Editing Kiowa County, Kansas (section)

==History==
{{See also|History of Kansas}}

===19th century===
In 1854, the [[Kansas Territory]] was organized, then in 1861 [[Kansas]] became the 34th [[U.S. state]]. In 1867, '''Kiowa County''' was established and named after the [[Kiowa]] tribe.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n175 176]}}</ref> In 1875. The county's land was given to nearby county, but in 1886, Kiowa County was reestablished and organized.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Kiowa County, Kansas - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society |url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kiowa-county-kansas/15304 |access-date=February 13, 2024 |website=www.kshs.org}}</ref>

The Santa Fe Railroad was built into the county around the time it was organized. The Greensburg Well, one of the largest hand-dug wells in the world, was built in 1887-1888. It has been a popular tourist attraction since 1939. The well is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name=":0" />

The first oil well in Kiowa County was drilled  in 1917.<ref name=":0" />

Mabel Chase ran for county sheriff after her husband's time in the office was term-limited and became the state's first female sheriff. Her husband provided her the family's armored 1926 Hudson Super Six, and she was the first sheriff in Kansas to be supplied with a [[Thompson submachine gun]]. Chase conducted raids on local stills.<ref name=":0" />

===21st century===
On the evening of May 4, 2007, [[Greensburg, Kansas|Greensburg]] was devastated by the [[2007 Greensburg tornado]]. It killed 11 and destroyed 95% of the community.

The Kiowa County Courthouse was renovated with new windows and roof after the 2007 tornado damaged it. Originally, construction of the building started in 1920.