Reno County (standard abbreviation: RN) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,898. The largest city and county seat is Hutchinson.

History

Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Reno County

Early history

For many millennia, 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 ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of

. 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 The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

. In 1854, the

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1867, Reno County was established, named for General

Jesse L. Reno Jesse Lee Reno (April 20, 1823 – September 14, 1862) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican–American War, in the Utah War, on the western frontier and as a Union General during the American Civil War from West Virg ...

. In 1887, the

Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway (originally ''Railroad'') was formed in 1885 with Marcus Low, a former attorney for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, as its president. The CRI&P advanced the CK&N about twenty-five million do ...

extended its main line from

Herington Herington is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jon Herington (born 1954), American musician *Leigh Herington, American politician * Marieve Herington, Canadian actress and singer Fictional characters: *Tjokkie Herington, chara ...

to Pratt. This main line connected Herington, Ramona,

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

, Durham, Waldeck,

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

, Galva, McPherson, Groveland, Inman, Medora, Hutchinson, Whiteside, Partridge, Arlington, Langdon, Turon,

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, Natrona, Pratt. In 1888, this main line was extended to Liberal. Later, this line was extended to Tucumcari, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. This line is called the "Golden State Limited".

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. It is the third-largest county by area in Kansas.

Adjacent counties

* Rice County (north) * McPherson County (northeast) * Harvey County (east) * Sedgwick County (southeast) *

Kingman County Kingman County (standard abbreviation: KM) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county population was 7,470. The largest city and county seat is Kingman, Kansas, Kingman. History ...

(south) *

Pratt County Pratt County (standard abbreviation: PR) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Pratt. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 9,157. The county was named for Caleb Pratt, a primary p ...

(southwest) * Stafford County (west)

National protected area

* Quivira National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

The Hutchinson Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Reno County. As of the census of 2000, there were 64,790 people, 25,498 households, and 17,313 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 27,625 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.56% White, 2.88% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.69% from other races, and 1.81% from two or more races. 5.65% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 25,498 households, out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.90% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.94. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.50% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,510, and the median income for a family was $42,643. Males had a median income of $31,495 versus $21,329 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,520. About 8.10% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.90% of those under age 18 and 8.50% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Reno County is strongly Republican. The last time a Democratic candidate won the county was in 1976 when Jimmy Carter did so. However, 1988 was somewhat close as Michael Dukakis lost the county by only 5 percentage points due to a persistent drought and farm crisis.

Presidential elections

Laws

Reno County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement. The food sales requirement was removed with voter approval in 2004.

Education

Colleges

* Hutchinson Community College

Unified school districts

Hutchinson USD 308 Hutchinson USD 308 is a public unified school district headquartered in Hutchinson, Kansas, United States. The district includes most of the city of Hutchinson. Schools The school district operates the following schools: * Hutchinson High Sch ...

* Nickerson-South Hutchinson USD 309 * Fairfield USD 310 *

Pretty Prairie USD 311 Pretty Prairie USD 311 is a public unified school district headquartered in Pretty Prairie, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Pretty Prairie, Castleton, and nearby rural areas. Schools The school district operate ...

* Haven USD 312 *

Buhler USD 313 Buhler USD 313 is a public unified school district headquartered in Buhler, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Buhler, northeast Hutchinson, Medora, and nearby rural areas. Schools The school district operates th ...

Private schools

There are three private schools in Hutchinson: * Central Christian School (K-12) * Trinity Catholic High School (7-12) * Holy Cross Catholic school (PreK-6)

Communities

Cities

* Abbyville * Arlington * Buhler *

Haven Haven or The Haven may refer to: * Harbor or haven, a sheltered body of water where ships can be docked Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Haven (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter), from the novel series * Haven (comics), from the ''X-Men ...

* Hutchinson * Langdon *

Nickerson Nickerson may refer to: People *Nickerson (surname) Fictional characters *Coach Burt Nickerson, a character in the movie '' All the Right Moves'' played by Craig T. Nelson *Marty Nickerson, the main character, a fictional attorney, in the four bo ...

* Partridge * Plevna * Pretty Prairie * South Hutchinson * Sylvia *

The Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

* Turon * Willowbrook

Unincorporated communities

† means a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau. * Castleton * Darlow * Huntsville * Lerado * Medora * St. Joe * Yaggy * Yoder†

Ghost towns

* Kent

Townships

Reno County is divided into thirty-one townships. The cities of Hutchinson and

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.

References

;Notes