Ford County, Kansas

Ford County
	Ford County, Kansas
	Ford County Courthouse in Dodge City (2009)
	; Location in the state of Kansas
	; Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 26, 1867
Named for	James Ford
Seat	Dodge City
Largest city	Dodge City
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 1,099 sq mi (2,846 km²); 1,098 sq mi (2,844 km²); 0.8 sq mi (2 km²), 0.07%
Population; - (2020); - Density	; 34,287 ;
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

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Ford County (county code FO) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 34,287.^[1] Its county seat and most populous city is Dodge City.^[2] The county is named in honor of Colonel James Hobart Ford.^[3]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,099 square miles (2,850 km²), of which 1,098 sq mi (2,840 km²) are land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) (0.07%) is covered by water.^[4]

Adjacent counties[]

Hodgeman County (north)
Edwards County (northeast)
Kiowa County (east)
Clark County (south)
Meade County (southwest)
Gray County (west)

Major highways[]

U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 54
U.S. Route 56
U.S. Route 283
U.S. Route 400
K-34

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1870	427	—
1880	3,122	631.1%
1890	5,308	70.0%
1900	5,497	3.6%
1910	11,393	107.3%
1920	14,273	25.3%
1930	20,647	44.7%
1940	17,254	−16.4%
1950	19,670	14.0%
1960	20,938	6.4%
1970	22,587	7.9%
1980	24,315	7.7%
1990	27,463	12.9%
2000	32,458	18.2%
2010	33,848	4.3%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5] 1790-1960^[6] 1900-1990^[7] 1990-2000^[8] 2010-2020^[1]

USA Ford County, Kansas age pyramid — Population pyramid

The Dodge City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Ford County.

As of the 2000 census,^[9] 33,848 people, 10,852 households, and 7,856 families were residing in the county. The population density was 30 people/sq mi (11/km²). The 11,650 housing units averaged 11/sq mi (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.3% White, 2.1% African American, 1.0% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 17.8% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic and Latino Americans of any race were 51.2% of the population.

Of the 10,852 households, 40.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were not families. About 22.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92, and the average family size was 3.42.

In the county, the age distribution was 31.10% under 18, 11.20% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 17.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,860, and for a family was $42,734. Males had a median income of $27,189 versus $22,165 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,721. About 9.90% of families and 12.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 8.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government[]

Presidential elections[]

Ford County has been strongly Republican for most of its history, especially in recent elections. Only eight Democratic presidential candidates from 1880 to 2020 have carried the county, the most recent being Jimmy Carter in 1976.

United States presidential election results for Ford County, Kansas^[10]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	5,803	65.09%	2,947	33.06%	165	1.85%
2016	5,114	65.78%	2,149	27.64%	511	6.57%
2012	5,602	66.99%	2,600	31.09%	160	1.91%
2008	5,730	64.64%	2,991	33.74%	143	1.61%
2004	6,632	73.56%	2,286	25.35%	98	1.09%
2000	6,050	67.85%	2,566	28.78%	301	3.38%
1996	5,681	61.30%	2,628	28.36%	958	10.34%
1992	4,342	41.93%	2,635	25.44%	3,379	32.63%
1988	5,685	58.63%	3,817	39.36%	195	2.01%
1984	6,935	69.72%	2,914	29.30%	98	0.99%
1980	5,686	58.86%	3,194	33.06%	781	8.08%
1976	4,679	47.61%	4,934	50.21%	214	2.18%
1972	6,232	67.12%	2,804	30.20%	249	2.68%
1968	4,645	52.80%	3,191	36.27%	961	10.92%
1964	3,481	39.73%	5,221	59.59%	59	0.67%
1960	5,200	57.67%	3,792	42.05%	25	0.28%
1956	5,561	66.84%	2,710	32.57%	49	0.59%
1952	6,359	68.96%	2,748	29.80%	114	1.24%
1948	4,089	47.21%	4,396	50.75%	177	2.04%
1944	4,110	57.23%	2,994	41.69%	77	1.07%
1940	4,356	51.97%	3,954	47.17%	72	0.86%
1936	3,378	38.69%	5,335	61.11%	17	0.19%
1932	3,335	41.61%	4,442	55.42%	238	2.97%
1928	4,893	71.59%	1,870	27.36%	72	1.05%
1924	3,449	57.99%	1,551	26.08%	948	15.94%
1920	3,305	61.90%	1,879	35.19%	155	2.90%
1916	2,337	40.29%	3,044	52.47%	420	7.24%
1912	529	19.18%	1,125	40.79%	1,104	40.03%
1908	1,333	53.28%	1,089	43.53%	80	3.20%
1904	1,148	64.79%	526	29.68%	98	5.53%
1900	653	50.46%	610	47.14%	31	2.40%
1896	555	45.75%	643	53.01%	15	1.24%
1892	648	53.42%	0	0.00%	565	46.58%
1888	882	52.47%	630	37.48%	169	10.05%
1884	673	51.85%	544	41.91%	81	6.24%
1880	370	54.65%	287	42.39%	20	2.95%

Laws[]

Ford 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.^[11]

Education[]

Colleges[]

Dodge City Community College

Unified school districts[]

Spearville USD 381
Dodge City USD 443
Bucklin USD 459

Communities[]

Map of Ford Co, Ks, USA — 2005 Kansas Department of Transportation map of Ford County (map legend)

Cities[]

Bucklin
Dodge City
Ford
Spearville

Census-designated places[]

Fort Dodge
Wilroads Gardens
Wright

Other unincorporated places[]

Bellefont
Bloom
Kingsdown
Windhorst

Townships[]

Ford County is divided into 14 townships. The city of Dodge 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.

Township	FIPS	Population	Population density /km² (/sq mi)	Land area km² (sq mi)	Water area km² (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Bloom	07375	113	1 (2)	144 (55)	0 (0)	0%	37°30′23″N 99°55′4″W / 37.50639, -99.91778
Bucklin	09025	900	3 (8)	285 (110)	0 (0)	0.02%	37°34′44″N 99°37′9″W / 37.57889, -99.61917
Concord	15150	117	1 (2)	187 (72)	0 (0)	0.11%	37°36′36″N 100°5′52″W / 37.61, -100.09778
Dodge	18225	899	13 (33)	70 (27)	0 (0)	0.21%	37°47′0″N 100°0′52″W / 37.783333, -100.01444
Enterprise	21450	1,113	6 (17)	175 (67)	0 (0)	0.19%	37°40′47″N 99°57′8″W / 37.67972, -99.95222
Fairview	22500	346	2 (5)	188 (73)	0 (0)	0.06%	37°45′11″N 100°8′57″W / 37.75306, -100.14917
Ford	23750	456	2 (5)	249 (96)	0 (0)	0.01%	37°36′58″N 99°46′27″W / 37.61611, -99.77417
Grandview	27350	784	3 (9)	226 (87)	0 (0)	0.20%	37°47′10″N 99°55′54″W / 37.78611, -99.93167
Richland	59300	931	9 (24)	99 (38)	0 (0)	0.17%	37°42′10″N 100°2′19″W / 37.70278, -100.03861
Royal	61575	105	1 (1)	185 (72)	0 (0)	0.06%	37°51′51″N 100°6′44″W / 37.86417, -100.11222
Sodville	66150	110	1 (2)	145 (56)	0 (0)	0.01%	37°31′16″N 99°45′6″W / 37.52111, -99.75167
Spearville	67150	1,150	2 (6)	479 (185)	0 (0)	0.03%	37°47′58″N 99°45′4″W / 37.79944, -99.75111
Wheatland	77675	170	1 (2)	193 (74)	0 (0)	0%	37°48′58″N 99°37′22″W / 37.81611, -99.62278
Wilburn	79100	88	0 (1)	187 (72)	0 (0)	0%	37°31′22″N 100°7′10″W / 37.52278, -100.11944
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/places2k.html.

Notable people[]

See also: List of Dodge City Community College people and Dodge_City_Community_College#Notable_alumni

Numerous figures of the American Old West lived in Dodge City during its period as a frontier cowtown. These included, most notably, lawmen Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, and gunfighter Doc Holliday.^[12]

References[]

^ ^a ^b "QuickFacts; Ford County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/fordcountykansas/POP010220.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx.
^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off.. pp. 128. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ.
^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu.
^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ks190090.txt.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf.
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov.
^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS.
^ "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. http://www.ksrevenue.org/abcwetdrymap.htm.
^ "More Dodge City History". Dodge City Convention and Visitors Bureau. http://www.visitdodgecity.org/index.aspx?NID=106.

External links[]

County

Historical

Ford County History from FCHS, Dodge City, KS
Ford County GenWeb
Ford County from American History and Genealogy Project (AHGP)

Maps

Ford County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society

Coordinates: 37°42′N 99°54′W / 37.7, -99.9

This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Ford County, Kansas. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.

[QF-1] "QuickFacts; Ford County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/fordcountykansas/POP010220.

[GR6-2] "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx.

[3] Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off.. pp. 128. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ.

[GR1-4] "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html.

[5] "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html.

[6] "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu.

[7] "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ks190090.txt.

[8] "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf.

[GR2-9] "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov.

[10] "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS.

[11] "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. http://www.ksrevenue.org/abcwetdrymap.htm.

[12] "More Dodge City History". Dodge City Convention and Visitors Bureau. http://www.visitdodgecity.org/index.aspx?NID=106.

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