Sumner County, Kansas

Sumner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Wellington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,382. The county is named after Charles Sumner, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts who was a leader of Reconstruction politics.

History

Early history

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 Spain 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 On February 26, 1867, Sumner County was created from parts of Marion and Butler counties. It was named in honor of Charles Sumner, a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1811–74), who was a strong advocate of Kansas becoming a free state.

In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a branch line north–south from Herington to Caldwell. This branch line connected Herington, Lost Springs, Lincolnville, Antelope, Marion, Aulne, Peabody, Elbing, Whitewater, Furley, Kechi, Wichita, Peck, Corbin, Wellington and Caldwell. By 1893, this branch line was incrementally built to Fort Worth, Texas. This line is called the "OKT". The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway was foreclosed in 1891 and was 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, and finally merged in 1997 with Union Pacific Railroad. Most locals still refer to this railroad as the "Rock Island".

21st century In December 2011, the Kansas Star Casino opened approximately west of the center of Mulvane, adjacent to an exit on the Kansas Turnpike that was added in the mid-1980s. The casino is located just west of the turnpike exit.Kansas Star Casino Plans To Open; The Wichita Eagle; December 7, 2011.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water.

Adjacent counties Sedgwick County (north) Butler County (northeast) Cowley County (east) Kay County, Oklahoma (southeast) Grant County, Oklahoma (southwest) Harper County (west) Kingman County (northwest)

Demographics

Sumner County is part of the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area. It reached its historic peak population in 1910.

Racial and ethnic composition +Sumner County, Kansas – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980 Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)23,89324,45524,06722,04419,34795.85%94.64%92.76%91.35%86.44%Black or African American alone (NH)1361381752112000.55%0.53%0.67%0.87%0.89%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1552802582552150.62%1.08%0.99%1.06%0.96%Asian alone (NH)46695750730.18%0.27%0.22%0.21%0.33%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census1440xx0.05%0.02%0.00%Other race alone (NH)211812930.01%0.04%0.03%0.05%0.42%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census4384591,200xx1.69%1.90%5.36%Hispanic or Latino (any race)6968889291,0971,2542.79%3.44%3.58%4.55%5.60%Total24,92825,84125,94624,13222,382 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 22,382. The median age was 41.9 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.2 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 89.1% White, 0.9% Black or African American, 1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.6% from some other race, and 7.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.6% of the population.

37.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 62.6% lived in rural areas.

There were 9,028 households in the county, of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.8% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 10,324 housing units, of which 12.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 73.7% were owner-occupied and 26.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.8%.

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 25,946 people, 9,888 households, and 7,089 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 10,877 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.62% White, 0.71% Black or African American, 1.05% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.29% from other races, and 2.06% from two or more races. 3.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,888 households, out of which 34.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.90% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.30% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.50% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,415, and the median income for a family was $46,739. Males had a median income of $36,616 versus $23,020 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,305. About 7.20% of families and 9.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.20% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government Presidential elections Sumner County, like many neighboring counties, often votes for the Republican Party in presidential elections. However, in 1992 independent candidate Ross Perot came within two percent of winning the county against George H. W. Bush. The last time the county voted for a Democratic candidate was Jimmy Carter in 1976, but towards the end of the Great Plains drought of the 1980s, Michael Dukakis managed to crack 40%, the last Democratic nominee to do so.

Laws Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, Sumner 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.

Education

Unified school districts School districts covering parts of the county include: - Text list Mulvane USD 263 Wellington USD 353 Conway Springs USD 356 Belle Plaine USD 357 Oxford USD 358 Argonia USD 359 Caldwell USD 360 South Haven USD 509 Arkansas City USD 470 Clearwater USD 264 Kingman-Norwich USD 331 Udall USD 463

Communities

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Sumner County.

Cities ‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county.

Argonia Belle Plaine Caldwell Conway Springs Geuda Springs‡ Hunnewell Mayfield Milan Mulvane‡ Oxford South Haven Wellington (county seat)

Unincorporated communities † means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.

Adamsville Anson Ashton Cicero Corbin Dalton Drury Millerton Milton† Peck†‡ Perth Portland Riverdale Rome Suppesville Zyba

Ghost towns Ewell

Townships

Sumner County is divided into thirty townships. The cities of Caldwell and Wellington 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 Populationcenter Population Populationdensity/km2 (/sq mi) Land areakm2 (sq mi) Water areakm2 (sq mi) Water % Geographic coordinates Avon 03575 319 3 (9) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0.03% Belle Plaine 05525 3,504 33 (87) 105 (40) 1 (0) 0.69% Bluff 07750 74 1 (1) 136 (53) 0 (0) 0% Caldwell 09925 200 1 (4) 136 (52) 0 (0) 0.02% Chikaskia 13150 69 1 (2) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0.02% Conway 15300 1,286 14 (35) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0% Creek 16300 241 3 (7) 95 (37) 0 (0) 0.05% Dixon 18200 738 8 (20) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0% Downs 18525 159 2 (5) 91 (35) 0 (0) 0% Eden 19800 452 5 (12) 95 (37) 0 (0) 0% Falls 22875 187 1 (3) 139 (54) 0 (0) 0% Gore 26975 2,220 27 (70) 83 (32) 1 (1) 1.69% Greene 28525 80 1 (2) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0.10% Guelph 29175 164 1 (3) 141 (55) 0 (0) 0% Harmon 30125 277 3 (9) 79 (31) 0 (0) 0% Illinois 33800 178 2 (5) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0.05% Jackson 34925 153 2 (4) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0.02% London 42400 774 7 (19) 107 (41) 1 (0) 0.93% Morris 48375 35 0 (1) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0% Osborne 53335 273 3 (8) 92 (35) 1 (0) 1.30% Oxford 53875 1,403 14 (37) 99 (38) 1 (0) 1.08% Palestine 54175 249 3 (9) 72 (28) 1 (0) 1.26% Ryan 61950 239 3 (7) 92 (36) 0 (0) 0% Seventy Six 64000 238 3 (7) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0% South Haven 66675 670 5 (12) 140 (54) 0 (0) 0% Springdale 67575 761 8 (21) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0% Sumner 69225 150 2 (4) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0% Valverde 73350 147 2 (4) 93 (36) 1 (0) 0.76% Walton 75300 431 3 (8) 139 (54) 0 (0) 0% Wellington 76500 344 4 (11) 81 (31) 0 (0) 0.06%

Sumner County, Kansas

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