McPherson 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 largest city is McPherson. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 30,223. The county was named for James McPherson, a general in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

History

Early history

For many

millennia A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, 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 p ...

, 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 ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

were inhabited by

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

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

. 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 ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau. 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 acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

. In 1848, after the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

with

brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwestern Kansas. 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

became the 34th

19th century

From the 1820s to 1870s, the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...

passed through, what is now McPherson County. The trail entered the county, east of Canton, then south of Galva, then north of Inman, and west towards Lyons. In 1855, Charles O. Fuller established a ranch adjacent to the Running Turkey Creek Crossing about two miles south and one mile east of Galva. Fuller's Ranch provided accommodations for travelers on the Santa Fe Trail and was probably the first white settlement in McPherson County. From 1860 to 1865, McPherson County was part of Peketon County. On February 17, 1865, Peketon County was abolished, and McPherson County was made a part of Marion County, which extended from the west line of Chase County to the present western boundary of Kansas. In 1868, Solomon Stephens and L. N. Holmberg were appointed Justices of the Peace—the first officers in what is now McPherson County. The next year (1869) occurred the first election for the township, now the county of McPherson. McPherson was regularly organized as a county in the spring of 1870, a mass meeting being held at Sweadal. Sweadal, the county seat thus selected, was located about one mile and a half southwest of the present site of Lindsborg. In September, however, the County Commissioners resolved to meet at the latter place, McPherson which had already been located some two years. In April 1873, a petition was filed for the county seat re-location. It was signed by 483 voters, and a special election was accordingly ordered for June 10. Upon that day, McPherson received 605 votes, New Gottland 325, King City 3 and Lindsborg 1; McPherson's majority over all, 276. In May the McPherson Town Company had offered, as an inducement for the location of the county seat at this point, the free use of rooms for ten years, and the donation of two squares of land on the town site. The offer was accepted the next month, the County Commissioners selecting blocks 56 and 65. Thus the county seat was established at McPherson and has remained since. As early as 1875, city leaders of Marion held a meeting to consider a branch railroad from

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. In 1878,

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

and parties from Marion County and McPherson County chartered the Marion and McPherson Railway Company.''Marion County Kansas: Past and Present''; Sondra Van Meter; MB Publishing House; LCCN 72-92041; 344 pages; 1972. In 1879, a branch line was built from Florence to McPherson; in 1880 it was extended to

Lyons Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and in 1881 was extended to Ellinwood. The line was leased and operated by the

. The line from Florence to Marion was abandoned in 1968.Railway Abandonment 1968
/ref> In 1992, the line from Marion to McPherson was sold to Central Kansas Railway. In 1993, after heavy flood damage, the line from Marion to McPherson was abandoned. The original branch line connected Florence, Marion,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Hillsboro, Lehigh, Canton, Galva, McPherson,

Conway Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * Conway County, Arkansas * Lake Conway, Arkansas * Conway, Florida * Conway, Iowa * Conway, Kansas * Conway, Louisiana * Conway, Massachusetts * Conway, Michigan * Conway Townshi ...

, Windom, Little River, Mitchell, Lyons and Chase, then connected with the original AT&SF main line at Ellinwood. In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway extended its main line from Herington to Pratt. This main line connected Herington, Ramona,

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, Durham, Waldeck, Canton, Galva, McPherson, Groveland, Inman, Medora, Hutchinson, Whiteside,

Partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They ar ...

, Arlington, Langdon, Turon, Preston, Natrona and Pratt. In 1888, this main line was extended to Liberal. Later, this line was extended to Tucumcari, New Mexico and Santa Rosa, New Mexico, where it made a connection with the Southern Pacific from

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

. The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway was absorbed by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway. This line is also called the "Golden State Route".

20th century

The National Old Trails Road, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, was established in 1912, and was routed through Windom,

and McPherson.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Saline County (north) * Dickinson County (northeast) * Marion County (east) * Harvey County (southeast) * Reno County (southwest) * Rice County (west) * Ellsworth County (northwest)

Major highways

* Interstate 135 * U.S. Route 56 * U.S. Route 81 * K-4 * K-61 * K-153

Demographics

The McPherson Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of McPherson County.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 29,554 people, 11,205 households, and 7,966 families residing 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 11,830 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.53%

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 ...

, 0.81%

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 ...

, 0.34% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.79% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. 1.94% of the population were

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. 37.1% were of German, 12.9% Swedish, 12.1% American, 6.7% English and 6.3% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 11,205 households, out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.50% 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, 6.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.90% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.40% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $41,138, and the median income for a family was $48,243. Males had a median income of $33,530 versus $21,175 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 $18,921. About 4.20% of families and 6.60% 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 5.20% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

McPherson County has been predominantly carried by Republican candidates, particularly from

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

. The last time a Democratic candidate carried this county was in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

(

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

Laws

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1996, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.

Education

Colleges

McPherson College McPherson College is a private college associated with the Church of the Brethren and located in McPherson, Kansas, United States. It was chartered in 1887 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History During their 1887 annual m ...

in McPherson * Bethany College in Lindsborg * Central Christian College in McPherson

Unified school districts

* Smoky Valley USD 400 * McPherson USD 418 * Canton-Galva USD 419 * Moundridge USD 423 * Inman USD 448 ;School district office in neighboring county * Goessel USD 411 * Little River-Windom USD 444

Museums

* Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery in Lindsborg * McCormick-Deering Days Museum in Inman * McPherson Museum in McPherson * Lindsborg Old Mill & Swedish Heritage Museum in Lindsborg * Kansas Motorcycle Museum in Marquette

Communities

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

Cities

* Canton * Galva * Inman * Lindsborg * Marquette * McPherson (county seat) * Moundridge * Windom

Unincorporated communities

† 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 ...

. *

* Elyria† * Groveland * Johnstown * New Gottland * Roxbury†

Ghost towns

* Alta Mills * Battle Hill *

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

* Doles Park * Elivon * Fremount * King City * Sweadal

Townships

McPherson County is divided into twenty-five townships. The cities of Lindsborg and McPherson are considered ''governmentally independent'' and are 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

External links

;County *
McPherson County - Directory of Public Officials
;Historical * , from ''Hatteberg's People'' on

KAKE KAKE (channel 10) is a television station in Wichita, Kansas, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on West Street in northwestern Wichita, and its transmitter is located i ...

TV news ;Maps * McPherson County Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Highway Maps
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KDOT * Kansas Railroad Maps
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KDOT and Kansas Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcpherson County, Kansas Kansas counties 1867 establishments in Kansas Populated places established in 1867