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Edwards County
Edwards County
County
	Watertower in Kinsley (2009)
	Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
	Kansas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 37°53′N 99°16′W / 37.883°N 99.267°W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	March 18, 1874
Named for	W. C. Edwards
Seat	Kinsley
Largest city	Kinsley
Area
• Total	622 sq mi (1,610 km2)
• Land	622 sq mi (1,610 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) 0.01%
Population (2020)
• Total	2,907
• Density	4.7/sq mi (1.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	620
Congressional district	4th
Website	edwardscounty.org

Edwards County is a county located in the U.S. states of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Kinsley.^[2] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 2,907,^[1] The county was founded in 1874 and named for W. C. Edwards, of Hutchinson, a pioneer settler who owned much land in the area.^[3]

History

In 1873, Edwards County was established, and named for W. C. Edwards, of Hutchinson, a pioneer settler who owned much land in the area and built the first brick building in Kinsley.^[4]

N.C. Boles became the first postmaster in the county with the opening of the Peters post office at Kinsley, then known as Petersboro in 1873. Kinsley's present name honors E.W. Kinsley, a Bostonian who generously funded the construction of the first church edifice, a Congregationalist building completed in 1875.^[5]

The infamous grasshopper raid of 1874 decimated crops, leaving many residents without means to sustain themselves. The county commissioners petitioned Governor Osborn for aid, emphasizing the plight of families and advocating for work programs over handouts.^[5]

In its first decade, Kinsley suffered two planned train robberies, as well as a bank robbery on December 9, 1882. The County Treasurer, J. W. Crawford, was implicated in the bank robbery and removed from office.^[5]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 622 square miles (1,610 km²), of which 622 square miles (1,610 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (0.01%) is water.^[6]

Geographic Features

The Arkansas River flows through Edwards County from the southwest corner to the Pawnee County line near U.S. Route 56.

Major highways

Three U.S. Routes run through Edwards County, all meeting in Kinsley. An east–west route, U.S. Route 50 circumvents Belpre and Lewis before joining with westbound U.S. Route 56 in Kinsley. The single road then passes through Offerle and west into Ford County. U.S. Route 183 runs from Kiowa County in the south to Kinsley, where it joins eastbound U.S. 56, running as a single highway to Pawnee County. K-19 starts at U.S. Route 50 near Belpre, and travels north into Pawnee County.

Adjacent counties

Pawnee County (north)
Stafford County (east)
Pratt County (southeast)
Kiowa County (south)
Ford County (southwest)
Hodgeman County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	2,409		—
1890	3,600		49.4%
1900	3,682		2.3%
1910	7,033		91.0%
1920	7,057		0.3%
1930	7,295		3.4%
1940	6,377		−12.6%
1950	5,936		−6.9%
1960	5,118		−13.8%
1970	4,581		−10.5%
1980	4,271		−6.8%
1990	3,787		−11.3%
2000	3,449		−8.9%
2010	3,037		−11.9%
2020	2,907		−4.3%
2023 (est.)	2,733	^[7]	−6.0%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8] 1790-1960^[9] 1900-1990^[10] 1990-2000^[11] 2010-2020^[1]

As of the 2000 census,^[12] there were 3,449 people, 1,455 households, and 955 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile (2.3 people/km²). There were 1,754 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.52% White, 0.32% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 5.57% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.71% of the population.

There were 1,455 households, out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were married couples living together, 6.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.30% were non-families. 32.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.60% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 25.10% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 20.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,530, and the median income for a family was $38,250. Males had a median income of $27,050 versus $20,132 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,586. About 7.00% of families and 10.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.40% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Edwards County, Kansas^[13]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	1,027	82.16%	210	16.80%	13	1.04%
2020	1,141	79.73%	271	18.94%	19	1.33%
2016	1,037	78.62%	212	16.07%	70	5.31%
2012	1,059	76.46%	298	21.52%	28	2.02%
2008	995	73.32%	333	24.54%	29	2.14%
2004	1,084	72.46%	386	25.80%	26	1.74%
2000	1,062	67.95%	447	28.60%	54	3.45%
1996	1,088	59.94%	539	29.70%	188	10.36%
1992	769	39.95%	567	29.45%	589	30.60%
1988	993	53.88%	792	42.97%	58	3.15%
1984	1,352	67.53%	606	30.27%	44	2.20%
1980	1,409	63.93%	616	27.95%	179	8.12%
1976	1,001	42.47%	1,304	55.32%	52	2.21%
1972	1,534	64.54%	757	31.85%	86	3.62%
1968	1,243	54.90%	832	36.75%	189	8.35%
1964	932	39.21%	1,427	60.03%	18	0.76%
1960	1,588	61.46%	986	38.16%	10	0.39%
1956	1,816	69.93%	771	29.69%	10	0.39%
1952	2,192	76.40%	647	22.55%	30	1.05%
1948	1,627	58.15%	1,083	38.71%	88	3.15%
1944	1,669	65.09%	876	34.17%	19	0.74%
1940	1,886	60.14%	1,219	38.87%	31	0.99%
1936	1,394	41.21%	1,986	58.71%	3	0.09%
1932	1,420	44.40%	1,693	52.94%	85	2.66%
1928	2,171	73.37%	768	25.95%	20	0.68%
1924	1,929	66.98%	548	19.03%	403	13.99%
1920	1,782	70.16%	681	26.81%	77	3.03%
1916	1,158	40.80%	1,431	50.42%	249	8.77%
1912	276	16.05%	764	44.42%	680	39.53%
1908	773	50.23%	704	45.74%	62	4.03%
1904	816	64.30%	328	25.85%	125	9.85%
1900	523	50.10%	502	48.08%	19	1.82%
1896	322	39.85%	479	59.28%	7	0.87%
1892	399	45.55%	0	0.00%	477	54.45%
1888	541	53.62%	334	33.10%	134	13.28%

Laws

Edwards County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.^[14]

Education

Unified school districts

Communities

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Edwards County.^[15]

Cities

Belpre
Kinsley (county seat)
Lewis
Offerle

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Edwards County is divided into ten townships. The city of Kinsley is considered governmentally independent and is 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.

Township	FIPS	Population	Population density /km² (/sq mi)	Land area km² (sq mi)	Water area km² (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Belpre	05850	186	1 (3)	140 (54)	0 (0)	0.01%	37°57′14″N 99°6′12″W / 37.95389°N 99.10333°W / 37.95389; -99.10333
Franklin	24350	93	0 (1)	191 (74)	0 (0)	0%	37°48′55″N 99°11′12″W / 37.81528°N 99.18667°W / 37.81528; -99.18667
Jackson	34750	98	1 (1)	187 (72)	0 (0)	0.05%	37°59′35″N 99°30′18″W / 37.99306°N 99.50500°W / 37.99306; -99.50500
Kinsley	37100	160	1 (3)	121 (47)	0 (0)	0.01%	37°56′27″N 99°24′0″W / 37.94083°N 99.40000°W / 37.94083; -99.40000
Lincoln	40650	143	1 (2)	193 (74)	0 (0)	0%	37°49′17″N 99°4′39″W / 37.82139°N 99.07750°W / 37.82139; -99.07750
Logan	41875	42	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0%	38°3′5″N 99°23′47″W / 38.05139°N 99.39639°W / 38.05139; -99.39639
North Brown	51100	67	0 (1)	163 (63)	0 (0)	0.05%	37°51′43″N 99°21′34″W / 37.86194°N 99.35944°W / 37.86194; -99.35944
South Brown	66550	90	0 (1)	251 (97)	0 (0)	0%	37°47′5″N 99°22′5″W / 37.78472°N 99.36806°W / 37.78472; -99.36806
Trenton	71400	306	2 (6)	136 (53)	0 (0)	0%	37°52′50″N 99°32′31″W / 37.88056°N 99.54194°W / 37.88056; -99.54194
Wayne	76125	606	5 (12)	132 (51)	0 (0)	0%	37°56′28″N 99°15′30″W / 37.94111°N 99.25833°W / 37.94111; -99.25833
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Archived from the original on August 2, 2002.