Franklin 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 eastern portion of the U.S. state of

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

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 25,996. The county was named for

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

, a founding father of the United States. Formerly it was considered part of the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, but was removed in 2013.

History

Early history

For many millennia, the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

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

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, France secretly ceded

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, 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 Kingdom of Great Br ...

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 () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

for 2.83 cents per acre. The area was included in a treaty ceding land to the Osage Nation in 1808, and ceded back to the federal government in 1825. After 1825 and prior to 1867, treaties with various Indian nations set off parts of what was later to become Franklin County for the use of Indian tribes removed from their ancestral lands. These tribes included:

, Chippewa, Sac and Fox, Peoria, and Potawatomi. 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 under the provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In 1855, Franklin County was established as one of the 33 original

counties created by the first Territorial Legislature of 1855. The county was named after

. In 1861,

became the 34th U.S. state.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water.

Major highways

* Interstate 35 *

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

* U.S. Route 59 * K-33 * K-68

Adjacent counties

* Douglas County (north) * Johnson County (northeast) * Miami County (east) * Linn County (southeast) * Anderson County (south) * Coffey County (southwest) * Osage County (west)

Demographics

Franklin County comprises the Ottawa, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Kansas City- Overland Park- Kansas City, MO-KS Combined Statistical Area. As of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 24,784 people, 9,452 households, and 6,720 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 10,229 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.05%

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 ...

, 1.21%

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 ...

or African American, 0.94% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.78% from other races, and 1.71% 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 2.62% of the population. There were 9,452 households, out of which 34.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were non-families. 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.04. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.50% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,052, and the median income for a family was $45,197. Males had a median income of $31,223 versus $22,992 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,311. About 5.60% of families and 7.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Franklin County is often carried by Republican Candidates. The last time a Democratic candidate has carried Franklin County was in 1964 by Lyndon B. Johnson.

Laws

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1994, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement. The county voted "No" on the 2022 Kansas abortion referendum, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 56% to 44% despite backing

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

with 68% of the vote to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's 30% in the 2020 presidential election.

Education

Unified school districts

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * West Franklin USD 287 * Central Heights USD 288 * Wellsville USD 289 * Ottawa USD 290 * Baldwin City USD 348 * Garnett USD 365 * Marais des Cygnes Valley USD 456 * Santa Fe Trail USD 434 * Paola USD 368 * Lebo-Waverly USD 243

Colleges and universities

* Ottawa University, Ottawa * Neosho County Community College (branch campus), Ottawa

Communities

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Franklin County.

Cities

* Lane *

(county seat) * Pomona * Princeton * Rantoul * Richmond * Wellsville * Williamsburg

Unincorporated places

† 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 ...

. * Centropolis† * Homewood * Imes * LeLoup * Peoria * Ransomville * Richter

Ghost towns

* Minneola * Norwood * Ohio City * Pleasant Hill * Shermansville * Silkville

Townships

Franklin County is divided into sixteen townships. The city of

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.

Notable people

* Foster Dwight Coburn, Secretary of Agriculture, Kansas * Steve Grogan, NFL

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

, who grew up in Ottawa. * Chely Wright, Singer * James Still (playwright), writer, who grew up in Pomona * Gary Hart, Democratic US Senator

References

;Notes