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Wyandotte County, Kansas

Coordinates: 39°07′N 94°43′W / 39.117°N 94.717°W / 39.117; -94.717
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"Wyandotte County" redirects here. Not to be confused with Wyandot County, Ohio.

Wyandotte County
Consolidated city-county
Wyandotte County Courthouse in Kansas City (2009)
Wyandotte County Courthouse in Kansas City (2009)
Flag of Wyandotte County
Flag
Official seal of Wyandotte County
Seal
Map of Kansas highlighting Wyandotte County
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Map of the United States highlighting Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°07′N 94°43′W / 39.117°N 94.717°W / 39.117; -94.717
Country United States
State Kansas
FoundedJanuary 29, 1859; 165 years ago (1859-01-29)
Named forWyandot people
SeatKansas City
Largest cityKansas City
Area
 • Total
156 sq mi (400 km2)
 • Land152 sq mi (390 km2)
 • Water4.6 sq mi (12 km2)  2.9%
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • Total
169,245
 • Estimate 
(2023)[2]
165,281 Decrease
 • Density1,087/sq mi (420/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts2nd, 3rd
Websitewycokck.org

Wyandotte County (/ˈwaɪ.əndɒt/) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City,[3] with which it shares a unified government. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,245,[1] making it Kansas's fourth-most populous county. The county was named after the Wyandot tribe.

History

[edit]
See also: History of Kansas

Wyandot tribe

[edit]

The county is named after the Wyandot (also Wyandott or Wyandotte) Indians. They were called the Huron by the French in Canada, but called themselves Wendat. They were distantly related to the Iroquois, with whom they sometimes fought. They had hoped to keep white Americans out of their territory and to make the Ohio River the border between the United States and Canada.[4]

One branch of the Wyandot moved to the area that is now the state of Ohio. They generally took the course of assimilation into Anglo-American society. Many of them embraced Christianity under the influence of missionaries. They were transported to the current Wyandotte County in 1843, where they set up a community and worked in cooperation with Anglo settlers. The Christian Munsee also influenced this area's early settlement.[5]

The Wyandot in Kansas set up a constitutional form of government they had devised in Ohio. They set up the territorial government for Kansas and Nebraska, and elected one of their own territorial governor.

Other historical facts

[edit]

The county was organized in 1859.[6] Tenskwatawa (Tecumseh's brother), "the Prophet", fought at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. He was buried at Shawnee Native American historical site Whitefeather Spring, at 3818 Ruby Ave. Kansas City, which was added in 1975 to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The Kansas City Smelting and Refining Company employed over 250 men during the 1880s. The ore and base bullion is received from the mountains' mining districts and is crushed, separated and refined.

The Delaware Crossing (or "Military Crossing"; sometimes "the Secondine") was where the old Indian trail met the waters of the Kaw River. Circa 1831, Moses Grinter, one of the area's earliest permanent white settlers, set up the Grinter Ferry on the Kansas River there. His house was known as the Grinter Place. The ferry was used by traders, freighters, and soldiers traveling between Fort Leavenworth and Fort Scott on the military road. Others crossed this area on their way to Santa Fe.

The Diocese of Leavenworth moved its see from Leavenworth, Kansas to Kansas City, Kansas on May 10, 1947. It became an archdiocese on August 9, 1952.

Geography

[edit]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of 156 square miles (400 km2), of which 152 square miles (390 km2) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km2) (2.9%) is water.[7] It is Kansas's smallest county by area.[8]

Topography

[edit]

The county's natural topography consists of gently rolling terrain. The Kansas River forms part of the county's southern boundary. The elevation generally increases from south to north as the distance from the Kansas River and Missouri River increases.

Watersheds and streams

[edit]
Mission Creek watershed

The county is drained by natural creek and stream watersheds of the Kaw River, which is part of the Missouri River basin. It receives plentiful rainfall.

Turkey Creek is a stream spanning Johnson and Wyandotte counties.[9][10] The creek has disastrously flooded the area through all measurable history, including several cities in the Upper Turkey Creek Basin, for which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has developed complicated flood control deployments and ongoing proposals, including major drainage at Rosedale, KCK.[11][12]

Adjacent counties

[edit]

Demographics

[edit]
Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18602,609—
187010,015283.9%
188019,14391.1%
189054,407184.2%
190073,22734.6%
1910100,06836.7%
1920122,21822.1%
1930141,21115.5%
1940145,0712.7%
1950165,31814.0%
1960185,49512.2%
1970186,8450.7%
1980172,335−7.8%
1990161,993−6.0%
2000157,882−2.5%
2010157,505−0.2%
2020169,2457.5%
2023 (est.)165,281[13]−2.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]
1790–1960[15] 1900–1990[16]
1990–2000[17] 2010–2020[1]

Wyandotte County is included in the Kansas City, MO-KS Kansas City metropolitan area.

The 2000 census has 157,882 people, 59,700 households, and 39,163 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,043 people per square mile (403 people/km2). There were 65,892 housing units at an average density of 435 per square mile (168/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 58.18% White, 28.33% Black or African American, 1.63% Asian, 0.74% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 8.17% from other races, and 2.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.00% of the population.

By 2007, 48.1% of Wyandotte County's population was non-Hispanic whites. 26.3% of the population was African-American. Native Americans made up 0.6% of the population, Asians 1.8%, and Latinos 21.7%.

There were 59,700 households, of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.10% were married couples living together, 17.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.40% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.50% under the age of 18, 10.40% from 18 to 24, 29.50% from 25 to 44, 19.90% from 45 to 64, and 11.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,784, and the median income for a family was $40,333. Males had a median income of $31,335 versus $24,640 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,005. About 12.5% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those 65 or older.

Approximately 1.4% of the county's residents take public transportation to work. This is the highest percentage in the state.[18]

Government

[edit]

Law

[edit]

The Wyandotte County Sheriff's Office oversees the Wyandotte County Jail. The Bonner Springs Police Department, Edwardsville Police Department, and the Kansas City Kansas Police Department serve those respective cities in Wyandotte County.

Wyandotte County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement. Voters removed the food sales requirement in 1988.[19]

The county voted against the 2022 Kansas abortion referendum, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 74% to 26%, outpacing its support of Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election.[20]

Local government

[edit]

In 1997, residents voted to consolidate the municipal government of Kansas City, Kansas and county government of Wyandotte into a single unified government, combining many duplicative public departments. Voters at the time largely decided the municipal government harbored widespread corruption and patronage, and that consolidation with the better run county offered a path toward better public services and increased government transparency.[21]

Presidential elections

[edit]
Presidential election results
United States presidential election results for Wyandotte County, Kansas[22]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2024 18,398 37.35% 30,096 61.09% 770 1.56%
2020 18,934 33.18% 36,788 64.46% 1,349 2.36%
2016 15,806 32.10% 30,146 61.22% 3,291 6.68%
2012 15,496 30.45% 34,302 67.40% 1,095 2.15%
2008 16,506 28.75% 39,865 69.44% 1,038 1.81%
2004 17,919 33.56% 34,923 65.40% 559 1.05%
2000 14,024 29.05% 32,411 67.14% 1,837 3.81%
1996 14,011 28.22% 31,252 62.94% 4,391 8.84%
1992 12,872 21.06% 34,397 56.27% 13,855 22.67%
1988 19,097 32.70% 38,678 66.23% 624 1.07%
1984 27,459 42.81% 36,042 56.20% 635 0.99%
1980 23,012 38.21% 32,763 54.40% 4,448 7.39%
1976 23,141 36.99% 37,478 59.91% 1,936 3.09%
1972 34,157 52.70% 28,206 43.52% 2,453 3.78%
1968 23,091 33.38% 34,189 49.43% 11,891 17.19%
1964 20,553 31.45% 43,442 66.47% 1,356 2.07%
1960 34,764 45.27% 41,433 53.95% 604 0.79%
1956 34,604 47.64% 37,842 52.10% 186 0.26%
1952 34,648 47.04% 38,751 52.61% 258 0.35%
1948 24,398 36.53% 41,366 61.94% 1,024 1.53%
1944 26,817 44.74% 32,914 54.91% 214 0.36%
1940 28,152 42.24% 38,239 57.38% 252 0.38%
1936 26,239 40.62% 38,101 58.98% 256 0.40%
1932 25,471 43.30% 32,629 55.47% 721 1.23%
1928 32,829 65.69% 16,884 33.78% 265 0.53%
1924 23,881 59.48% 8,913 22.20% 7,354 18.32%
1920 19,294 57.25% 13,737 40.76% 671 1.99%
1916 13,863 41.86% 17,850 53.89% 1,408 4.25%
1912 2,107 11.18% 7,370 39.10% 9,371 49.72%
1908 8,684 47.56% 8,923 48.87% 652 3.57%
1904 9,147 64.18% 3,815 26.77% 1,290 9.05%
1900 8,133 51.75% 7,304 46.47% 280 1.78%
1896 6,852 49.44% 6,882 49.65% 126 0.91%
1892 5,889 51.10% 0 0.00% 5,635 48.90%
1888 5,431 55.41% 4,155 42.39% 215 2.19%
1884 3,232 56.33% 2,301 40.10% 205 3.57%
1880 2,410 55.09% 1,729 39.52% 236 5.39%

Unlike almost every other county in Kansas, Wyandotte County has been solidly Democratic ever since the New Deal. This is largely due to its highly urbanized nature and significant minority population. The only Democrat to lose Wyandotte County since 1932 has been George McGovern in Richard Nixon's 49-state landslide of 1972, when Nixon swept all 275 counties in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Wyandotte was the only county in Kansas to vote for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, Adlai Stevenson II in both 1952 and 1956, Hubert Humphrey in 1968, Jimmy Carter in 1980, and Walter Mondale in 1984. No Republican presidential nominee has received even 40% of the vote since Ronald Reagan in 1984. Democratic strength is primarily concentrated east of Interstate 435, while areas west of the highway, especially the neighborhoods of Piper and Wolcott, lean Republican.[23]

Economy

[edit]

Village West is at the intersection of Interstates 70 and 435, and has significantly fueled growth in KCK and Wyandotte County. Anchored by the Kansas Speedway, its attractions and retailers include Hollywood Casino, Legends Outlets Kansas City, Cabela's, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Great Wolf Lodge, Legends Field (hosting the Monarchs of the American Association of baseball) and Children's Mercy Park (hosting Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer).

Other attractions include Azura Amphitheater (formerly and still commonly known as the Sandstone Amphitheater), the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, Wyandotte County Park, and Sunflower Hills Golf Course.

Colleges and universities

[edit]

Public

Private

School districts

[edit]

Private schools

[edit]

Primary

  • Resurrection Grade School (formerly St. Peter's Cathedral Grade School)
  • St. Patrick's Grade School
  • Christ the King Grade School

Secondary

Other schools

[edit]

Communities

[edit]
Wyandotte County, Kansas 1899 Map

These are townships, incorporated cities, unincorporated communities, and extinct former communities within Wyandotte County.[24]

Cities

[edit]

Neighborhoods

[edit]

Townships

[edit]

Delaware is the sole township of Wyandotte County. The cities of Bonner Springs, Kansas City, and Lake Quivira are considered governmentally independent and excluded from Delaware's census. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of significant size.

Township FIPS Population
center 		Population Population
density
/km2 (/sq mi) 		Land area
km2 (sq mi)		 Water area
km2 (sq mi)		 Water % Geographic coordinates
Delaware 17475 Edwardsville 4,200 141 (364) 30 (12) 1 (0) 3.97% 39°3′50″N 94°49′8″W / 39.06389°N 94.81889°W / 39.06389; -94.81889
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Archived from the original on August 2, 2002.

The 2010 census lists the city of Edwardsville as also governmentally independent, with the size of the remaining township dropping to a population of 31 living on 2.43 square miles (6.3 km2) of land (and 0.36 square miles (0.93 km2) water), resulting in a population density of 12.76 per square mile (4.93/km2). The Kansas State Historical Society also confirms Edwardsville's departure.[25]

See also

[edit]
Community information for Kansas

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "QuickFacts; Wyandotte County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ Pritzker, Barry (March 9, 1998). Native Americans: Southwest - California - Northwest Coast - Great Basin - Plateau. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780874368369. Retrieved March 9, 2022 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Rogers, Edward S.; Smith, Donald B. (September 9, 1994). Aboriginal Ontario: Historical Perspectives on the First Nations. Dundurn. ISBN 9781550022308. Retrieved March 9, 2022 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "CHAPTER XXIV. ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY". Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  7. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  8. ^ Brackman, Barbara (1997). Kansas Trivia. Thomas Nelson Inc. p. 10. ISBN 9781418553814.
  9. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Wyandotte County, Kansas
  10. ^ Shope, Alan (May 8, 2019). "Could Turkey Creek's flood control project be answer to Indian Creek's flooding?". KMBC. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  11. ^ "8: Turkey Creek and the Diversion Tunnel". The Winding Valley and the Craggy Hillside (PDF). 1976. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  12. ^ "Upper Turkey Creek Basin". US Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  13. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  14. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  15. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  16. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  17. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  18. ^ "Kansas Statistical Abstract" (PDF). PRI Policy Research Institute, The University of Kansas. 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2006. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  19. ^ "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  20. ^ Panetta, Grace (August 3, 2022). "14 of the 19 Kansas counties that rejected an anti-abortion amendment voted for Trump in 2020". Business Insider. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  21. ^ "How KCK And Wyandotte County Unified During Troubled Times". KCUR. March 6, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  22. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  23. ^ Park, Alice; Smart, Charlie; Taylor, Rumsey; Watkins, Miles (February 2, 2021). "An Extremely Detailed Map of the 2020 Election". The New York Times.
  24. ^ "General Highway Map of Wyandotte County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). July 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 19, 2024.
  25. ^ "Wyandotte County, Kansas - Kansas Historical Society". Kshs.org. Retrieved April 6, 2018.

Further reading

[edit]
See also: List of books about Kansas, including historical information about its counties and cities
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wyandotte County, Kansas.
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