant town and was officially designated the county seat in 1885 while Clark City was abandoned. Ashland remains the county seat and principal city of Clark County to this day.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Ford County (north) * Kiowa County (northeast) * Comanche County (east) * Harper County,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

(southeast) * Beaver County,

(southwest) * Meade County (west)

Major highways

Sources: National Atlas, U.S. Census Bureau * U.S. Route 54 * U.S. Route 160 * U.S. Route 183 * U.S. Route 283 * Kansas Highway 34

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,390 people, 979 households, and 676 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,111 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.77%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.25%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.13% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 1.88% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.02% of the population. There were 979

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s, out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.30% were married couples living together, 6.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.90% were non-families. 29.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.60% under the age of 18, 4.90% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 21.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,857, and the median income for a family was $40,521. Males had a median income of $27,321 versus $20,833 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $17,795. About 11.30% of families and 12.70% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 18.00% of those under age 18 and 10.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Prior to 1944, Clark County was a swing county, backing the national winner in every presidential election from 1900 to 1940. From 1944 on, it has become a Republican stronghold in presidential elections aside from 1964 when Lyndon B. Johnson won the county as part of his nationwide landslide victory.

Laws

The Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, either with or without a minimum of 30% of sales coming from food. Clark County is one of 35 counties in the state that allows for the sale of liquor by the drink without the minimum food sales stipulation.

Education

Unified school districts

Minneola USD 219
* Ashland USD 220

Communities

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Clark County.

Cities

* Ashland (county seat) * Englewood * Minneola

Unincorporated communities

* Acres * Letitia * Sitka

Ghost towns

* Appleton * Cash City * Lexington * Vanham * Vesta

Townships

Clark County is divided into six townships. None of the cities within the county are considered ''governmentally independent'', and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. 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.

References

External links

;County *
Clark County - Directory of Public Officials
;Maps * Clark County Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Highway Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Railroad Maps
Current19961915
KDOT and Kansas Historical Society {{Authority control Kansas counties 1867 establishments in Kansas Populated places established in 1867