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Coordinates: 39°21′N 101°03′W / 39.35, -101.05

Thomas County, Kansas
Map of Kansas highlighting Thomas County
Location in the state of Kansas
Map of the U.S
Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded 8 October 1885
Named for George Henry Thomas[1]
Seat Colby
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

1,074.90 sq mi (2,784 km²)
1,074.78 sq mi (2,784 km²)
0.11 sq mi (0 km²), 0.01%
Population
 - (2010)
 - Density

7,900
7.1/sq mi (2.7/km²)
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website ThomasCountyKS.com

Thomas County (standard abbreviation: TH) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 7,900.[2] Its county seat is Colby.[3]

History[]

The county was founded in October 8, 1885. It was named for George Henry Thomas, a Union General during the American Civil War, hero of the Battle of Chickamauga. The townships of the county were named after the soldiers that died at the Battle of Chickamauga.[4]

Law and government[]

Thomas 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.[5]

Geography[]

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,074.90 square miles (2,784.0 km2), of which 1,074.78 square miles (2,783.7 km2) (or 99.99%) is land and 0.11 square miles (0.28 km2) (or 0.01%) is water.[6]

Adjacent counties[]

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1900 4,112
1910 5,455 32.7%
1920 5,517 1.1%
1930 7,334 32.9%
1940 6,425 −12.4%
1950 7,572 17.9%
1960 7,358 −2.8%
1970 7,501 1.9%
1980 8,451 12.7%
1990 8,258 −2.3%
2000 8,180 −0.9%
2010 7,900 −3.4%
U.S. Decennial Census
USA Thomas County, Kansas age pyramid

Age pyramid

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 8,180 people, 3,226 households, and 2,125 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile (3/km²). There were 3,562 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.14% White, 0.43% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. 1.85% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,226 households out of which 32.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.10% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.10% were non-families. 28.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county the population was spread out with 26.30% under the age of 18, 13.50% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,034, and the median income for a family was $45,931. Males had a median income of $33,833 versus $21,310 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,028. About 6.60% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.90% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns[]

Incorporated cities[]

Name and population (2004 estimate):

  • Colby, 5,145 (county seat)
  • Brewster, 268
  • Rexford, 153
  • Gem, 93
  • Menlo, 56
  • Oakley (only a small portion)

Townships[]

Thomas County is divided into thirteen townships. The city of Colby is considered governmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. Geographically, Colby is surrounded by Morgan Township. 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.

Sources: 2000 U.S. Gazetteer from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Township FIPS Population
center
Population Population
density
/km² (/sq mi)
Land area
km² (sq mi)
Water area
km² (sq mi)
Water % Geographic coordinates
Barrett 04325 124 0 (1) 276 (107) 0 (0) 0.01% 39°30′21″N 101°16′7″W / 39.50583, -101.26861
East Hale 19475 137 1 (3) 140 (54) 0 (0) 0% 39°22′27″N 101°12′49″W / 39.37417, -101.21361
Kingery 36925 93 0 (1) 373 (144) 0 (0) 0% 39°13′55″N 101°16′52″W / 39.23194, -101.28111
Lacey 37425 Gem 132 1 (4) 92 (36) 0 (0) 0% 39°25′48″N 100°53′27″W / 39.43, -100.89083
Menlo 45775 Menlo 112 1 (2) 140 (54) 0 (0) 0% 39°20′36″N 100°46′4″W / 39.34333, -100.76778
Morgan 48200 Colby outskirts 755 3 (7) 271 (105) 0 (0) 0% 39°22′31″N 101°3′0″W / 39.37528, -101.05
North Randall 51300 107 1 (2) 138 (53) 0 (0) 0.03% 39°19′44″N 100°53′55″W / 39.32889, -100.89861
Rovohl 61525 143 1 (1) 277 (107) 0 (0) 0% 39°30′11″N 101°4′3″W / 39.50306, -101.0675
Smith 65900 Rexford 213 2 (6) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0.03% 39°27′11″N 100°45′31″W / 39.45306, -100.75861
South Randall 66875 Oakley outskirts 267 1 (2) 279 (108) 0 (0) 0.04% 39°10′59″N 100°50′29″W / 39.18306, -100.84139
Summers 68975 197 1 (1) 373 (144) 0 (0) 0% 39°14′30″N 101°2′47″W / 39.24167, -101.04639
Wendell 76650 84 0 (1) 183 (71) 0 (0) 0.02% 39°31′4″N 100°49′21″W / 39.51778, -100.8225
West Hale 76975 Brewster 366 3 (7) 140 (54) 0 (0) 0% 39°21′50″N 101°21′48″W / 39.36389, -101.36333

Education[]

Map of Thomas Co, Ks, USA

2005 KDOT Map of Thomas County from KDOT (map legend)

Unified school districts[]

See also[]

Information on this and other counties in Kansas

Other information for Kansas


References[]

Further reading[]

External links[]

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Thomas County local history and genealogy
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This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Thomas 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.
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