Smith County, Kansas
county in Kansas, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Smith County (standard abbreviation: SM) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2020, 3,570 people lived there.[1] Its county seat is Smith Center.[2] The county is named after Maj. J. Nelson Smith, who was part of the 2nd Colorado Cavalry. He was killed in action at the Battle of Westport on October 21, 1864.
Smith County | |
|---|---|
 Home on the Range Cabin near Smith Center (2014) | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Kansas | |
 Kansas's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 39°50′N 98°45′W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kansas |
| Founded | 1872 |
| Named for | J. Nelson Smith |
| Seat | Smith Center |
| Largest city | Smith Center |
| Area | |
| • Total | 897 sq mi (2,320 km2) |
| • Land | 895 sq mi (2,320 km2) |
| • Water | 1.5 sq mi (4 km2) 0.2% |
| Population | |
| • Total | 3,570 |
| • Density | 4.0/sq mi (1.5/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Area code | 785 |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | ks1495 |
The geographic center of the contiguous United States is in the county, near Lebanon.[3]
19th century
In 1872, Smith County was created. The first homestead in Smith County was in 1871. There were 3,800 people living there by 1875. The county grew to 15,000 people by 1889. Corn was the main crop, but drought and grasshoppers hurt the crops. When hardy Winter wheat was introduced to Kansas by Russian settlers, it eventually became the main crop in Smith County. The number of people living in Smith County has slowly gone down since 1900. This is due to advanced farming techniques that need fewer people to farm.[source?]
Brewster Higley wrote the song "Home on the Range" in 1873 in a cabin 9 miles northwest of Smith Center. It later became the Kansas State song.[4][5]
The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of 897 square miles (2,320 km2). Of that, 895 square miles (2,320 km2) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) (0.2%) is water.[6] The county is divided into 25 townships, each of which is listed below in the subdivisions section of this article.
The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is in the county, near the city of Lebanon.[7] The geographic center of North America is located in neighboring Osborne County.
The Solomon River runs through the southern part of the county. It provides a flat basin and water for irrigation.
Major highways
There are two major highways in the county. The main east–west route is U.S. Highway 36. It goes through Athol, Kensington, and Smith Center. The main north–south route is U.S. Highway 281. Kansas state highways K-8, K-9 and K-180 go to other areas of the county.
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 66 | — | |
| 1880 | 13,883 | 20,934.8% | |
| 1890 | 15,613 | 12.5% | |
| 1900 | 16,384 | 4.9% | |
| 1910 | 15,365 | −6.2% | |
| 1920 | 14,985 | −2.5% | |
| 1930 | 13,545 | −9.6% | |
| 1940 | 10,582 | −21.9% | |
| 1950 | 8,846 | −16.4% | |
| 1960 | 7,776 | −12.1% | |
| 1970 | 6,757 | −13.1% | |
| 1980 | 5,947 | −12.0% | |
| 1990 | 5,078 | −14.6% | |
| 2000 | 4,536 | −10.7% | |
| 2010 | 3,853 | −15.1% | |
| 2020 | 3,570 | −7.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10] 1990-2000[11] 2010-2020[1] | |||
Presidential elections
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 82.8% 1,763 | 15.8% 336 | 1.4% 30 |
| 2016 | 81.3% 1,661 | 14.5% 297 | 4.1% 84 |
| 2012 | 80.3% 1,624 | 17.7% 358 | 2.0% 41 |
| 2008 | 77.8% 1,719 | 20.2% 446 | 2.0% 45 |
| 2004 | 76.1% 1,803 | 22.8% 540 | 1.1% 27 |
| 2000 | 70.2% 1,534 | 24.5% 534 | 5.3% 116 |
| 1996 | 65.4% 1,628 | 25.6% 638 | 9.0% 224 |
| 1992 | 43.3% 1,236 | 27.7% 789 | 29.0% 827 |
| 1988 | 65.3% 1,951 | 33.6% 1,004 | 1.1% 33 |
| 1984 | 75.7% 2,332 | 22.2% 684 | 2.1% 63 |
| 1980 | 71.7% 2,415 | 21.4% 719 | 6.9% 234 |
| 1976 | 58.5% 2,009 | 38.8% 1,333 | 2.7% 94 |
| 1972 | 74.3% 2,600 | 23.4% 818 | 2.4% 83 |
| 1968 | 67.5% 2,558 | 24.8% 939 | 7.7% 293 |
| 1964 | 52.3% 2,026 | 46.7% 1,809 | 0.9% 36 |
| 1960 | 71.9% 3,013 | 27.6% 1,157 | 0.5% 22 |
| 1956 | 73.0% 3,142 | 26.5% 1,139 | 0.6% 26 |
| 1952 | 77.8% 3,623 | 21.2% 986 | 1.1% 51 |
| 1948 | 61.9% 2,760 | 35.7% 1,590 | 2.4% 106 |
| 1944 | 69.9% 3,282 | 29.3% 1,377 | 0.7% 34 |
| 1940 | 65.6% 3,630 | 33.5% 1,855 | 0.9% 50 |
| 1936 | 53.5% 3,292 | 46.3% 2,847 | 0.3% 17 |
| 1932 | 46.5% 2,870 | 51.1% 3,155 | 2.3% 144 |
| 1928 | 74.3% 4,021 | 24.7% 1,338 | 0.9% 50 |
| 1924 | 57.2% 3,226 | 29.0% 1,634 | 13.8% 777 |
| 1920 | 66.1% 3,251 | 31.2% 1,535 | 2.7% 132 |
| 1916 | 41.1% 2,605 | 54.1% 3,431 | 4.8% 306 |
| 1912 | 25.8% 970 | 40.9% 1,534 | 33.3% 1,250 |
| 1908 | 51.7% 1,843 | 44.7% 1,593 | 3.7% 132 |
| 1904 | 66.0% 2,254 | 17.5% 596 | 16.5% 564 |
| 1900 | 46.5% 1,770 | 51.9% 1,978 | 1.6% 61 |
| 1896 | 40.2% 1,385 | 58.6% 2,019 | 1.1% 39 |
| 1892 | 41.3% 1,389 | 58.7% 1,972 | |
| 1888 | 51.7% 1,726 | 23.3% 777 | 25.0% 835 |
Presidential Elections Results
Smith County is very Republican. No Democratic presidential candidate has won Smith County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. Since 1940, the only Democrat to win forty percent of the county’s vote was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Unified school districts
- Thunder Ridge USD 110
- Kensington, Athol and western third of county; school district also covers the eastern third of Phillips County
- Smith Center USD 237
- Smith Center, Lebanon, Gaylord and eastern two-thirds of county
Cities
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
