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Coordinates: 38°21′N 98°12′W / 38.35, -98.2

Rice County, Kansas
Map of Kansas highlighting Rice County
Location in the state of Kansas
Map of the U.S
Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded February 26, 1867
Named for Samuel Allen Rice
Seat Lyons
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

728.30 sq mi (1,886 km²)
726.58 sq mi (1,882 km²)
1.72 sq mi (4 km²), 0.24%
Population
 - (2010)
 - Density

10,083
14.4/sq mi (5.6/km²)
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website RiceCounty.us
Samuelallenricecommons

Samuel Allen Rice

Rice County (standard abbreviation: RC) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas; it was named in memory of Samuel Allen Rice, Brigadier-General, United States volunteers, killed April 30, 1864, at Jenkins Ferry, Arkansas.[1] As of the 2010 census, the county population was 10,083.[2] The largest city and county seat is Lyons.

History[]

19th century[]

The Santa Fe Trail followed the route of present day U.S. Route 56. Ruts in the earth from the trail are still visible in several locations. (Ralph's Ruts are visible in aerial photos at 38°21′35″N 98°25′20″W / 38.35959264, -98.42225502.)[3]

In 1878, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and parties from Marion County and McPherson County chartered the Marion and McPherson Railway Company.[4] In 1879, a branch line was built from Florence to McPherson, in 1880 it was extended to Lyons, in 1881 it was extended to Ellinwood.[5] The line was leased and operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The line from Florence to Marion, was abandoned in 1968.[6] In 1992, the line from Marion to McPherson was sold to Central Kansas Railway. In 1993, after heavy flood damage, the line from Marion to McPherson was abandoned. The original branch line connected Florence, Marion, Canada, Hillsboro, Lehigh, Canton, Galva, McPherson, Conway, Windom, Little River, Mitchell, Lyons, Chase, Ellinwood.

Law and government[]

Although the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, Rice County has remained a prohibition, or "dry", county.[7]

Geography[]

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 728.30 square miles (1,886.3 km2), of which 726.58 square miles (1,881.8 km2) (or 99.76%) is land and 1.72 square miles (4.5 km2) (or 0.24%) is water.[8]

Adjacent counties[]

National protected area[]

  • Quivira National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics[]

USA Rice County, Kansas age pyramid

Age pyramid

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1900 14,745
1910 15,106 2.4%
1920 14,832 −1.8%
1930 13,800 −7.0%
1940 17,213 24.7%
1950 15,635 −9.2%
1960 13,909 −11.0%
1970 12,320 −11.4%
1980 11,900 −3.4%
1990 10,610 −10.8%
2000 10,761 1.4%
2010 10,083 −6.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 10,761 people, 4,050 households, and 2,830 families residing in the county. The population density was 15 people per square mile (6/km²). There were 4,609 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.68% White, 1.15% Black or African American, 0.57% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.84% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. 5.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,050 households out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.10% were married couples living together, 7.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.70% under the age of 18, 13.30% from 18 to 24, 22.80% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,671, and the median income for a family was $40,960. Males had a median income of $31,175 versus $18,968 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,064. About 8.50% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.60% of those under age 18 and 8.20% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns[]

Incorporated cities[]

Name and population (2004 estimate):

  • Lyons, 3,576 (county seat)
  • Sterling, 2,587
  • Little River, 530
  • Chase, 471
  • Bushton, 300
  • Geneseo, 271
  • Alden, 161
  • Raymond, 95
  • Frederick, 11

Townships[]

Rice County is divided into twenty townships. The cities of Lyons and Sterling 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 Population
center
Population Population
density
/km² (/sq mi)
Land area
km² (sq mi)
Water area
km² (sq mi)
Water % Geographic coordinates
Atlanta 03075 233 3 (7) 90 (35) 0 (0) 0.25% 38°18′22″N 98°11′58″W / 38.30611, -98.19944
Bell 05375 18 0 (0) 94 (36) 1 (0) 0.65% 38°13′10″N 98°24′2″W / 38.21944, -98.40056
Center 12075 136 1 (4) 95 (37) 0 (0) 0.04% 38°17′50″N 98°18′12″W / 38.29722, -98.30333
East Washington 19725 179 2 (5) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0.03% 38°13′18″N 97°58′34″W / 38.22167, -97.97611
Eureka 21900 65 1 (2) 95 (37) 0 (0) 0% 38°29′52″N 98°19′21″W / 38.49778, -98.3225
Farmer 23100 441 5 (12) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0% 38°30′0″N 98°24′55″W / 38.5, -98.41528
Galt 25175 51 1 (1) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0.22% 38°28′8″N 98°5′59″W / 38.46889, -98.09972
Harrison 30425 192 2 (5) 92 (35) 0 (0) 0.06% 38°23′3″N 98°11′49″W / 38.38417, -98.19694
Lincoln 41100 577 6 (16) 95 (37) 0 (0) 0% 38°22′10″N 98°19′19″W / 38.36944, -98.32194
Mitchell 47525 131 1 (4) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0.18% 38°23′24″N 98°5′42″W / 38.39, -98.095
Odessa 52150 55 1 (2) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0.10% 38°28′17″N 97°59′21″W / 38.47139, -97.98917
Pioneer 55925 101 1 (3) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0.03% 38°23′34″N 98°25′39″W / 38.39278, -98.4275
Raymond 58575 185 2 (5) 92 (36) 1 (0) 0.71% 38°17′38″N 98°24′56″W / 38.29389, -98.41556
Rockville 60725 134 1 (4) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0.04% 38°18′17″N 97°57′36″W / 38.30472, -97.96
Sterling 68225 223 2 (5) 114 (44) 1 (0) 1.01% 38°12′19″N 98°11′44″W / 38.20528, -98.19556
Union 72325 741 8 (21) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0% 38°23′34″N 97°59′32″W / 38.39278, -97.99222
Valley 73100 276 4 (9) 77 (30) 1 (0) 1.11% 38°13′27″N 98°18′44″W / 38.22417, -98.31222
Victoria 73825 364 4 (10) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0.06% 38°29′57″N 98°10′24″W / 38.49917, -98.17333
West Washington 77425 138 1 (4) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0.12% 38°13′9″N 98°4′58″W / 38.21917, -98.08278
Wilson 79775 147 2 (4) 94 (36) 0 (0) 0.02% 38°18′2″N 98°6′2″W / 38.30056, -98.10056

Education[]

Map of Rice Co, Ks, USA

2005 KDOT Map of Rice County (map legend)

Unified school districts[]

See also[]

  • Dry counties
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Rice County, Kansas

Information on this and other counties in Kansas

Other information for Kansas


References[]

Further reading[]

External links[]

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This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Rice County, Kansas. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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