Editing Harper County, Kansas (section)

==History==

===Early history===
{{See also|History of Kansas}}
For many [[millennia]], the [[Great Plains]] of [[North America]] was inhabited by [[nomadic]] [[Native Americans in the United States|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 (1762)|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 [[History of Kansas|modern day Kansas]] was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile [[Louisiana Purchase]] for 2.83 [[Penny (United States coin)|cents]] per [[acre]].

In 1854, the [[Kansas Territory]] was organized, then in 1861 [[Kansas]] became the 34th [[U.S. state]]. In 1867, '''Harper County''' was established.

The original organization of Harper County was one of the largest frauds in county government. In 1873, a group of three men organized Harper County, designating the then fictitious city of "Bluff City" as the county seat. The petition for organization used several names out of a Cincinnati city directory to represent as residents of Harper County.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o8X5krq3fP8C&q=harper+county+kansas+cincinnati | title=Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc | author=Blackmar, Frank Wilson | year=1912| publisher=Standard Publishing Company | isbn=9780722249055 }}</ref>  In 1874, the state attorney general investigated, and found not a single resident of the county. The "founders" of the county had sold $40,000 worth of bonds.<ref name=cutler>{{cite book| last=Cutler| first=William G.| title=History of the State of Kansas|year=1883|publisher=A.T. Andreas|url=http://www.kancoll.org/books/cutler/harper/harper-co-p1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021231060756/http://www.kancoll.org/books/cutler/harper/harper-co-p1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 31, 2002}}</ref>

Harper County was settled starting in 1877, and the county was organized for a second time in 1878 by the Glenn and Robinson families. Since Bluff City could not be shown to have existed, [[Anthony, Kansas|Anthony]] was designated as the temporary [[county seat]]. In an election in 1879, Anthony won as county seat even though 2,960 votes were cast in a county with 800 legal voters.<ref name=cutler/>

===21st century===
Due to new and high-paying jobs at area oil fields and wind farms, Harper County experienced an economic boom; as of 2012, rental housing and office space in towns such as Danville, Harper, and Anthony had more than quadrupled in price, in properties ranging from [[double-wide trailer]]s to a [[List of Carnegie libraries in Kansas|Carnegie library]].<ref>{{cite web| title= Where trailer homes rent for $2,000 a month | url= https://money.cnn.com/2012/06/01/pf/kansas-housing-america-boomtown/ | date= June 1, 2012 | author= Blake Ellis | work= CNN Money| publisher= CNN.com| access-date=June 2, 2012}}</ref> However, by 2016, the oil [[fracking]] boom had largely played out and the economies of Harper and adjacent counties suffered under the impact.<ref>[http://www.kansasagland.com/news/stateagnews/downward-flow-s-ripples-oil-gas-downturn-hitting-counties-on/article_b928e615-cd5b-570e-b1f6-2618e5164136.html Downward flow's ripples: Oil, gas downturn hitting counties on many levels], ''Kansas Agland'', Amy Bickel, February 13, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.</ref> Earthquakes, due to induced seismicity from injection wells, had also substantially reduced in frequency and intensity, thanks to a [[Kansas Corporation Commission]] order mandating cutbacks in volumes and pressures. [[SandRidge Energy]], which along with [[Chesapeake Energy]] was one of the two major producers in Harper county, appealed the order, but soon went into bankruptcy.<ref>[http://www.kansan.com/news/fracking-divides-small-town-of-anthony-kansas/article_f6c59722-2901-11e5-a0b8-2317e0115117.html Fracking divides small town of Anthony, Kansas], ''[[University Daily Kansan]]'', Rebecca Dowd, July 12, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://kmuw.org/post/increasing-number-earthquakes-prompts-new-regulations-kansas-oklahoma-oil-industries Increasing Number Of Earthquakes Prompts New Regulations In Kansas, Oklahoma Oil Industries], ''[[KMUW]]'', Abigail Beckman, January 11, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://newsok.com/article/5520992 SandRidge Energy emerges from bankruptcy], ''[[The Oklahoman]]'', Adam Wilmoth, October 4, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.</ref>