Editing Meade County, Kansas

{{short description|County in Kansas, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
|county             = Meade County
|state              = Kansas
|ex image           = US-KS-Meade-DaltonGangHideout-2006.01.10-001.jpeg
|ex image size      = 220px
|ex image cap       = [[Dalton Gang Hideout and Museum]] in [[Meade, Kansas|Meade]] (2006)
|type               = [[County (United States)|County]]
|founded            = March 20, 1873
|named for          = [[George G. Meade]]
|seat wl            = Meade
|largest city wl    = Meade
|area_total_sq_mi   = 979
|area_land_sq_mi    = 978
|area_water_sq_mi   = 1.3
|area percentage    = 0.1%
|census yr          = 2020
|pop                = 4055
|pop_est_as_of      = 2023
|population_est     = 3911 {{loss}}
|density_sq_mi      = auto
|area codes         = [[Area code 620|620]]
|district           = 1st
|time zone          = Central
|website            = {{URL|http://ks-meade.manatron.com/|County website}}
|coordinates        = {{coord|37|14|N|100|22|W|type:adm2nd_region:US-KS|display=inline,title}}
}}

'''Meade County''' is a [[U.S. county|county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Kansas]]. Its [[county seat]] and largest city is [[Meade, Kansas|Meade]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref>  As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the county population was 4,055.<ref name="QF">{{cite web |title=QuickFacts; Meade County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/meadecountykansas/POP010220 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818024340/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/meadecountykansas/POP010220 |archive-date=August 18, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>  The county was created in 1873 and named in honor of [[George Meade]], a Union general during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qi9cXyTWt9EC&pg=PA249 | title=Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume 2 | publisher=Standard Publishing Company | author=Blackmar, Frank Wilson | year=1912 | pages=249}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|History of Kansas}}
For millennia, the [[Great Plains]] of North America were inhabited by [[nomad]]ic [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].

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

In 1873, Meade County was established. The first permanent settlement in the county was established in 1878 at Meade City, 12 miles north of the city of Meade. Pearlette was settled shortly thereafter in 1879 by a company of sixteen families from [[Zanesville, Ohio]] led by John Jobling.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Frank |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmeadeco00sull |title=A History of Meade County, Kansas |year=1916 |isbn=978-1104594145 |pages=21}}</ref> The railroad first entered the country in 1887, ending a decade in which supplies had to be hauled from Dodge City.<ref name=":1" />

On August 24, 1874, in Meade County, [[Mochi (Cheyenne)|Mochi]], Medicine Water, and the other members of their band of [[Cheyenne]] massacred a surveying party led by Capt. Oliver Francis Short, who had fought in the Union Army during the American Civil War. This event became known as the Lone Tree Massacre. Short, his 14-year-old son Truman, and four other members of the party were killed, with three of them being scalped.<ref name="KHQ1932">{{Cite journal |last=Montgomery |first=F.C. |date=May 1932 |title=United States Surveyors Massacred by Indians |url=http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-united-states-surveyors-massacred-by-indians/12546 |journal=Kansas Historical Quarterly |publisher=[[Kansas Historical Society]] |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=266–272 |mode=cs2 |accessdate=April 21, 2011}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Meade County, Kansas - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society |url=https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/meade-county-kansas/15315 |access-date=September 27, 2023 |website=www.kshs.org}}</ref>

Meade County became known as a hotbed of thievery and cattle rustling in the 1880s and 1890s. Eva Dalton Whipple lived with her husband in Meade County and allowed her house to be used as a hide for her brothers, the infamous Dalton Gang. The [[Dalton Gang Hideout and Museum]] was restored by the [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] in the 1930s and today is on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name=":0"/>

A large sinkhole filled with saltwater, known as the Salt Well, appeared in the county on March 16, 1879. William Sturgis first produced commercial solar salt from the Salt Well in 1880, and floating in its salty water was a tourist attraction at the turn of the 20th century.<ref>Sullivan, Frank (1916). ''A History of Meade County, Kansas''. p.&nbsp;98. {{ISBN|978-1104594145}}.</ref>

Like the rest of southwestern Kansas, Meade County was devastated by the [[Dust Bowl]] in the 1930s.<ref name=":0" />

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|979|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|978|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|1.3|sqmi}} (0.1%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref>

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Gray County, Kansas|Gray County]] (north)
* [[Ford County, Kansas|Ford County]] (northeast)
* [[Clark County, Kansas|Clark County]] (east)
* [[Beaver County, Oklahoma|Beaver County]], [[Oklahoma]] (south)
* [[Seward County, Kansas|Seward County]] (west)
* [[Haskell County, Kansas|Haskell County]] (northwest)

==Demographics==
[[Image:USA Meade County, Kansas age pyramid.svg|thumb|175px|left|[[Population pyramid]] based on 2000 census age data]]
{{US Census population
|align= 
|1880= 296
|1890= 2542
|1900= 1581
|1910= 5055
|1920= 5542
|1930= 6858
|1940= 5522
|1950= 5710
|1960= 5505
|1970= 4912
|1980= 4788
|1990= 4247
|2000= 4631
|2010= 4575
|2020= 4055
|estyear=2023
|estimate=3911
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 3, 2024}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 27, 2014}}</ref><br />1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=July 27, 2014}}</ref> 1900-1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/ks190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 27, 2014}}</ref><br />1990-2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 27, 2014}}</ref> 2010-2020<ref name="QF"/>
}}

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 4,631 people, 1,728 households, and 1,252 families residing in the county. The [[population density]] was {{convert|5|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|}}. There were 1,968 housing units at an average density of {{convert|2|/mi2|/km2|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 91.10% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 0.39% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.54% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.22% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 6.24% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.51% from two or more races. 10.90% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 1,728 households, out of which 36.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.70% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 4.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.50% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 19.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,761, and the median income for a family was $41,550. Males had a median income of $29,295 versus $20,153 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $16,824. About 6.70% of families and 9.30% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 11.90% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.

==Government==
Meade County is usually carried by [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] candidates. The last time a [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] presidential candidate carried the county was in 1936, when [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] won a landslide victory nationwide.

===Presidential elections===
{{Hidden
|headercss  = background: #ccccff; font-size: 100%; width: 100%;
|contentcss = text-align: left; font-size: 100%; width: 100%;
|header     = Presidential election results
|content    =
{{PresHead|place=Meade County, Kansas|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|1,427|247|21|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|1,523|263|39|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|1,415|210|107|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|1,428|258|23|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|1,540|357|34|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|1,748|356|17|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|1,604|400|49|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|1,443|426|190|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|1,135|430|599|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|1,322|664|42|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|1,804|491|43|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|1,618|482|158|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|1,109|983|60|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|1,712|526|58|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|1,511|572|198|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|1,290|1,179|23|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|1,826|754|11|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|1,720|575|20|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|2,061|568|51|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|1,406|834|96|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|1,424|631|32|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|1,618|970|59|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|1,218|1,394|3|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1932|Republican|1,248|1,231|42|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|1,709|618|9|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|1,290|472|165|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|1,236|483|23|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|973|977|214|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1912|Progressive|204|383|530|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|560|386|50|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|383|166|28|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|238|209|0|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|203|195|4|Kansas}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|261|0|215|Kansas}}
{{PresFoot|1888|Republican|578|342|98|Kansas}}
}}<!-- End of Hidden template -->

===Laws===
The [[Kansas Constitution]] was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, either with or without a minimum of 30% of sales coming from food. Meade County is one of 67 counties in the state that allows for the sale of liquor by the drink with the minimum food sales stipulation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 30, 2019|title=Map of Wet and Dry Counties|url=https://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/abcwetdrymap.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104064913/https://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/abcwetdrymap.pdf|archive-date=November 4, 2020|access-date=November 4, 2020|publisher=[[Kansas Department of Revenue]] Alcoholic Beverage Control}}</ref>

==Education==

===Unified school districts===
* Fowler USD 225
* Meade USD 226

==Communities==
[[Image:Map of Meade Co, Ks, USA.png|thumb|300px|2005 map of Meade County<ref name="County-Map-Current"/> ([[:File:Kansas official transportation map legend.png|map legend]])]]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Meade County.<ref name="County-Map-Current">{{cite web |title=General Highway Map of Meade County, Kansas |url=https://www.ksdot.gov/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/county-pdf/meade.PDF |publisher=[[Kansas Department of Transportation]] (KDOT) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003045032/https://www.ksdot.gov/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/county-pdf/meade.PDF |archive-date=October 3, 2023 |date=October 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Cities===
* [[Fowler, Kansas|Fowler]]
* [[Meade, Kansas|Meade]] (county seat) 
* [[Plains, Kansas|Plains]]

===Unincorporated community===
* [[Missler, Kansas|Missler]]

===Townships===
Meade County is divided into nine [[Civil township|townships]]. None of the cities within the county are considered ''governmentally independent'', and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. 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.

{| class="toccolours" border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 style="text-align:center; border-collapse:collapse; font-size:90%;"
|+align="bottom"|Sources: {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20020802223743/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/places2k.html 2000 U.S. Gazetteer]}} from the [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
|- style="background:#ccccff"
! Township !! [[FIPS place code|FIPS]] !! Population<br />center
! Population !! Population<br />density<br /><small>/km<sup>2</sup> (/sq&nbsp;mi)</small>
! Land area<br /><small>km<sup>2</sup> (sq&nbsp;mi)</small> !! Water area<br /><small>km<sup>2</sup> (sq&nbsp;mi)</small> !! Water %
! Geographic coordinates
|-
| Cimarron || 13325 || || 93 || 0 (1) || 303 (117) || 2 (1) || 0.57% || {{coord|37|4|34|N|100|30|42|W|}}
|-
| Crooked Creek || 16450 || || 92 || 1 (2) || 141 (54) || 0 (0) || 0.06% || {{coord|37|24|41|N|100|19|30|W|}}
|-
| Fowler || 24200 || [[Fowler, Kansas|Fowler]] || 749 || 3 (7) || 271 (105) || 0 (0) || 0.01% || {{coord|37|23|8|N|100|11|46|W|}}
|-
| Logan || 42000 || || 100 || 0 (1) || 284 (110) || 0 (0) || 0.01% || {{coord|37|14|30|N|100|11|58|W|}}
|-
| Meade Center || 45350 || [[Meade, Kansas|Meade]] || 1,968 || 7 (18) || 280 (108) || 0 (0) || 0.14% || {{coord|37|16|15|N|100|20|15|W|}}
|-
| Mertilla || 46025 || || 221 || 1 (1) || 389 (150) || 0 (0) || 0.02% || {{coord|37|24|33|N|100|30|58|W|}}
|-
| [[Odee Township, Meade County, Kansas|Odee]] || 52075 || || 50 || 0 (1) || 246 (95) || 0 (0) || 0.13% || {{coord|37|2|47|N|100|22|14|W|}}
|-
| Sand Creek || 62925 || || 38 || 0 (0) || 272 (105) || 0 (0) || 0.03% || {{coord|37|3|59|N|100|9|46|W|}}
|-
| West Plains || 77300 || [[Plains, Kansas|Plains]] || 1,320 || 4 (10) || 348 (134) || 0 (0) || 0.13% || {{coord|37|14|59|N|100|33|45|W|}}
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Kansas}}
* [[Dry counties]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Meade County, Kansas]]
{{See also Kansas counties}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
;Notes
{{Notelist}}

==Further reading==
{{Kansas books}}
* [https://archive.org/details/historyofmeadeco00sull/ ''A History of Meade County, Kansas'']; Frank Sullivan; 184 pages; 1916.
* [https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/209448 ''Plat Book of Meade County, Kansas'']; R. P. Ice Co; 43 pages; 1909.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Meade County, Kansas}}
;County
* {{Official website|http://ks-meade.manatron.com/|Meade County - Official Website}}
* [https://www.lkm.org/members/?id=41260460 Meade County - Directory of Public Officials]
;Historical
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061205233447/http://www.oldmeadecounty.com/ Meade County History]}}
;Maps
* Meade County maps: [https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/county-pdf/meade.PDF Current], [https://www.ksdot.org/bureaus/burtransplan/maps/PastPublishedCounty.asp Historic], KDOT
* Kansas Highway maps: [https://www.ksdot.org/burtransplan/maps/MapsState.asp Current], [https://www.ksdot.org/burtransplan/maps/HistoricStateMaps.asp Historic], KDOT
* Kansas Railroad maps: [https://www.ksdot.org/BurTransPlan/maps/RRStateMap.asp Current], [https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/227379 1996], [https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/227380 1915], KDOT and Kansas Historical Society

{{Geographic location
|Center    = Meade County, Kansas
|North     = [[Gray County, Kansas|Gray County]]
|Northeast = [[Ford County, Kansas|Ford County]]
|East      = [[Clark County, Kansas|Clark County]]
|Southeast = [[Harper County, Oklahoma]]
|South     = [[Beaver County, Oklahoma]]
|Southwest = [[Beaver County, Oklahoma]]
|West      = [[Seward County, Kansas|Seward County]]
|Northwest = [[Haskell County, Kansas|Haskell County]]
}}

{{Meade County, Kansas}}
{{Kansas}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Meade County, Kansas| ]]
[[Category:Kansas counties]]
[[Category:1873 establishments in Kansas]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1873]]