Leavenworth County (county code LV) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 76,227. Its county seat and most populous city is Leavenworth.
History
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Early history
For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
19th century
In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.
In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1855, Leavenworth County was established, and is among the first 33 counties, which were formed by the first territorial government. It was named, as was its county seat, after Henry Leavenworth, an officer in the War of 1812.
Leavenworth County had the first Kansas State University extension agent in the State.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 469 square miles (1,210Â km2), of which 463 square miles (1,200Â km2) is land and 6.1 square miles (16Â km2) (1.3%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in Kansas by total area.
This county's watershed connects with both the Kansas River basin on the south via Stranger Creek and has a Missouri River port city to the east.
Adjacent counties
- Platte County, Missouri (north)
- Wyandotte County (east)
- Johnson County (southeast)
- Douglas County (southwest)
- Jefferson County (west)
- Atchison County (northwest)
Demographics
The county is a part of the Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.
As of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 68,691 people, 23,071 households, and 17,210 families residing in the county. The population density was 148 people per square mile (57/km²). There were 24,401 housing units at an average density of 53 per square mile (20/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 84.2% White, 10.4% Black or African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.2% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.8% of the population.
There were 23,071 households out of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.4% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 21.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 113.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $48,114, and the median income for a family was $55,805. Males had a median income of $40,047 versus $26,029 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,292. About 4.8% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
Law and government
Leavenworth 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 percent food sales requirement.
Education
Unified school districts
- Fort Leavenworth USD 207 (Web site)
- Easton USD 449 (Web site)
- Leavenworth USD 453 (Web site)
- Basehor-Linwood USD 458 (Web site)
- Tonganoxie USD 464 (Web site)
- Lansing USD 469 (Web site)
Colleges and universities
- United States Army Command and General Staff College
- University of Saint Mary
- Leavenworth Normal School (closed)
Communities
Cities
Unincorporated communities
Townships
Leavenworth County is divided into ten townships. The cities of Lansing and Leavenworth are considered governmentally independent and are 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.
Notable people
- Sean Malto, professional skateboarder
- Wayne Simien, professional basketball player
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Leavenworth County, Kansas
- Lenape & Christian Munsee
- Ernest Fox Nichols - Educator & MIT physicist
- Fort Leavenworth (Frontier Army Museum)
- Freedom's Frontier, NE Kansas National Heritage Area
- Kansas Sampler, shares insights on community character
References
Further reading
- County
- History of Leavenworth County Kansas; Jesse Hall and LeRoy Hand; Historical Publishing; 684 pages; 1921. (27MB PDF)
- Kansas
- History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook)
- Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook)
External links
- County
- Leavenworth County - Official
- Leavenworth County - Directory of Public Officials
- Leavenworth County - Development Corporation
- Maps
- Leavenworth County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
- Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
- Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society
