Finney County, Kansas

Finney County, Kansas
Finney County Courthouse in Garden City

Location in the state of Kansas

Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded February 22, 1883
Seat Garden City
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

1,302.62 sq mi (3,374 km²)
1,301.77 sq mi (3,372 km²)
0.84 sq mi (2 km²), 0.06%
Population
 - (2010)
 - Density

36,776
31.5/sq mi (12.2/km²)
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website FinneyCounty.org

Finney County (county code FI) is a county located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 36,776.[1] Its county seat and most populous city is Garden City.[2] The Garden City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Finney County.

Contents

History

Finney County began about 1880 as Buffalo County and Sequoyah County, named after Sequoyah, the Cherokee Indian responsible for the development of the Cherokee alphabet. The two counties were renamed Finney County in honor of then Lieutenant Governor David Wesley Finney. The county grew to the current shape after Garfield County was annexed to it in 1893. The northeast block, separate from the otherwise rectangular area, represents what at one time was Garfield County, which is now occupied partially by the Garfield Township.[3]

Charles "Buffalo" Jones, a co-founder of Garden City, was the first member of the Kansas House of Representatives from Finney County. He was known for his efforts to preserve the buffalo from extinction.[4]

Between 2007 and 2008 Finney County became majority-minority.[5]

Law and government

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.[6]

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,302.62 square miles (3,373.8 km2), of which 1,301.77 square miles (3,371.6 km2) (or 99.93%) is land and 0.84 square miles (2.2 km2) (or 0.06%) is water.[7]

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1890 4,231 [8]
1900 3,469 −18.0%
1910 6,908 99.1%
1920 7,674 11.1%
1930 11,014 43.5%
1940 10,092 −8.4%
1950 15,092 49.5%
1960 16,093 6.6%
1970 18,947 17.7%
1980 23,825 25.7%
1990 33,070 38.8%
2000 40,523 22.5%
2010 36,776 −9.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the U.S. Census in 2000,[9] there were 40,523 people, 12,948 households, and 9,749 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 13,763 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). 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. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2008, Finney County became a minority-majority county, where 50 percent of all people identified as minorities, mostly Hispanic and Asian.

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.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities

Name and population (2008 estimate):

Unincorporated places

Ghost & Abandoned Towns

[10]

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%
Garfield 25600 331 0 (1) 1,116 (431) 1 (0) 0.09%
Ivanhoe 34675 666 2 (5) 368 (142) 0 (0) 0 %
Pierceville 55800 551 1 (4) 378 (146) 0 (0) 0.01%
Pleasant Valley 56550 139 0 (1) 371 (143) 0 (0) 0 %
Sherlock 64800 2,758 7 (17) 419 (162) 0 (0) 0.09%
Terry 70225 227 1 (2) 371 (143) 0 (0) 0.11%
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

See also

Information on this and other counties in Kansas

Other information for Kansas

References

  1. ^ "2010 County Population and Housing Occupancy Status". U.S. Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST05&prodType=table. Retrieved March 31, 2011. 
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  3. ^ Kansas Place-Names, John Rydjord, University of Oklahoma Press, 1972, ISBN 0-8061-0994-7
  4. ^ "Buffalo Jones". h-net.msu.edu. http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=h-shgape&month=0008&week=c&msg=4ZaC2nPza053qdx7jtInAg&user=&pw=. Retrieved September 4, 2010. 
  5. ^ Callebs, Sean. "Whites become minority in Kansas county." CNN. May 22, 2009. Retrieved on May 24, 2009.
  6. ^ "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. http://www.ksrevenue.org/abcwetdrymap.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-28. 
  7. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
  8. ^ The 1890 census population includes Garfield County which was annexed to Finney in 1893. The census populations were 3,350 for Finney and 881 for Garfield.
  9. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  10. ^ Homesteading in Finney County

Further reading

External links

Kansas portal
Official sites
Additional information
Maps