Wabaunsee County
County
Wabaunsee County Courthouse in Alma (2021)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°01′07″N 96°17′33″W / 39.0186°N 96.2925°W / 39.0186; -96.2925
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	1859
Named for	Chief Waubonsie
Seat	Alma
Largest city	Alma
Area
• Total	800 sq mi (2,000 km2)
• Land	794 sq mi (2,060 km2)
• Water	5.3 sq mi (14 km2)  0.7%
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	6,877
• Estimate  (2021)[2]	6,966
• Density	8.7/sq mi (3.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	wbcounty.org

Wabaunsee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Alma.^[3] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 6,877.^[1] The county was named for Chief Waubonsie of the Potawatomi Indians.^[4]

History

19th century

For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. In 1803, most of modern Kansas was secured by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. The first white settlers in the area were said to have been a band of outlaws known as the McDaniel Gang.^[4]

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized and Wabaunsee County was created by the territorial legislature on March 25, 1859.^[4] The name used since 1859 is derived from the Potawatomi "Wah-bon-seh", meaning "dawn of day" literally, and it was the name of the chief of the Potawatomi Indians.^[4] Originally, the county was named Richardson, after William Alexander Richardson, a congressman from Illinois, who introduced the first Kansas and Nebraska Bill in the House of Representatives, which made certain Indian lands territories in 1854.^[5]

Also in 1854, the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church was established by a group of free-staters, who had rifles shipped to the church to be used in the free-state effort in boxes marked Bibles.^[4] Captain William Mitchell, Jr., a seaman who joined the Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony that settled in Wabaunsee, played an important role in the county settlement and with the underground railroad.^[4]

The county's first church, Wabaunsee Church of Christ, was founded in June 1857.^[4]

In 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state, entering the union as a free state.

The first railroad to be built through Wabaunsee County was the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe in 1880.^[6] In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a main line from Topeka to Herington.^[7] This main line connected Topeka, Valencia, Willard, Maple Hill, Vera, Paxico, McFarland, Alma, Volland, Alta Vista, Dwight, White City, Latimer, Herington.

20th century

A massive drought beginning in 1930 resulted in a series of dust storms that lasted until 1941. The drought combined with the onset of the Great Depression, forced farmers off the land. This ecological disaster caused an exodus of many farmers to escape from the hostile environment of Kansas.^[8][9] As the world demand for wheat plummeted, rural Kansas became poverty-stricken. The state became an eager participant in such major New Deal relief programs as the Civil Works Administration, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, which put tens of thousands of Kansans to work as unskilled labor.^[10] Republican Governor Alf Landon also employed emergency measures, including a moratorium on mortgage foreclosures and a balanced budget initiative.^[11] The Agricultural Adjustment Administration succeeded in raising wheat prices after 1933, thus alleviating the most serious distress.^[12]

During World War II, the U.S. Army located a German prisoner of war camp at Lake Wabaunsee, near Eskridge. It was believed that the prisoners would be less of a security risk in North America, where there were fewer Nazi sympathizers, than they would be in Europe. The prisoners were paid $0.40 per hour and granted a daily noon lunch, in exchange for their help on farms and bridges throughout the region.^[13]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 800 square miles (2,100 km²), of which 794 square miles (2,060 km²) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km²) (0.7%) is water.^[14]

Adjacent counties

• Pottawatomie County (north)
• Shawnee County (east)
• Osage County (southeast)
• Lyon County (south)
• Morris County (southwest)
• Geary County (west)
• Riley County (northwest)

Demographics

Wabaunsee County is part of the Topeka, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.

As of the census^[20] of 2000, there were 6,885 people, 2,633 households, and 1,958 families residing in the county. The population density was 9 people per square mile (3.5 people/km²). There were 3,033 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile (1.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.24% White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. 1.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,633 households, out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.30% were married couples living together, 6.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.60% were non-families. 23.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.70% under the age of 18, 6.20% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,710, and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $31,629 versus $23,148 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,704. About 5.80% of families and 7.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

Government

County governance is overseen by a three member Board of Commissioners, each of whom is responsible for a separate district.^[21]

Presidential elections