Morris County, Kansas

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Morris County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Council Grove. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,386.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was named for Thomas Morris, a U.S. Senator from Ohio and anti-slavery advocate.

History

Early history

Template:See also 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. 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 1848, after the Mexican–American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Mexico brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state.

19th century

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1845 Santa Fe Trail crossing Morris County

File:Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Morris County.png

1915-1918 railroad map of Morris County

The county was established on ancient grounds of the Kaw American Indian tribe. Settlers and the Kaw lived in increasingly uneasy relationship as settlers encroached on native lands.Template:Citation needed

Council Grove, established by European Americans in 1825, was an important supply station on the Santa Fe Trail. The community was also the site of an encampment by John C. Fremont in 1845 and in 1849 the Overland Mail established a supply headquarters there.Template:Citation needed

From 1821 to 1866, the Santa Fe Trail was active across Morris County.<ref>History of the Cottonwood Crossing Chapter, Santa Fe Trail Association.</ref>

The county was originally organized as Wise County in 1855. The county was named for Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise. When Wise presided over the hanging of abolitionist John Brown at Harpers Ferry in 1859, abolition supporters renamed it to Morris County in honor of Thomas Morris, a former United States Senator from Ohio who was an opponent of slavery.Template:Citation needed

From 1846 to 1873, a Kaw Indian Reservation was centered around Council Grove, Kansas on 20 square miles of land.<ref name="morris-lok">Morris County History; legendsofkansas.com</ref> In 1851, the Methodist Church established an Indian Mission in Morris County.Template:Citation needed

Between 1877 and 1879, Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, a former slave who escaped to freedom in 1846, staked out a settlement in Morris County for freedmen known as "Exodusters". Thousands of families migrated from the post-Reconstruction South to seek more opportunities and better living conditions in the Midwest.Template:Citation needed

In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line from Topeka to Herington.<ref name="Rock Island Rail History">Template:Cite web</ref> This main line connected Topeka, Valencia, Willard, Maple Hill, Vera, Paxico, McFarland, Alma, Volland, Alta Vista, Dwight, White City, Latimer, Herington. The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway was foreclosed in 1891 and taken over by Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway, which shut down in 1980 and reorganized as Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Railroad, merged in 1988 with Missouri Pacific Railroad, merged in 1997 with Union Pacific Railroad. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".

In 1887, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a branch line from Neva (three miles west of Strong City) to Superior, Nebraska. This branch line connected Strong City, Neva, Rockland, Diamond Springs, Burdick, Lost Springs, Jacobs, Hope, Navarre, Enterprise, Abilene, Talmage, Manchester, Longford, Oak Hill, Miltonvale, Aurora, Huscher, Concordia, Kackley, Courtland, Webber, Superior. At some point, the line from Neva to Lost Springs was pulled but the right of way has not been abandoned. This branch line was originally called "Strong City and Superior line" but later the name was shortened to the "Strong City line". In 1996, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway merged with Burlington Northern Railroad and renamed to the current BNSF Railway.

20th century

The National Old Trails Road, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, was established in 1912, and was routed through Herington, Delavan, and Council Grove.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (1.1%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Adjacent counties

Geary County (north)
Wabaunsee County (northeast)
Lyon County (southeast)
Chase County (south)
Marion County (southwest)
Dickinson County (west)

Demographics

File:USA Morris County, Kansas age pyramid.svg

Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data

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2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 6,104 people, 2,539 households, and 1,777 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 3,160 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 97.49% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.70% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. 2.23% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,539 households, out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 6.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.00% were non-families. 28.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.20% under the age of 18, 5.60% from 18 to 24, 23.90% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 21.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,163, and the median income for a family was $39,717. Males had a median income of $28,912 versus $21,239 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,491. About 6.70% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.40% of those under age 18 and 13.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

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Like all of Kansas outside the eastern cities, Morris County is powerfully Republican. Only two Democratic presidential candidates have ever carried the county – Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, who ironically was opposing Kansan governor Alf Landon. Ross Perot did tie with George H. W. Bush in the county in 1992.

Laws

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1992, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

Unified school districts

School districts covering the county include:<ref name=CensusSDMap2020>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

School district office in neighboring county<ref name=CensusSDMap2020/>

Communities

File:Map of Morris Co, Ks, USA.png

2005 map of Morris County<ref name="County-Map-Current"/> (map legend)

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Morris County.<ref name="County-Map-Current">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cities

‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county. Template:Div col

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Unincorporated communities

† means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau. Template:Div col

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Ghost towns

Comiskey‡

Townships

Morris County is divided into eleven townships. The cities of Council Grove and Herington 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.

Sources: 2000 U.S. Gazetteer from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Township	FIPS	Population	Population density /km² (/sq mi)	Land area km² (sq mi)	Water area km² (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Highland	31975	94	1 (3)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.03%	Template:Coord
Overland	53750	60	1 (2)	88 (34)	0 (0)	0.01%	Template:Coord
Township 1	71202	551	2 (4)	356 (138)	1 (0)	0.28%	Template:Coord
Township 2	71206	688	3 (7)	270 (104)	12 (5)	4.37%	Template:Coord
Township 3	71210	503	5 (12)	109 (42)	0 (0)	0.06%	Template:Coord
Township 4	71214	252	2 (4)	155 (60)	0 (0)	0.02%	Template:Coord
Township 5	71218	686	7 (19)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.02%	Template:Coord
Township 6	71222	111	1 (4)	78 (30)	0 (0)	0.18%	Template:Coord
Township 7	71227	258	2 (4)	170 (66)	0 (0)	0.10%	Template:Coord
Township 8	71232	212	1 (3)	186 (72)	0 (0)	0.08%	Template:Coord
Township 9	71237	368	2 (5)	202 (78)	0 (0)	0.08%	Template:Coord

References

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Notes

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External links

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County

Maps

Morris County maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
Kansas Highway maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
Kansas Railroad maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society

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