Scott County
County
Monument at Battle Canyon, site of the Battle of Punished Woman's Fork during the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°28′00″N 100°54′00″W / 38.4667°N 100.9°W / 38.4667; -100.9
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	March 20, 1873
Named for	Winfield Scott[1]
Seat	Scott City
Largest city	Scott City
Area
• Total	718 sq mi (1,860 km2)
• Land	718 sq mi (1,860 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)  0.02%
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	5,151
• Density	7.2/sq mi (2.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	County Website

Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Scott City,^[3] the only incorporated city in the county. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,151.^[2] The county was named after Winfield Scott, a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861.

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.

19th century

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 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1873, Scott County was established.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 718 square miles (1,860 km²), of which 718 square miles (1,860 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (0.02%) is water.^[4]

Adjacent counties

• Gove County (northeast)
• Lane County (east)
• Finney County (south)
• Kearny County (southwest)
• Wichita County (west)
• Logan County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census^[10] of 2000, there were 5,120 people, 2,045 households, and 1,435 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile (2.7 people/km²). There were 2,291 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.47% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 2.75% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. 6.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,045 households, out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.00% were married couples living together, 6.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 27.30% 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 2.46 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.10% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,534, and the median income for a family was $50,549. Males had a median income of $32,166 versus $20,221 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,443. About 2.10% of families and 5.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.00% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Prior to 1940, Scott County was a swing county, voting for the national winner in every presidential election from 1904 to 1936. From 1940 on, it has become one of the most Republican counties in the entire nation, with Barry Goldwater in 1964 being the lone Republican candidate since then to be held to single-digit margin of victory in the county. In addition, each of the last six presidential elections have resulted in the Republican candidate winning over 70 percent of the county's vote & the Democratic candidate being held under 20 percent.