Shawnee County (county code SN) is located in northeast

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

, in the

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 178,909, making it the third-most populous county in Kansas. Its most populous city,

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Uni ...

, is the state

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

and

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 ...

. The county was one of the original 33 counties created by the first territorial legislature in 1855, and it was named for the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

tribe of Native Americans.

History

Early history

For many

millennia A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

, 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, a ...

of North America was inhabited by

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

, France secretly ceded

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

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 The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or ap ...

for 2.83 cents per

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

. 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 Union as the free state of Kansas. ...

was organized, then in 1861

became the 34th

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 ...

. In 1855, Shawnee County was established. Before the treaty of 1854, the Shawnee, Kansas, and Pottowatomie Indian tribes inhabited the area now known as Shawnee County. Westward expansion brought the country its first white settler in 1830 when Frederick Choteau opened a trading post on American Chief (now

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

) Creek. In 1855, Shawnee became one of the first counties established by the Kansas territorial legislature with a population of 250. General H. J. Strickler, of Tecumseh, a member of the council in 1855, and the joint committee on Counties, claimed Shawnee for the name of his county. At that time, Shawnee County borders were entirely south of the Kansas River and extended south to include Osage City and Carbondale. The legislature later desired to make Topeka the county seat and moved the borders of the county to their present locations to make Topeka centrally located in the county. 1855 also saw the first ever meeting of the Shawnee County Board of Commissioners. Tecumseh was the first county seat, and the first county courthouse was opened there in 1856. The building was 40x50 feet but was never finished. Topeka was made the county seat by popular vote in 1858, and a new courthouse was built at 4th Street and Kansas Avenue in 1867. In 1896, a new larger courthouse was constructed at 5th and Van Buren, with more than 50,000 residents then living in the county. That building remained in use until the current courthouse at 7th and Quincy opened in 1965.

Local etymologies

Concerning the origin of the names in this county, it is generally understood Shawnee County receives its name from that well known tribe of Indians.''History of the State of Kansas'' - Shawnee County; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883.
/ref> ;Topeka: A good place to grow potatoes (Prairie potatoes). ;Wakarusa: River of big weeds. ;Shunganunga: The race course. ;Menoken: A fine growth. ;Half-Day Creek: Named after a Pottawatomie chief. ;Mission Creek: Named after an old Kaw mission on its banks. ;Blacksmith Creek: Named after a Kaw blacksmith shop. ;Soldier Creek: Its banks were a favorite camping ground for soldiers passing from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Riley.

Geography

Shawnee County is in the northeastern part of

, in the third tier of counties west of the Missouri River and about fifty-four miles south of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. According to the

United States 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 th ...

, the county has an area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water. It is bordered by Jackson County on the north, Jefferson County on the north and east, Douglas County on the east, Osage County on the south, Wabaunsee County on the west, and Pottawatomie County on the west. Its extent in either direction is not more than twenty-four miles. The second standard parallel south passes through the county's northern half. When the county was formed in 1855, it was bounded by the

Kansas River The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dr ...

on the north, and the southern boundary was further south. On February 23, 1860, the legislature changed the boundaries with the southern portion being granted to Osage County, and the northern boundary was moved a few miles north of the river (to the second standard parallel). The present northern line (six miles north of the second standard parallel) was established in 1868.Bird & Wallace 1976, pp. 347–348. The

runs east across the county, just north of the center, being bordered on its north bank by the townships of Rossville, Silver Lake, Menoken, and Soldier, and on its south bank by the townships of Dover, Mission, and Tecumseh. The city of Topeka primarily lies to the south of the river. There is little or no current major river traffic, but it is used extensively for irrigation in the county. Major creeks emptying into the Kansas River include Cross, Soldier, Mission, Indian, and Shunganunga Creeks. The

Wakarusa River The Wakarusa River is a tributary of the Kansas River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 30, 2011 in eastern Kansas in the United States. It drains ...

, which, flowing east and northeast, empties into the Kansas River in the northeastern part of Douglas County. It has its sources in the township of Auburn, and waters the southern sections of Auburn, Williamsport and Monmouth—the tributary creeks flowing into it on either side forming the drainage and water system of the three townships. The soil is a rich dark loam, varying from fifteen feet in some parts of the bottoms, to a uniform surface covering the upland prairie from one to three feet. The underlying formation is limestone. Beds of clay, are well distributed. Coal is found in detached and non-continuous beds, and is mined in a small way for local purposes in Topeka, Soldier and Menoken. Along the western border the landscape is hilly with the

Flint Hills The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a region in eastern Kansas and north-central Oklahoma named for the abundant residual flint eroded from the bedrock that lies near or at the surface. It consists of ...

a few miles further west in Wabaunsee County. Burnett's Mound is in the southwest part of Topeka. The highest point in Shawnee county is in Auburn (38° 53' 5'' N, 95° 56' 35'' W). Government and county surveys described the land as "bottom land, 31%; upland, 69%; forest 8%; prairie, 92%." Wooded areas are mainly found along rivers and creeks with no true forests. The growth consists of elm, cottonwood, black walnut, oak, sycamore, box elder, hickory and ash.

Adjacent counties

* Jackson County - north * Jefferson County - northeast * Douglas County - southeast * Osage County - south * Wabaunsee County - west * Pottawatomie County - northwest

Township divisions

The county consists of twelve

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 ...

: Soldier, Menoken, Silver Lake, Grove, and Rossville north of the

; Tecumseh, Topeka, Mission, and Dover south of the river; and Monmouth, Williamsport, and Auburn in the southernmost tier of townships occupying the

valley. Being a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

of the first class, the city of Topeka is independent of any townships and excluded from the census figures for the townships. It occupies over ten percent of the county's land area and ranks fourth in population among all cities in Kansas. Altogether, the county has five incorporated cities with the other four being cities of the third class: Auburn, Rossville, Silver Lake, and Willard. Tecumseh Township was one of the two original townships formed in 1855, and it originally extended over all the county south of the Kansas River to the Wakarusa River.Bird & Wallace 1976, p. 352. The other, Yocum Township, named after county commissioner William Yocum, contained the area south of the Wakarusa River. The formation of the townships of Topeka (1857) and Monmouth (1860) reduced Tecumseh Township to its current greatest extent of about from north to south from the Kansas River and less than from east to west from the county's eastern border. Small portions in the western part have been annexed by the city of Topeka, and its present area is . It contains the (unincorporated) towns of

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

, Spencer, and

Watson Watson may refer to: Companies * Actavis, a pharmaceutical company formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals * A.S. Watson Group, retail division of Hutchison Whampoa * Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM research center * Watson Systems, make ...

. The town and township were named for the famous Shawnee chief.Bird & Wallace 1976, p. 351. Topeka Township was carved out of the western portion of Tecumseh Township in 1857.Bird & Wallace 1976, p. 353. Following the creation of newer townships and annexations by the city of Topeka, the size of the township has been significantly reduced. Today, it occupies , and it is in extent about from north to south and from east to west. It contains the town of Pauline. Monmouth Township, in the county's southeastern corner, has an area of . In extent it is north to south and east to west. It contains the town of Berryton. Richland, which was in the township's far southeast corner, was purchased by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1960s as a part of the land acquired for Clinton Lake. By 1974, the town was vacated and the remaining buildings were demolished shortly afterward. Williamsport Township, established in 1860, was named after Williamsport,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

.Bird & Wallace 1976, p. 358. With an area of , it is in extent from north to south to the county's southern border and from east to west between Monmouth and Auburn townships. It contains the towns of Wakarusa and Cullen Village and the greater portion of

Forbes Field (airport) Topeka Regional Airport , formerly known as Forbes Field, is a joint civil-military public airport owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority in Shawnee County, Kansas, seven miles south of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas. Th ...

. Auburn Township, in area, occupies the county's southwestern corner. In extent it is from north to south and from east to west, and it contains the city of Auburn. Dover Township was carved from northern portions of Auburn Township in 1867 and named after

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

.Bird & Wallace 1976, pp. 329–330. In extent it is from north to south from the Kansas River and from east to west to the county's western border, with an area of . It includes the city of Willard and the towns of

and

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

. Mission Township was formed from parts of Dover and Topeka townships in 1871. The City of Topeka has since annexed northeastern portions of the township. It now occupies , and its greatest extent is not more than from north to south and from east to west. It contains several subdivisions and the Sherwood Lake area. Soldier Township was organized following the change in the county's borders in 1860, and it contained all of the county north of the Kansas River until the formation of Silver Lake Township in 1868.Bird & Wallace 1976, p. 350. A southern portion of the township has been annexed by the city of Topeka. With an area of , it is in extent less than from north to south from the county's northern border and less than from east to west from the county's eastern border. It contains the town of Elmont. Silver Lake Township was carved out of the western portion of Soldier Township after the county's northern border was moved in 1868. The formation of the surrounding townships of Rossville (1871) to the west, Menoken (1879) to the east, and Grove (1918) to the north has reduced the size of the township. With an area of , its greatest extent is about from north to south to the Kansas River and from east to west. It contains the city of Silver Lake, and it is named after a

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

-shaped lake near the city.Bird & Wallace 1976, p. 348. Rossville Township, occupying the county's northwestern corner, was carved out of the western part of Silver Lake Township in 1871.Bird & Wallace 1976, p. 347. It has an area of , and its greatest extent is about from north to south to the Kansas River and from east to west. It includes the city of Rossville. The township and city were named for William W. Ross, the brother of Senator

Edmund G. Ross Edmund Gibson Ross (December 7, 1826May 8, 1907) was a politician who represented Kansas after the American Civil War and was later governor of the New Mexico Territory. His vote against convicting President Andrew Johnson of "high crimes and mi ...

.Bird & Wallace 1976, p. 346. Menoken Township, in area, was carved out of the eastern portions of Silver Lake Township in 1879.Bird & Wallace 1976, p. 339. Extending from the county's northern border to the Kansas River, it is not more than in extent from north to south and less than from east to west. The township's name is derived from a Native American word meaning "fine growth" or "a place for fine growing". Grove Township is the youngest of the townships. It was carved out of the northern portion of Silver Lake Township in 1918.Bird & Wallace 1976, p. 333. Very little remains of its only town, Grove. With an area of , the township is in extent from north to south from the county's northern border and from east to west between Menoken and Rossville townships.

Demographics

Shawnee County is included in the Topeka

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

, which had an estimated population of 232,670 in 2021. As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 169,871 people, 68,920 households, and 44,660 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 309 people per square mile (119/km²). There were 73,768 housing units at an average density of 134 per square mile (52/km²). The county's racial makeup was 82.89%

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 ...

, 9.03%

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 ha ...

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 ...

, 1.17% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3.20% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.72% from two or more races. 7.26% of the population were

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 for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 68,920

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, of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.60% 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 ...

living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.20% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% 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 2.98. 25.30% of the county's residents were under the age of 18, 8.80% were from 18 to 24, 28.40% were from 25 to 44, 23.70% were from 45 to 64, and 13.70% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.00 males. The county's

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways ...

was $40,988, and the median family income was $51,464. Males had a median income of $35,586 versus $26,491 for females. The county's

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 ...

was $20,904. About 6.30% of families and 9.60% 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 12.30% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Points of interest

* Kansas State Capitol in downtown

: constructed from 1866 to 1903, this building houses the

Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators ...

. * Kansas Children's Discovery Center in Gage Park *

Topeka Zoo The Topeka Zoo (formally the Topeka Zoological Park) is a medium-sized zoo in Topeka, Kansas in the United States. It is located within Gage Park, just off I-70 in the north central portion of the city. Despite its size, it houses over 250 a ...

in Topeka: located at Gage Park, this zoo is well known for its flock of eagles. * Truckhenge at the Lessman Farm, east of Topeka's Billard Airport, is part of a grassroots art park. * Lake Shawnee in southeast Topeka offers playgrounds, a swimming beach, trails, an 18-hole golf course and campgrounds among other amenities.

Government

State

At the state level, Shawnee County has frequently voted for Democratic candidates. In fact, the county has gone Democratic in eight of the last eleven gubernatorial races since 1974.

Presidential elections

Since 1992, Shawnee County has become competitive in presidential elections with a slight

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

tilt.

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

remained the last Democratic candidate to win Shawnee County until Joe Biden won the county in 2020. From

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his t ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

to 2016, Republicans carried the county with a plurality, with the sole exception being George W. Bush in his 2004 reelection bid. In 2008, Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

won Shawnee County over Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

by a margin of 49.05% to 48.77%, a margin of 241 votes. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

won the county against

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

with a margin of 48% to 45.17%, a 2.83% margin, or 2,079 votes. This changed in 2020, as Biden won Shawnee by a 2.3% margin, the first Democratic victory in the capital county in 28 years. He won a very narrow majority of the vote, becoming the first Democrat since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 to win a majority of the votes.

Laws

Shawnee 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. The food sales requirement was removed with voter approval in 1994. The county voted "No" on the

2022 Kansas Value Them Both Amendment The 2022 Kansas abortion referendum was a rejected legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Kansas Constitution that appeared on the ballot on August 2, 2022, alongside primary elections for statewide offices, with early voting fro ...

, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 66% to 34%, outpacing its narrow support of Joe Biden during the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: ** ...

Education

Colleges and universities

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,10 ...

Bethel Bible College Bethel Bible College or Bethel Gospel School was a Bible college founded in 1900 by Charles Parham in Topeka, Kansas, United States. The school is credited with starting the Pentecostal movement due to a series of fasting days that ended in what w ...

(closed) *

College of the Sisters of Bethany The College of the Sisters of Bethany is a defunct school located in Topeka, Kansas, United States. The school was chartered by the Kansas Territory on February 2, 1861 (although Kansas was officially admitted to the Union four days earlier) an ...

(closed)

Vocational/technical schools

Washburn Institute of Technology The Washburn Institute of Technology (WU Tech) is a public institute of technology in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It is part of Washburn University and awards associate degrees and certificates in professional and technical disciplines. H ...

formerly Kaw Area Technical School

Unified school districts

Kaw Valley USD 321 Kaw Valley USD 321 is a public unified school district headquartered in St. Marys, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of St. Marys, Delia, Emmett, Rossville, Willard, Saint Clere, and nearby rural areas. Schools ...

- Serving Willard and Rossville. *

Mission Valley USD 330 Mission Valley USD 330 is a public unified school district headquartered in Eskridge, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Eskridge, Harveyville, Dover, Keene, Wilmington, and nearby rural areas. Schools The scho ...

- Serving

* Jefferson West USD 340 * Seaman USD 345 - Serving Elmont and North Topeka. * Silver Lake USD 372 - Serving Silver Lake * Santa Fe Trail USD 434 * Auburn-Washburn USD 437 - Serving Auburn, Wakarusa, Pauline, and Western and Southwestern Topeka. * Shawnee Heights USD 450 - Serving

, Berryton and Eastern and Southeastern Topeka. *

Topeka USD 501 Topeka USD 501, also known as Topeka Public Schools, is a Public school (government funded), public unified school district headquartered in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It is one of four school districts that serve the city of Topeka. Serving ...

- Serving Central Topeka

Public libraries

* Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library

National protected area

Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site ''Brown v. Board of Education'' National Historical Park was established in Topeka, Kansas, on October 26, 1992, by the United States Congress to commemorate the landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case ''Brown v. Board of Educatio ...

Transportation

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

crosses the county, as does the

Kansas Turnpike The Kansas Turnpike is a , freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely within the US state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest–northeast direction from the Oklahoma border to Kansas City. It passes through several major Kansas cities, ...

. U.S. Route 75 crosses the county north to south and

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 ...

and U.S. Route 24 cross the county west to east. K-4 serves part of the county from Dover in the southwest corner through Topeka, across the Kansas River and north into Jefferson County.

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

Air National Guard base and airport is south of Topeka near Pauline. The airport was served by

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America. Allegiant was founded in 1 ...

with biweekly service to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

. Other airports in the county include

Philip Billard Municipal Airport Philip Billard Municipal Airport is a public airport northeast of downtown Topeka, the capital city of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is owned by the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority. Commercial airline service for Tope ...

in the Oakland neighborhood of Topeka.

Communities

Cities

* Auburn * Rossville * Silver Lake *

* Willard‡

Unincorporated communities

†This populated place is designated a

Census-Designated Place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) by the

. * Berryton *

* Elmont *

Kiro Kiro was a colonial post in what is now the Central Equatoria province of South Sudan on the west side of the Bahr al Jebel or White Nile river. It was in part of the Lado enclave. In 1900 there were said to be 1,500 troops from the Congo Free S ...

* Montara * Pauline *

† * Wakarusa† *

Ghost town

* Richland

Townships

Shawnee County is divided into 12 townships. As a city of the first class,

is considered ''governmentally independent'' and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the city included in that township's population total.

References

External links

;County *
Shawnee County - Directory of Public Officials
;Maps * Shawnee County Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Highway Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Railroad Maps
Current19961915
KDOT and Kansas Historical Society {{coord, 39, 03, N, 95, 46, W, type:adm2nd_region:US-KS, display=title Kansas counties Kansas placenames of Native American origin 1855 establishments in Kansas Territory Topeka metropolitan area, Kansas