Finney County, Kansas
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Finney County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Garden City.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> As of the 2020 census, the county population was 38,470. The county was named for David Finney, the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas from 1881 to 1885. In 2020, 51.4 percent of the population in the county was Hispanic, one of a few counties in Kansas with a Hispanic majority population.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref>
History
Finney County was established in 1883 and named after Lt. Gov. John W. Finney.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> The first white settlers arrived in 1878, settling along the Arkansas River and its tributaries.<ref name=":0" />
What was to become Finney County began in March 1873 as Buffalo County<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Sequoyah County<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>(named after Sequoyah, the Cherokee Indian responsible for the development of the Cherokee alphabet. In 1881, the northern tier of townships was removed from Buffalo County and added to Lane County; the remainder was made part of newly-created Gray County, and later was taken to form part of Finney County. The two counties were merged in 1883 and renamed Finney County, in honor of then Lieutenant Governor David Wesley Finney.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The county grew to the current shape after Garfield County was annexed to it in 1893 following a Supreme Court decision finding that Garfield County was less than one section/square mile short of the constitutionally defined minimum size of 432 square miles. The northeastern block, separate from the otherwise rectangular area, represents what at one time was Garfield County, which is now occupied partially by the Garfield Township. This combination of three separate counties makes Finney County the second-largest county in Kansas (after Butler County), comprising just over three times the constitutional minimum. <ref>Kansas Place-Names, John Rydjord, University of Oklahoma Press, 1972, Template:ISBN</ref>
The town of Garden City was founded in 1879 by the cattle firm of Jones and Plummer, who established it as a shipping point for Texas cattle being driven along the Jones & Plummer Trail to Dodge City.<ref name=":0" /> Garden City grew rapidly as a railroad hub when the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroads arrived in 1888.<ref name=":0" />
As described in Blackmar's Cyclopedia, Garden City "was a typical frontier town, with its gambling houses, dance halls and other adjuncts of border civilization" in its early years, but it quickly transformed into an agricultural center for southwestern Kansas.<ref name=":0" />
Other early settlements such as Holcomb, Kalvesta, and Pierceville sprang up in the 1880s as Finney County became a prosperous region for wheat farming and cattle ranching.<ref name=":0" /> The county population boomed from just 537 in 1880 to over 5,000 by 1890 as homesteaders poured in.<ref name=":0" />
In 1893, the former Garfield County was annexed into Finney County and organized as Garfield Township. Garfield County had originally been established in 1887 from parts of Finney County and other surrounding counties, but it struggled to maintain a viable tax base and population.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
By 1910, Finney County had a population exceeding 10,000 as agriculture firmly took root in the region after its pioneering days on the frontier.<ref name=":0" />
Between 2007 and 2008 Finney County became majority-minority.<ref>Callebs, Sean. "Whites become minority in Kansas county." CNN. May 22, 2009. Retrieved on May 24, 2009.</ref>
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.05%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> It is the second-largest county in Kansas by area.
Adjacent counties
- Scott County (north)
- Lane County (north)
- Ness County (northeast)
- Hodgeman County (east)
- Haskell County (south)
- Gray County (south)
- Grant County (southwest)
- Kearny County (west)
Demographics
Template:US Census population Finney County is included in the Garden City, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area.
2010 census
As of the 2010 census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 36,776 people, 12,359 households and 8,903 families living in the county. The racial makeup of the county was 77.0% White, 2.3% Black or African American, 0.9% Native American, 3.4% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 13.6% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 46.7% of the population.
2000 census
As of the 2000 census,<ref name="GR2"/> there were 40,523 people, 12,948 households, and 9,749 families living in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 13,763 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 69.05% White, 1.25% Black or African American, 0.96% Native American, 2.87% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 22.99% from other races, and 2.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.30% of the population.
There were 12,948 households, out of which 46.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.80% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.70% were non-families. 19.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 3.55.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 34.30% under the age of 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 16.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 104.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $38,474, and the median income for a family was $42,839. Males had a median income of $29,948 versus $21,510 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,377. About 10.00% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Presidential election results
Finney County has primarily supported Republican presidential candidates throughout its history. In only six elections from 1884 to the present has the county not backed the Republican candidate, the last of these being in 1976 when Jimmy Carter won the county by only 102 votes. Template:Hidden
Laws
Finney 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Education
Unified school districts
Communities
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Finney County.<ref name="County-Map-Current">Template:Cite web</ref>
† means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.
Cities
- Garden City (county seat)
- Holcomb
Unincorporated communities
Ghost towns
Townships
Finney County is divided into seven townships. The city of Garden 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 center |
Population | Population density /km2 (/sq mi) |
Land area km2 (sq mi) |
Water area km2 (sq mi) |
Water % | Geographic coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden City | 25350 | 7,400 | 23 (59) | 327 (126) | 0 (0) | 0.11% | Template:Coord | |
| Garfield | 25600 | 331 | 0 (1) | 1,116 (431) | 1 (0) | 0.09% | Template:Coord | |
| Ivanhoe | 34675 | 666 | 2 (5) | 368 (142) | 0 (0) | 0% | Template:Coord | |
| Pierceville | 55800 | 551 | 1 (4) | 378 (146) | 0 (0) | 0.01% | Template:Coord | |
| Pleasant Valley | 56550 | 139 | 0 (1) | 371 (143) | 0 (0) | 0% | Template:Coord | |
| Sherlock | 64800 | Holcomb | 2,758 | 7 (17) | 419 (162) | 0 (0) | 0.09% | Template:Coord |
| Terry | 70225 | 227 | 1 (2) | 371 (143) | 0 (0) | 0.11% | Template:Coord | |
| Sources: Template:Cite web | ||||||||
See also
- Golden Triangle of Meat-packing
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Finney County, Kansas
Template:See also Kansas counties
References
- Notes
Further reading
Template:Kansas books Template:See also
- Plat Book of Finney County, Kansas; Western Publishing Company; 50 pages; 1910.
External links
- County
- Maps
- Finney County Township Map - Kansas Department of Transportation
- Finney County Road Maps - Kansas Department of Transportation
- Kansas State Highway Maps - Kansas Department of Transportation
Template:Finney County, Kansas Template:US state navigation box Template:Authority control Template:Coord