Grant County (county code GT) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 7,352. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

and only city is Ulysses. Both the county and its seat are named after

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, 18th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

History

In 1873, the part of Kansas west of Range 25 was divided into 25 new counties. The new counties were Decatur, Rawlins, Cheyenne, Sheridan, Thomas, Sherman, Lane, Buffalo, Foote, Meade, Scott, Sequoyah, Arapahoe, Seward, Wichita, Kearny, Greeley, Hamilton, Stanton, Kansas, Stevens, and Grant.Ulysses 1885-1909 From Boom to Bust; compiled by The Historic Adobe Museum Staff of Ulysses, Kansas; 2009. Grant County, Kansas was named after

, the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877), and incumbent president at the time of the county's formation. The initial survey establishing county boundaries was in the summer of 1874. In 1883, Kearny, Sequoyah, Arapahoe, Kansas, Stevens, Meade, Clark and Grant counties disappeared. Hamilton, Ford, Seward, and Hodgeman counties enlarged and Finney County was created. Grant County was split with the western portion becoming a part of Hamilton County and the eastern portion becoming a part of the newly created Finney County. On June 9, 1888, Grant County was again established as a Kansas county, with original county boundaries, with the first officers of the new Grant County being sworn in on June 18, 1888. In October 1888, the county seat election for Grant County resulted in victory for Ulysses, Kansas, election results were:.

Early Day Settlements

* "Old" Ulysses, subsequently moved to New Ulysses in 1909 * Surprise-Tilden * Cincinnati-Appomattox * Shockey (Shockeyville) * Golden * Zionville * Lawson * Waterford * Gognac * Spurgeon

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 (0.06%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 160 * K-25

Kansas Highway 25

Adjacent counties

* Kearny County (north) *

Finney County Finney County (county code FI) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 38,470. Its county seat and most populous city is Garden City. History Finney County began about 1880 as Buffalo ...

(northeast) * Haskell County (east) * Stevens County (south) * Stanton County (west) * Hamilton County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 7,909 people, 2,742 households, and 2,097 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was 14 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 3,027 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile (2/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 77.00%

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 o ...

, 0.86% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.21%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 19.46% from other races, and 2.10% from

two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 34.67% of the population. There were 2,742

household A household consists of two 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 i ...

s, out of which 43.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.40% were married couples living together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.50% were non-families. 21.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.34. In the county, the population was spread out, with 32.80% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 20.20% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 100.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,854, and the median income for a family was $44,914. Males had a median income of $34,464 versus $22,000 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $17,072. About 6.50% of families and 10.10% 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 t ...

, including 13.60% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Grant County is heavily Republican. Lyndon B. Johnson was the last Democrat to win the county, and Jimmy Carter narrowly lost the county in 1976. Michael Dukakis (as of 2016) is the last Democrat to win more than a quarter of the county's vote.

Laws

Grant County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the

Kansas Constitution The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas. Background The Kansas Territory was created in 1854. The largest issue by far in territorial Kansas was whether slavery was to be permitted or prohibited; aside from the m ...

was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.

Education

Unified school districts

Ulysses USD 214

Communities

City

* Ulysses

Unincorporated communities

* Hickok * Ryus * Stano * Sullivans Tracks

Townships

Grant County is divided into three

townships 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, C ...

. 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.