Barton County, Kansas
Barton County (standard abbreviation: BT) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2010, 27,674 people lived there.[1] Its county seat is Great Bend. Great Bend is also the biggest city in Barton County.[2] The county is named after Clara Barton. She was responsible for the creating the American Red Cross.[3]
Barton County  | |
|---|---|
![]() Barton County Courthouse in Great Bend  | |
![]() Location within the U.S. state of Kansas  | |
![]() Kansas's location within the U.S.  | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | |
| State | |
| Founded | February 26, 1867 | 
| Named for | Clara Barton | 
| Seat | Great Bend | 
| Largest city | Great Bend | 
| Area | |
| • Total | 901 sq mi (2,330 km2) | 
| • Land | 895 sq mi (2,320 km2) | 
| • Water | 5.2 sq mi (13 km2) 0.6%% | 
| Population | |
|  • Estimate  (2016)  | 26,775 | 
| • Density | 31/sq mi (12/km2) | 
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) | 
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) | 
| Area code(s) | 620 | 
| Congressional district | 1st | 
| Website | BartonCounty.org | 
History
    
In 1867, Barton County was created. It was named after Clara Barton. It is the only Kansas county named after a woman.[4]
Geography
    
Barton County was drawn in the shape of a 30-by-30-mile (48 by 48 km) square.[5] The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of 901 square miles (2,330 km2). Of that, 895 square miles (2,320 km2) is land and 5.2 square miles (13 km2) (0.6%) is water.[6] The geographic center of Kansas is in Barton County.
Major highways
    
Sources: National Atlas,[7] U.S. Census Bureau[8]
- U.S. Route 56
 - U.S. Route 281
 - Kansas Highway 4
 - Kansas Highway 96
 - Kansas Highway 156
 
People
    
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 10,318 | — | |
| 1890 | 13,172 | 27.7% | |
| 1900 | 13,784 | 4.6% | |
| 1910 | 17,876 | 29.7% | |
| 1920 | 18,422 | 3.1% | |
| 1930 | 19,776 | 7.3% | |
| 1940 | 25,010 | 26.5% | |
| 1950 | 29,909 | 19.6% | |
| 1960 | 32,368 | 8.2% | |
| 1970 | 30,663 | −5.3% | |
| 1980 | 31,343 | 2.2% | |
| 1990 | 29,382 | −6.3% | |
| 2000 | 28,205 | −4.0% | |
| 2010 | 27,674 | −1.9% | |
| 2016 (est.) | 26,775 | [9] | −3.2% | 
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12] 1990-2000[13] 2010-2016[1]  | |||
The Great Bend Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Barton County.
Government
    
    Presidential elections
    
Prior to 1940, Barton County was a Democratic-leaning swing county in presidential elections, being a national bellwether from 1912 to 1936. From 1940 on, it has become a Republican Party stronghold, with the solitary Democratic Party presidential candidate to carry it since then being Lyndon B. Johnson in his national landslide of 1964.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 76.3% 7,888 | 17.8% 1,839 | 5.9% 610 | 
| 2012 | 76.1% 7,874 | 22.2% 2,297 | 1.6% 170 | 
| 2008 | 70.6% 7,802 | 27.4% 3,027 | 2.1% 228 | 
| 2004 | 74.0% 8,666 | 24.6% 2,874 | 1.4% 166 | 
| 2000 | 66.7% 7,302 | 29.6% 3,238 | 3.8% 415 | 
| 1996 | 64.9% 7,855 | 25.8% 3,121 | 9.3% 1,123 | 
| 1992 | 37.7% 5,113 | 28.3% 3,846 | 34.0% 4,623 | 
| 1988 | 59.2% 7,741 | 38.4% 5,024 | 2.4% 310 | 
| 1984 | 75.6% 10,232 | 23.0% 3,111 | 1.4% 195 | 
| 1980 | 66.0% 9,147 | 26.4% 3,663 | 7.5% 1,042 | 
| 1976 | 55.6% 7,311 | 41.8% 5,497 | 2.5% 334 | 
| 1972 | 68.9% 8,479 | 28.3% 3,481 | 2.9% 352 | 
| 1968 | 54.9% 6,700 | 36.6% 4,464 | 8.6% 1,044 | 
| 1964 | 39.5% 4,826 | 60.1% 7,340 | 0.5% 55 | 
| 1960 | 55.6% 7,599 | 44.2% 6,036 | 0.2% 30 | 
| 1956 | 66.2% 8,644 | 33.5% 4,378 | 0.3% 41 | 
| 1952 | 70.4% 9,380 | 28.9% 3,847 | 0.7% 92 | 
| 1948 | 53.4% 6,191 | 45.8% 5,307 | 0.9% 102 | 
| 1944 | 59.4% 5,547 | 40.3% 3,761 | 0.4% 37 | 
| 1940 | 54.4% 6,011 | 45.1% 4,982 | 0.5% 50 | 
| 1936 | 37.1% 3,534 | 62.8% 5,978 | 0.1% 5 | 
| 1932 | 40.9% 3,365 | 58.0% 4,776 | 1.2% 97 | 
| 1928 | 63.9% 4,966 | 35.8% 2,777 | 0.3% 24 | 
| 1924 | 56.5% 4,109 | 22.1% 1,605 | 21.5% 1,560 | 
| 1920 | 68.8% 3,993 | 29.1% 1,688 | 2.2% 125 | 
| 1916 | 44.5% 2,891 | 50.6% 3,292 | 4.9% 319 | 
| 1912 | 17.0% 692 | 50.9% 2,069 | 32.1% 1,308 | 
| 1908 | 44.8% 1,729 | 52.0% 2,004 | 3.2% 124 | 
| 1904 | 58.2% 1,939 | 37.1% 1,235 | 4.7% 158 | 
| 1900 | 46.5% 1,564 | 52.6% 1,772 | 0.9% 30 | 
| 1896 | 42.6% 1,215 | 56.6% 1,616 | 0.8% 24 | 
| 1892 | 43.1% 1,381 | 56.9% 1,823 | |
| 1888 | 49.2% 1,353 | 44.6% 1,228 | 6.2% 171 | 
Education
    
    Unified school districts
    
The five school districts are part of the special education area of Barton County called Barton County Special Services.
Community colleges
    
- Barton Community College
 
Communities
    

Cities
    
- Albert
 - Claflin
 - Ellinwood
 - Galatia
 - Great Bend
 - Hoisington
 - Olmitz
 - Pawnee Rock
 - Susank
 
References
    
- "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
 - "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on March 2, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
 - Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. Standard Publishing Company. p. 153. ISBN 9780722249055.
 - Brackman, Barbara (1997). Kansas Trivia. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 26. ISBN 9781418553814.
 - History of the State of Kansas: Containing a Full Account of Its Growth from an Uninhabited Territory to a Wealthy and Important State. A. T. Andreas. 1883. p. 762.
 - "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
 - National Atlas Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
 - "U.S. Census Bureau TIGER shape files". Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
 - "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
 - "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 2, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
 - "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
 - "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
 - "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
 - "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
 
More reading
    
- County
 
- Atlas and Plat Book of Barton County, Kansas; Kenyon Co; 55 pages; 1916.
 - Plat Book of Barton County, Kansas; North West Publishing Co; 47 pages; 1902.
 
- Trails
 
- The Story of the Marking of the Santa Fe Trail by the Daughters of the American Revolution in Kansas and the State of Kansas; Almira Cordry; Crane Co; 164 pages; 1915.
 - The National Old Trails Road To Southern California, Part 1 (LA to KC); Automobile Club Of Southern California; 64 pages; 1916.
 




