Finney County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 so ...

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 ...

. Its

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 ...

and most populous city is Garden City. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 38,470. The county was named for David Finney, the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 1881 to 1885. In 2020, 51.4 percent of the population in the county was Hispanic, one of a few counties in Kansas with a Hispanic majority population.

History

Finney County was established in 1867 and named after Lt. Gov. John W. Finney. The first white settlers arrived in 1878, settling along the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

and its tributaries. Finney County began ''circa'' 1880 as Buffalo County and Sequoyah County, named after

Sequoyah Sequoyah ( ; , , or , , ; 1770 – August 1843), also known as George Gist or George Guess, was a Native American polymath and Constructed script, neographer of the Cherokee Nation. In 1821, Sequoyah completed his Cherokee syllabary, enabl ...

, the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

Indian responsible for the development of the Cherokee alphabet. The two counties were merged and renamed Finney County, in honor of then

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

David Wesley Finney. The county grew to the current shape after Garfield County was annexed to it in 1893. The northeastern block, separate from the otherwise rectangular area, represents what at one time was Garfield County, which is now occupied partially by the Garfield Township. The town of Garden City was founded in 1879 by the cattle firm of Jones and Plummer, who established it as a shipping point for Texas cattle being driven along the Jones & Plummer Trail to Dodge City. Garden City grew rapidly as a railroad hub when the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroads arrived in 1888. As described in Blackmar's Cyclopedia, Garden City "was a typical frontier town, with its gambling houses, dance halls and other adjuncts of border civilization" in its early years, but it quickly transformed into an agricultural center for southwestern Kansas. Other early settlements such as Holcomb, Kalvesta, and Pierceville sprang up in the 1880s as Finney County became a prosperous region for wheat farming and cattle ranching. The county population boomed from just 537 in 1880 to over 5,000 by 1890 as homesteaders poured in. In 1893, the former Garfield County was annexed into Finney County and organized as Garfield Township. Garfield County had originally been established in 1887 from parts of Finney County and other surrounding counties, but it struggled to maintain a viable tax base and population. By 1910, Finney County had a population exceeding 10,000 as agriculture firmly took root in the region after its pioneering days on the frontier. Between 2007 and 2008 Finney County became majority-minority.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.05%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Kansas by area.

Adjacent counties

* Scott County (north) * Lane County (north) * Ness County (northeast) * Hodgeman County (east) * Haskell County (south) * Gray County (south) *

Grant County Grant County may refer to: Places ;Australia * County of Grant, Victoria ;United States * Grant County, Arkansas * Grant County, Indiana * Grant County, Kansas *Grant County, Kentucky Grant County is a county located in the northern pa ...

(southwest) * Kearny County (west)

Demographics

Finney County is included in the Garden City, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census there were 36,776 people, 12,359 households and 8,903 families living in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 77.0%

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 ...

, 2.3%

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 Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.9% Native American, 3.4% Asian, 0.0%

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 ...

, 13.6% from other races, and 2.9% 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 were 46.7% of the population.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 40,523 people, 12,948 households, and 9,749 families living in the county. 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 13,763 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 69.05%

, 1.25%

, 0.96% Native American, 2.87% Asian, 0.08%

, 22.99% from other races, and 2.80% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 43.30% of the population. There were 12,948

household A household consists of one 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 im ...

s, out of which 46.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.80% 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, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.70% were non-families. 19.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.55. In the county, the population was spread out, with 34.30% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 16.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 104.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $38,474, and the median income for a family was $42,839. Males had a median income of $29,948 versus $21,510 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 county was $15,377. About 10.00% of families and 14.20% 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 18.60% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential election results

Finney County has primarily supported Republican presidential candidates throughout its history. In only six elections from 1884 to the present has the county not backed the Republican candidate, the last of these being in 1976 when

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

won the county by only 102 votes.

Laws

Finney 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% food sales requirement.

Education

Unified school districts

* Holcomb USD 363 * Garden City USD 457

Communities

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Finney County.
† means a community is designated a

Census-Designated Place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) by 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 ...

Cities

* Garden City (county seat) * Holcomb

Unincorporated communities

Friend Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Although there are many forms of f ...

* Gano * Kalvesta * Lowe *

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

* Peterson * Pierceville† * Plymell * Quinby * Ritchal * Rodkey *

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

Ghost towns

Eminence Eminence may refer to: Places in the United States * Eminence, Arkansas, List of places in Arkansas: E, a place in Arkansas * Eminence, Indiana * Eminence, Kansas * Eminence, Kentucky * Eminence, Mississippi, in Covington County, Mississippi * Em ...

* Ravanna

Townships

Finney County is divided into seven townships. The city of Garden City is considered ''governmentally independent'' and is 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