Independence is a city in and the

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 ...

of Montgomery County,

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 ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,548. It was named in commemoration of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. It is "home" of

Independence Community College Independence Community College is a public community college in Independence, Kansas. It was formerly Independence Community Junior College. History Independence Community College was established in 1925 as grades 13 and 14 of the Independence p ...

History

The Osage Indians had settled much of southeast Kansas over the course of the 1830s and 40s and sold land claims over the course of the 1860s to incoming American homesteaders and moved into

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

(present-day Oklahoma) where they became settled farmers, selling their whole remaining claim to the United States government in 1870 for $1.25 an acre. Independence was settled on land that was purchased from the

Osage Nation The Osage Nation ( ) () is a Midwestern Native American nation of the Great Plains. The tribe began in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys around 1620 A.D along with other groups of its language family, then migrated west in the 17th cen ...

in September 1869 by George A. Brown for the price of $50. Brown originally called the townsite Colfax after

Schuyler Colfax Schuyler Colfax Jr. ( ; March 23, 1823January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th Speaker of the United Sta ...

, vice president under President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

. On August 21, 1869 a group of

Oswego, Kansas Oswego is a city in and the county seat of Labette County, Kansas, United States, and situated along the Neosho River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,668. History Oswego is located on the site of an Osage village ca ...

men led by R. W. Wright settled there with the intent to make Independence the county seat. E. E. Wilson and F D. Irwin opened the first store in October 1869, naming it Wilson & Irwin Groceries. Independence was designated county seat in 1870. On April 17, 1930 the city was the first to use a permanent lighting system for an exhibition baseball game: it was held between the

Independence Producers The Independence Producers were a minor league baseball team based in Independence, Kansas, United States, that played from 1921 to 1925 and from 1928 to 1932. From 1921 to 1924, they played in the Southwestern League, and in 1925 they played in th ...

and House of David semi-professional baseball team of

Benton Harbor, Michigan Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County, Michigan, Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is 46 miles southwest of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kalamazoo and 71 miles southwest of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids. According to the 2020 2 ...

. The Independence team won with a score of 9 to 1 before a crowd of 1,700 spectators. Miss Able, a rhesus monkey, was born at Ralph Mitchell Zoo. Miss Able along with

Miss Baker Miss Baker (1957 – November 29, 1984) was a squirrel monkey who in 1959 became, along with female rhesus macaque Able, one of the first two animals launched into space by the United States who safely returned. Previous animal flights Previous ...

, a

squirrel monkey Squirrel monkeys are New World monkeys of the genus ''Saimiri''. ''Saimiri'' is the only genus in the subfamily Saimiriinae. The name of the genus is of Tupi origin (''sai-mirím'' or ''çai-mbirín'', with ''sai'' meaning 'monkey' and ''mirím' ...

, became the first monkeys that the United States used in its space program to fly in space; they returned alive on May 28, 1959.

Geography

Independence is located along the Verdigris River just south of its confluence with the Elk River. 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 city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.

Climate

Independence has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''Cfa'') characterized by hot, humid and unpleasant summers, and chilly though extremely variable winters. Precipitation is heavy in summer due to frequent incursions of very moist air from the Gulf of Mexico: as much as fell on May 27, 1984 and a maximum daily fall of can be expected in an average calendar year. The wettest month has been June 2007 when was reported, whereas July 1935 saw a mere . The winters are drier and cold, although temperatures in winter are very erratic, ranging from an average of four afternoons in the three winter months above to an average of three mornings below . Winters are much drier than the summer, with November 1986 and October 1952 seeing not even a trace of precipitation.

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

, Wichita, Kansas
NOW Data
Overall the wettest calendar year has been 1908 with – although the incomplete year of 2007 likely had more than this – and the driest 1952 with only . The hottest month has been July 1936 with an average of and a mean maximum of , while the coldest has been January 1979 with an average of , a mean maximum of only and a mean minimum of . The hottest monthly mean minimum was in July 2011 with a mean low as high as .

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 8,548 people, 3,627 households, and 2,088 families in Independence. The population density was 1,114.6 per square mile (430.4/km). There were 4,380 housing units at an average density of 571.1 per square mile (220.5/km). The racial makeup was 79.12% (6,763)

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 ...

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

(76.13%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

), 5.5% (470)

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 American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, 1.66% (142) Native American or

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, 0.88% (75) Asian, 0.05% (4)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

, 2.56% (219) from other races, and 10.24% (875) 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 was 8.24% (704) of the population. Of the 3,627 households, 28.5% had children under the age of 18; 36.8% were married couples living together; 32.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 36.0% of households consisted of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.1 and the average family size was 2.8. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 15.8% of the population. 24.8% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 111.3 males. The 2016-2020 5-year

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates show that the median household income was $38,963 (with a margin of error of +/- $4,924) and the median family income was $50,299 (+/- $5,851). Males had a median income of $31,436 (+/- $4,208) versus $23,707 (+/- $4,084) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $27,652 (+/- $3,039). Approximately, 14.7% of families and 21.0% 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 34.3% of those under the age of 18 and 12.0% of those ages 65 or over.

2010 census

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 2010, there were 9,483 people, 3,950 households, and 2,430 families living in the city. 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 4,528 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.2%

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 ...

, 6.5%

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 ...

, 1.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 2.3% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 6.5% of the population. There were 3,950 households, of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.5% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% 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 2.95. The median age in the city was 36.9 years. 26% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.5% were from 25 to 44; 24.9% were from 45 to 64; and 15.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 9,846 people, 4,149 households, and 2,609 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 4,747 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.00%

, 7.17%

, 1.16% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.01%

, 1.10% from other races, and 2.95% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 3.84% of the population. There were 4,149 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were

living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32, and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,574, and the median income for a family was $37,134. Males had a median income of $26,552 versus $20,017 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 city was $15,496. About 11.4% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the

, including 18.7% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Colleges

The

main campus is located two miles south of the city. ICC West Campus is located in the city one mile west of the downtown. Each semester, over 1000 students are enrolled at ICC.

Primary and secondary education

The community is served by Independence USD 446 public school district. * Independence High School (9–12) * Independence Middle School (6–8) * Jefferson Elementary School (3–5) * Eisenhower Elementary School (PreK–2)

Private schools

* Zion Lutheran School (PreK–8) * St. Andrew School (PreK–8) * Independence Bible School (PreK–12)

Special education

* Tri-County Education Co-operative, special education (all grades)

Transportation

Highway transportation

Independence is located at the intersection of US-75 and US-160.

Railroad transportation

Independence is served by two railroad companies: * The Union Pacific Railroad is one of the largest class one railroads in the United States and operates on the former

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

tracks. The headquarters for Union Pacific is located at

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

.Union Pacific Railroad https://www.up.com/index.htm * The South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad, which is a short line railroad owned by WATCO Companies based at

Pittsburg, Kansas Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 United S ...

and operates on the former

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

tracks.South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad https://www.watcocompanies.com/services/rail/skol/

Airports

The Independence Municipal Airport (IDP) is located southwest of the center of the city.

Area events

* The Neewollah Festival takes place in late October. Neewollah is "

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

" spelled backwards. Independence Kansas Oct 27 2022

Area attractions

is home to the William Inge Center for the Arts, which maintains the archives of playwright and alumnus, William Inge. The center utilizes the writer's boyhood home for a playwrights-in-residence program, and sponsors the annual William Inge Festival. Each year during the festival a lifetime achievement award is bestowed on a nationally recognized American playwright. * The State of Kansas designated the childhood home of

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, teacher, and journalist. She is best known as the author of the children's book series ''Little House on the Prairie'', published between 1932 and 1 ...

and the Ingalls family near Independence as a historic site; it is open to visitors. It is the location where the Charles Ingalls family resided between 1869-1871 and is described in his daughter

's book ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

''. It includes a cabin modeled after the original and a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

from nearby community of Wayside. The Sunnyside School, a one-room schoolhouse that was moved to the site, is also featured. Much of the surrounding countryside retains its open and undeveloped nature. Then located on the Osage reservation, the property is now within the boundaries of the William Kurtis Ranch about 13 miles southwest of downtown Independence, east of the unincorporated community of Wayside. * At the 1964 New York World's Fair,

Sinclair Oil Sinclair Oil Corporation was an American petroleum corporation founded by Harry F. Sinclair on May 1, 1916. The Sinclair Oil and Refining Corporation amalgamated the assets of 11 small petroleum companies. Originally a New York corporation, Sin ...

sponsored a dinosaur exhibit, featuring life-size replicas of nine different dinosaurs. On flatbed trucks, they toured the United States. Headquartered in Independence, Sinclair Pipeline Company, a division of Sinclair Oil, was acquired by Atlantic Richfield (ARCO). After the acquisition by ARCO, one of the nine dinosaurs, the

Corythosaurus ''Corythosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of hadrosaurid "duck-billed" dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 77–75.7 million years ago, in what is now Laramidia, western North America. Its name is derived from the Anci ...

, was donated to Riverside Park. * Elk City Lake and Elk City State Park are located approximately five miles west of Independence. There are six hiking trails located at Elk City Lake, two of which are notable for receiving a

National Trails National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, an agency of the UK government, and Natural Resources Wales, a Welsh government-sponsored body. National Trails are ma ...

designation. It is also in this area that the ruins of the Le Hunt cement plant are located, although the site on private property. * Montgomery County State Lake is located approximately 4 miles (6.44 km) south of the city on county road 3600. The lake offers boating and fishing opportunities to the area. * Riverside Park and Ralph Mitchell Zoo is located on East Oak Street between Pennsylvania and Park Streets on the northeast side of the city. The park offers playground, 4-H, and meeting facilities, picnic areas, tennis courts, miniature golf, miniature train, and a merry go round. It is also the location of Emmot Field, the home field for sporting events for the Independence Middle School, Independence High School, and the Independence Community College. The Ralph Mitchell Zoo is the home for many species of mammals and reptiles, and was the homeplace of the rhesus macaque Miss Able, who was chosen by NASA alongside

to test out space travel and become the first animals launched into space; she is commemorated with a sign. The park is also home to Shulthis Stadium and Emmot Field, which is the site of the first night baseball game, and the home field where

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

began his professional baseball career.

Notable people

* Taylor Armstrong, born as Shana Hughes, former reality show celebrity on '' The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills'' * Tacy Atkinson, Christian missionary *

Sheila Bair Sheila Colleen Bair (born April 3, 1954) is an American former government official who was the 19th Chair of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) from 2006 to 2011, during which time she shortly after taking charge of the FDIC i ...

, former chairwoman,

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is a State-owned enterprises of the United States, United States government corporation supplying deposit insurance to depositors in American commercial banks and savings banks. The FDIC was cr ...

Gerry Bamman Gerald G. Bamman (born September 18, 1941) is an American actor and playwright. He is best known for playing Uncle Frank in the films '' Home Alone'' (1990) and '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'' (1992), and has also guest starred in several tel ...

, actor * Benny Bartlett, actor *

Elizabeth Broun Elizabeth "Betsy" Broun (born December 15, 1946, in Kansas City) is an American art historian and curator. Broun served as the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum from 1989 to 2016, and is the longest-serving ...

, art historian * Donald Graham Burt,

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

winning

production designer In film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Work ...

Independence Daily Reporter, February 23, 2009, p. 1 * Jim Halsey, artist manager, agent, and impresario * Sherman Halsey, music video producer and director, talent agent * Scott Hastings, NBA basketball player *

William Wadsworth Hodkinson William Wadsworth Hodkinson (August 16, 1881 – June 2, 1971), known more commonly as W. W. Hodkinson, was born in Independence, Kansas. Known as ''The Man Who Invented Hollywood'', he opened one of the first movie theaters in Ogden, Utah in ...

, founded

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and ventured into commercial aviation * Lyman U. Humphrey, newspaper editor, banker, 7th Governor of Kansas * William Inge,

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning playwright,

-winning screenwriter *

Bill Kurtis Bill Kurtis (born William Horton Kuretich; September 21, 1940) is a retired American television journalist, television producer, narrator, and news anchor. Kurtis was studying to become a lawyer in the 1960s, when he was asked to fill in on a ...

, television journalist *

Alf Landon Alfred Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887October 12, 1987) was an American oilman and politician who served as the 26th governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 1936 presidential ...

, 1936 Republican presidential candidate, 26th Governor of Kansas * Mary Howard de Liagre, actress * Dave McGinnis, NFL coach * John Morris, composer * Gareth Porter, historian, author and international journalist *

Derek Schmidt Derek Larkin Schmidt (born January 23, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district since 2025. He previously served as the Kansas Attorney General from 2011 to 2023. A Repu ...

, former congressional aide, Kansas Senate Majority Leader and since 2011, Attorney General of Kansas, U.S. Congressman * Jean Schodorf, former Kansas Senate Majority Leader and congressional candidate * Harry F. Sinclair, founder of

* Charlie Tidwell, sprinter/hurdler active between 1958–60 *

Vivian Vance Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress best known for playing landlady Ethel Mertz on the sitcom ''I Love Lucy'' (1951–1957), for which she won the 1953 Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

, actress * Ron Warner, NFL football player

References

External links

*
Independence - Directory of Public Officials

Independence Chamber of Commerce

Independence city map
KDOT {{Authority control 1869 establishments in Kansas Cities in Kansas Cities in Montgomery County, Kansas County seats in Kansas Populated places established in 1869