Sedgwick County is 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 ...

is Wichita, the most populous city in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 523,824, making it the second-most populous county in Kansas. The county was named for

John Sedgwick John Sedgwick (September 13, 1813 – May 9, 1864) was an American military officer who served as a Union Army general during the American Civil War. He was wounded three times at the Battle of Antietam while leading his division in an unsucces ...

, the highest ranking Union general killed during the American Civil War.

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 ...

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. 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. 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 southwest 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, and in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state.

19th century

Sedgwick County was founded in 1867, and named after

, who was a major general in the Union Army during 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 ...

. In 1887, the

Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway (CK&N) was formed in 1885 and Marcus Low, a former attorney for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, was its president. The CRI&P advanced the CK&N about twenty-five million dollars to begin cons ...

built a branch line north–south from Herington to Caldwell. This branch line connected Herington, Lost Springs, Lincolnville,

Antelope The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...

, Marion,

Aulne The Aulne (; ) is a long river of Brittany in north-western France, flowing down the hills and emptying into the roadstead of Brest, one of the many fjord-like bays just south of Brest. The river is part of the Canal de Nantes à Brest, the na ...

, Peabody, Elbing,

Whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

, Furley, Kechi, Wichita,

Peck A peck is an imperial and United States customary unit of dry volume, equivalent to 8 dry quarts or 16 dry pints. An imperial peck is equivalent to 9.09218 liters and a US customary peck is equivalent to 8.80976754172 liters. Four pecks ma ...

, Corbin,

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

and Caldwell. By 1893, this branch line was incrementally built to

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. This line is called the "OKT". The

was foreclosed in 1891 and was taken over by Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, which shut down in 1980 and reorganized as

Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad The Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad (OKT) was a railroad operating in its namesake states in the 1980s. OKT I The Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad was originally created on May 29, 1980, after the demise of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pa ...

, merged in 1988 with

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

, and finally merged in 1997 with

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".

20th century

Sedgwick County was the setting for the murders committed by the BTK strangler from 1974 until 1991.

Dennis Rader Dennis Lynn Rader (born March 9, 1945), better known as the BTK Strangler or simply BTK, is an American serial killer and rapist who murdered at least ten people in Wichita, Kansas, Wichita and Park City, Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. Although ...

, an employee of the Sedgwick County city of Park City was arrested in early 2005 after he began sending incriminating letters taunting the police in 2004. He had not been heard from since 1979. Ken Landwehr of the

Wichita Police Department The Wichita Police Department (WPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving Wichita, Kansas. Wichita Police Department’s jurisdiction overlaps with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's office. History The Wichita Police Department was created o ...

led the task force which captured Rader, setting a new standard of serial crime detection in the process, which is still studied by police departments across the world. Rader is serving 10 life sentences at the El Dorado Correctional Facility in

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

Geography

According to 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 ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Harvey County (north) * Butler County (east) * Cowley County (southeast) * Sumner County (south) * Kingman County (west) * Reno County (northwest)

Demographics

Sedgwick County is part of the Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area. 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 452,869 people, 176,444 households, and 117,688 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 191,133 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 79.38%

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 ...

, 9.13%

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 ...

, 1.11% Native American, 3.34% 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 ...

, 4.17% from other races, and 2.81% from two or more races. 8.04% 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. There were 176,444 households, out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.70% 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, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.14. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.20% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 30.30% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,485, and the median income for a family was $51,645. Males had a median income of $37,770 versus $26,153 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 $20,907. About 7.00% of families and 9.50% 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 11.90% of those under age 18 and 7.00% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Sedgwick County is the birthplace of famous restaurants such as White Castle and

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut, LLC is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by brothers Dan and Frank Carney. The chain, headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 19,866 restaurants worldw ...

. It is also the aviation headquarters of well-known

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufactu ...

and

Learjet Learjet was a manufacturer of business jets for civilian and military use based in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Founded in the late 1950s by William Powell Lear as Swiss American Aviation Corporation, it became a subsidiary of Canadian Bomba ...

Government

Elections

Sedgwick County is fairly conservative for an urban county. It has only gone Democratic in a presidential election once since 1944. Democratic strength is concentrated in Wichita, while the suburban areas are strongly Republican. However, the county often backs Democrats for the governorship - most recently

Laura Kelly Laura Jeanne Kelly (born January 24, 1950)"Laura Kelly,"
''Kansapedia,'' Kansas H ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. This makes it a bellwether in local Kansas elections, with the statewide winner almost always winning the county. The last Democratic Senate candidate to win the county was Bill Roy in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, while Kansas as a whole has not been represented by a Democrat in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

since 1938. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Sedgwick County is represented by Republican

Ron Estes Ronald Gene Estes ( ; born July 19, 1956) is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for since April 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Kansas State Treasurer from 2011 to 2017. A fifth-generation Kansan ...

. He won the county with a 20.6% margin in 2024.

Laws

Sedgwick 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 percent food sales requirement. The food sales requirement was removed with voter approval in 1988. Despite its conservative reputation, Sedgwick County voted "No" on the 2022 Kansas abortion referendum, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 58% to 42% 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 54% 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 43% in the 2020 presidential election.

Transportation

Airports

The following public-use airports are located in Sedgwick County: * Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) * Beech Factory Airport (BEC) * Cessna Aircraft Field (CEA) * Colonel James Jabara Airport (AAO) * Cook Airfield (K50) * Maize Airport (70K) * Westport Airport (71K) * Westport Auxiliary Airport (72K) The following are closed airports: * Riverside Airport (K32)

Education

Colleges and universities

Friends University Friends University is a Private university, private Nondenominational Christianity, nondenominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield Uni ...

* Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine * Newman University * University of Kansas School of Medicine * WSU Tech *

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

Unified school districts

School districts include: * Andover USD 385 * Burrton USD 369 * Cheney USD 268 * Circle USD 375 * Clearwater USD 264 * Conway Springs USD 356 * Derby USD 260 * Goddard USD 265 * Halstead–Bentley USD 440 * Haven USD 312 * Haysville USD 261 * Kingman-Norwich USD 331 * Maize USD 266 *

Mulvane USD 263 Mulvane USD 263 is a public unified school district headquartered in Mulvane, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Mulvane, Peck A peck is an imperial and United States customary unit of dry volume, equivale ...

* Remington USD 206 * Renwick USD 267 * Rose Hill USD 394 * Sedgwick USD 439 * Valley Center USD 262 * Wichita USD 259

Libraries

Libraries were a priority for the early settlers of Wichita. In 1873, the Wichita Library Association was granted with the “purpose of establishing and maintaining a public library and reading room and for the diffusion of knowledge and the promotion of intellectual improvement in the city of Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas." Despite a plan set forth, this library and the following attempt at establishing one in 1874 never came to pass. Shortly later, another library association was formed by the same name of Wichita Library Association with a required membership fee of three dollars. Women in the community organized events to raise funds. However, this library struggled as well and stopped functioning in 1885. It wasn’t until the city hall was built that the development of a library began to take shape. “In making their plans for housing the books, the board, then located in the Sedgwick block, petitioned and obtained permission from the city council to occupy rooms on the first floor of the city hall," and so it was this decision that proved successful in paving the way for future libraries in Wichita. It was at this time that philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, was providing funds for libraries in many states to be built. In fact, Andrew Carnegie funded fifty-eight libraries in Kansas. So, it is not surprising that in 1911, the city clerk wrote Andrew Carnegie for donations for a public library, which led to an offer of $75,000 for a building. The Wichita Carnegie Library building opened to the public on May 14, 1915, and under the administration of Mr. Julius Lucht “the library was organized into its present departmental state, with a greatly augmented budget, staff and book collection.". The Wichita Carnegie Library was the main library for the city until 1967." Today, Sedgwick County has eight Wichita Public Libraries
Advanced Learning LibraryFriends Used BookstoreAlford BranchAngelou N.E. BranchEvergreen BranchRockwell BranchWalters Branch
an
Westlink Branch

Points of interest

* Sedgwick County Extension Arboretum * Sedgwick County Zoo * Sedgwick County Fair * Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum * INTRUST Bank Arena

Communities

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

Cities

‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county. * Andale * Bel Aire *

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...

* Cheney * Clearwater * Colwich *

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

* Eastborough * Garden Plain * Goddard * Haysville * Kechi *

Maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

* Mount Hope * Mulvane‡ * Park City * Sedgwick‡ * Valley Center *

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

* Wichita (county seat)

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

. * Anness *

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

(located at "W 13th St N" and "N 263rd St W") * Bayneville *

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

* Furley† *

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

† * McConnell AFB† * Oaklawn-Sunview† *

†‡ *

Schulte Schulte is a German surname, derived from the word ''Schultheiß''. Variants of the surname include Scholte, Schuldt, Schultens and Schultze. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Schulte (1894-1917), German flying ace * Aloysius ...

* St. Marks† (located along "W 29th St N") *

Sunnydale Sunnydale is the fictional setting for the American television drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–2003). The series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California, Californian city, as well as a narr ...

* Trails View (previously named Spasticville)

Ghost towns

* Davidson * Hatfield * Huckle * Jamesburg * Marshall * Oatville * Wichita Heights

Townships

Sedgwick County is divided into twenty-seven townships. The cities of Bel Aire and Wichita 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. The county used to have one more township, Wichita Township, but it no longer exists.

References

External links

;County *
Sedgwick County – Directory of Public Officials
;Historical
Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum
;Maps * Sedgwick County Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Highway Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Railroad Maps
Current19961915
KDOT and Kansas Historical Society {{Authority control Kansas counties 1867 establishments in Kansas Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area Populated places established in 1867