Trego County (standard abbreviation: TR) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,808. Its county seat and largest city is

WaKeeney WaKeeney is a city in and the county seat of Trego County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,799. History James Keeney, a land speculator in Chicago, purchased land at the site of modern-day WaKeene ...

History

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 1879, Trego County was established.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Graham County (north) *

Rooks County Rooks County (standard abbreviation: RO) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 4,919. The county seat is Stockton, and the largest city is Plainville. The county was named for Privat ...

(northeast) * Ellis County (east) * Ness County (south) *

Gove County Gove County (county code GO) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,718. Its county seat is Gove City, and its most populous city is Quinter. History Early history Eighty (80) million ...

(west)

Major highways

* Interstate 70 *

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...

U.S. Route 283 U.S. Route 283 is a spur of U.S. Route 83. It currently runs for 731 miles (1,175 km) from Brady, Texas at U.S. Route 87 to Lexington, Nebraska at U.S. Route 30. It passes through the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Route ...

K-147 K147 or K-147 may refer to: *K-147 (Kansas highway) K-147 is an approximately north–south state highway in west-central Kansas. It runs from K-4 (Kansas highway), K-4 east of Brownell, Kansas, Brownell to Ogallah, Kansas, Ogallah, just n ...

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,319 people, 1,412 households, and 936 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 1,723 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.77% White, 0.18% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.48%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. 0.78% of the population were Hispanic or

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. There were 1,412 households, out of which 27.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% 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, 6.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.70% were non-families. 31.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.70% 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 2.86. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.90% under the age of 18, 5.50% from 18 to 24, 23.50% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 24.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 91.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,677, and the median income for a family was $40,524. Males had a median income of $26,545 versus $16,927 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,239. About 11.20% of families and 12.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.10% of those under age 18 and 12.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Trego County is often carried by Republican candidates. The last time a Democratic candidate has carried this county was in 1964. The county has generally voted for Republican candidates by a larger margin by each passing election.

Laws

Trego 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.

Education

Unified school districts

WaKeeney USD 208

Communities

Cities

* Collyer *

Unincorporated communities

† means a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau. * Ogallah† *

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

* Voda

Ghost towns

* Banner * Bosna *

Cyrus Cyrus (Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus t ...

* Wilcox

Townships

Trego County is divided into seven 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. Former towns and settlements in the county include Wilcox.

Gallery

File:Trego County fairgrounds exhibit bldg from SW 1.JPG, Trego County Fairgrounds Exhibit Building in

File:Cedarbluffoverlook.jpg, Smoky Hill River valley east of

Cedar Bluff Reservoir Cedar Bluff Reservoir is a reservoir in Trego County, Kansas, United States. Built and managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for irrigation and area water supply, it is also used for flood control and recreation. Cedar Bluff State Park is l ...

dam. File:Cedarbluffoverlook2.jpg, Fort Hays escarpment southeast of

dam.

References

;Notes

External links

;County *
Trego County - Directory of Public Officials
;Maps * Trego County Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Highway Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Railroad Maps
Current19961915
KDOT and Kansas Historical Society {{coord, 38, 55, N, 99, 53, W, type:adm2nd_region:US-KS, display=title Kansas counties 1879 establishments in Kansas Populated places established in 1879