Chautauqua County, Kansas

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This article is about the county in Kansas. For other uses of "Chautauqua," see Chautauqua (disambiguation).

Chautauqua County, Kansas
Location in the state of Kansas
Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 25, 1875
Named for	Chautauqua County, New York
Seat	Sedan
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	644.83 sq mi (1,670 km²) 641.69 sq mi (1,662 km²) 3.14 sq mi (8 km²), 0.49%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	3,669 6.2/sq mi (2.4/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Chautauqua County (county code CQ) is a county located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 3,669. Its county seat and most populous city is Sedan. Chautauqua County is named for Chautauqua County, New York.

History

The first white settlers in the area that became Chautauqua County arrived in July 1868.

Chautauqua County was created by an act of the Kansas legislature on June 1, 1875 by the division of Howard County into Elk County (the northern half) and Chautauqua County (the southern half). At the time of its creation, the county's population was about 7,400.

Law and government

Although the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, Chautauqua County remained a prohibition, or "dry", county, until 2008' when a county wide ballot measure was approved to allow individual liquor sales with a 30 percent food requirement

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 644.83 square miles (1,670.1 km²), of which 641.69 square miles (1,662.0 km²) (or 99.51%) is land and 3.14 square miles (8.1 km²) (or 0.49%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Elk County (north)
• Montgomery County (east)
• Washington County, Oklahoma (southeast)
• Osage County, Oklahoma (south)
• Cowley County (west)

Major highways

Sources: National Atlas, U.S. Census Bureau

• U.S. Route 166
• Kansas Highway 38
• Kansas Highway 99

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	11,072		—
1890	12,297		11.1%
1900	11,804		−4.0%
1910	11,429		−3.2%
1920	11,598		1.5%
1930	10,352		−10.7%
1940	9,233		−10.8%
1950	7,376		−20.1%
1960	5,956		−19.3%
1970	4,642		−22.1%
1980	5,016		8.1%
1990	4,407		−12.1%
2000	4,359		−1.1%
2010	3,669		−15.8%
U.S. Decennial Census

Population pyramid

2005 KDOT Map of Chautauqua County (map legend)

As of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 4,359 people, 1,796 households, and 1,235 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 2,169 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.83% White, 0.30% Black or African American, 3.58% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 1.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.

There were 1,796 households out of which 26.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 29.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the county the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 6.10% from 18 to 24, 20.90% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 24.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 93.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,717, and the median income for a family was $33,871. Males had a median income of $25,083 versus $21,346 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,280. About 9.00% of families and 12.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.80% of those under age 18 and 10.60% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities

Name and population (2006 estimate):

• Sedan, 1,222 (county seat)
• Cedar Vale, 646
• Peru, 166
• Niotaze, 111
• Chautauqua, 102
• Elgin, 75

Unincorporated places

• Cloverdale
• Grafton
• Hale
• Hewins
• Jonesburg
• Layton (no longer exists)
• Leeds (no longer exists)
• Lowe (Gibbs)
• Matanzas (no longer exists)
• Monett
• Moore (no longer exists)
• Osro (no longer exists)
• Rogers
• Wauneta

Townships

Chautauqua County is divided into twelve townships. None of the cities within the county are considered governmentally independent, and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. 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.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population	Population density /km² (/sq mi)	Land area km² (sq mi)	Water area km² (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Belleville	05575		675	4 (11)	155 (60)	0 (0)	0.14%	37°3′50″N 96°7′48″W
Caneyville	10425		88	1 (2)	144 (55)	1 (0)	0.38%	37°15′23″N 96°27′27″W
Center	11575		75	1 (1)	144 (56)	1 (0)	0.80%	37°15′28″N 96°18′31″W
Harrison	30275		114	1 (2)	142 (55)	0 (0)	0.14%	37°4′3″N 96°26′32″W
Hendricks	31300		179	1 (3)	142 (55)	0 (0)	0.05%	37°1′12″N 96°18′42″W
Jefferson	35125	Cedar Vale	834	6 (15)	144 (56)	1 (0)	0.45%	37°6′45″N 96°29′12″W
Lafayette	37650		65	0 (1)	154 (59)	2 (1)	1.40%	37°15′36″N 96°10′20″W
Little Caney	41525		353	3 (8)	117 (45)	0 (0)	0.31%	37°3′51″N 96°1′5″W
Salt Creek	62775		123	1 (3)	127 (49)	0 (0)	0.34%	37°15′13″N 96°1′34″W
Sedan	63775	Sedan	1,660	13 (34)	128 (49)	1 (0)	0.65%	37°7′50″N 96°11′6″W
Summit	69025		106	1 (2)	144 (56)	1 (0)	0.40%	37°8′17″N 96°19′53″W
Washington	75550		87	1 (2)	121 (47)	1 (0)	0.71%	37°7′41″N 96°0′52″W
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/places2k.html.

Education

Unified school districts

• Cedar Vale USD 285
• Sedan USD 286

See also

Information on this and other counties in Kansas

• List of counties in Kansas
• List of Kansas county name etymologies
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Kansas
• Kansas locations by per capita income

Other information for Kansas

• List of cities in Kansas
• List of unified school districts in Kansas
• List of colleges and universities in Kansas

Further reading

• History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook)
• Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Chautauqua County, Kansas

County

• Chautauqua County

Maps

• Chautauqua County Map, KDOT
• Kansas Highway Map, KDOT
• Kansas Railroad Map, KDOT
• Kansas School District Boundary Map, KSDE