Ellis County

History

19th century

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

Ellis County was established by an act of the state legislature on February 16, 1873, which defined the original borders of the county as: Commencing where the east line of range 16 west intersects the second standard parallel, thence south to the third standard parallel, thence west to the east line of range 21 west, thence north to the second standard parallel, thence east to the place of beginning.

The first settlers had been arriving since May 1867, with Fort Fletcher (later Fort Hays) having been built in 1865.

Independent county government was established in October 1867, by proclamation of Governor Samuel J. Crawford in response to a petition.

Hays was chosen as the permanent seat by an election in April 1870.

Early settlers the Lull brothers, from Salina, had in May 1867 begun a town called Rome just north of the railroad route and on the west of Big Creek, expecting that to become the county seat.

It gained a general supply store, Bloomfield, Moses & Co, the following month, and a hotel run by Joseph Perry.

However, the Big Creek Land Company platted a competing town named Hays City on the east of Big Creek, which gained the important support of the railroad company.

Rome disappeared, with Perry's hotel and several other of its buildings being relocated to Hays City.

Ellis County was named for George Ellis, first lieutenant of the Twelfth Kansas Infantry.

The county's early newspapers were the Star-Sentinel, Hays City Times, and Ellis County Free Press published in Hays City; and the Ellis Head-Light and Ellis Review published in Ellis.

20th century

In 1942, the Walker Army Airfield was built northwest of Walker. Thousands were stationed at the airfield for training of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress during World War II. The airfield was abandoned and most of it razed .

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 900 square miles (2,300 km2), of which 900 square miles (2,300 km2) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2) (0.05%) is water.

Geology and hydrology

The county is crossed by the Saline River across the north, with its principal branch being Eagle Creek.

Other rivers include Big Creek, with its principal tributary Victoria Creek, which is in turn a tributary of the Smoky Hill River which flows across the south.

The county had several salt marshes in 1886.

The river banks had a lot of limestone, and around Hays City in the 19th century there were great quantities of clay.

Adjacent counties

Rooks County (north)

Osborne County (northeast)

Russell County (east)

Rush County (south)

Ness County (southwest)

Trego County (west)

Major highways

I-70 / US-40

US-183

Airport

Hays Regional Airport is located within the county. Used primarily for general aviation, it hosts one commercial airline, United Express, which offers daily jet service to Denver, Colorado.

Demographics

The Hays Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Ellis County.

In 1886, the population was 5.842, having risen from 5,046 in 1885.

In 1910, the population was 12,170.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 28,934. The median age was 34.1 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.3 males age 18 and over. 75.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 24.4% lived in rural areas.

The racial makeup of the county was 88.4% White, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.4% from some other race, and 5.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.0% of the population.

There were 11,853 households in the county, of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 26.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 13,166 housing units, of which 10.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 62.0% were owner-occupied and 38.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.7%.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 27,507 people, 11,193 households, and 6,771 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile (12 people/km2). There were 12,078 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5.0/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.10% White, 0.67% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.31% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.37% of the population.

There were 11,193 households, out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.00% were married couples living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.50% were non-families. 30.10% 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 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.40% under the age of 18, 18.40% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 19.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,339, and the median income for a family was $44,498. Males had a median income of $29,885 versus $21,269 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,259. About 6.50% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.20% of those under age 18 and 10.00% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Ellis County is an anomaly in western Kansas, having voted several times for Democratic presidential candidates, even when the vast majority of the state's 105 counties went for the Republican nominee. This is due to the county's distinctive (in Kansas) German Catholic heritage, contrasting with the Southern “Bible Belt” or Yankee heritage of most rural Kansas counties. It was the solitary county in Kansas to support Catholic Al Smith over Herbert Hoover in 1928, when Kansas was Hoover's strongest state nationwide, and also was won by John F. Kennedy in 1960 by almost thirty percent as one of only two Kansas counties to back the Massachusetts senator. Ellis County bucked the national and statewide trend by voting for Michael Dukakis over winner George H. W. Bush in the 1988 presidential election, one of only three Kansas counties to go for Dukakis. Ellis County gave a plurality to Bill Clinton over Bush and Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential election, but has been solidly in the Republican column since, giving 66 percent to Republican John McCain to 32 percent for Democrat Barack Obama in the 2008 election, higher than the 57 percent McCain won statewide.

Laws

Wild Bill Hickok served as sheriff in 1870. Ellis 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. The food sales requirement was removed with voter approval in 1988.

Education

Unified school districts

There were 44 school districts by 1886.

Ellis USD 388 Archived May 27, 2021, at the Wayback Machine

western third of county; small portion in extreme eastern Trego County

Victoria USD 432

eastern third of county to Russell county line

Hays USD 489

extends to Rooks and Rush county lines and approximately five miles each way on I-70 from city center

Private schools

Holy Family Elementary in Hays

St. Mary's Elementary in Ellis

Thomas More Prep-Marian High in Hays

Universities and Colleges

Fort Hays State University

North Central Kansas Technical College

Communities

Many settlements in Ellis are named after the original settlements in Russia from which the Volga Germans immigrated, including Catherine from Katherinenstatd (a.k.a. Baronsk and founded in 1765 by Baron de Beauregard), Shoenchen (a.k.a. Paninskoje and founded in 1767), Pfeifer (a.k.a. Gniluska and founded in 1766), Herzog (founded in 1764), and Munjor from Obermonjour (founded 1766) and Neo-Obermonjour (founded 1859). In 1886, there were twelve post offices in the county: Catharine, Easdale, Ellis, Hays City, Martin, Mendota, Munjor, Palatine, Stockrange, Turkville, Victoria, and Walker.

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

Unincorporated communities

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

Ghost towns

In the 19th and early 20th century there were various communities that no longer exist today:

Townships

Ellis County is divided into nine townships. The cities of Ellis and Hays 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.

At the start of the 20th century, the townships were: Big Creek, Buckeye, Catherine, Ellis, Freedom, Hamilton, Herzog, Lookout, Pleasant Hill, Saline, Smoky Hill, Victoria, Walker, and Wheatlan.