Norton County, Kansas
Norton County (standard abbreviation: NT) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2010, 5,671 people lived there.[1] The county seat is Norton. Norton is also the biggest city in Norton County.[2] The county was created in 1867. It was named after Orloff Norton, captain of Company L, 15th Kansas Militia Infantry Regiment.[3]
| Norton County, Kansas | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Kansas | |
 Kansas's location in the U.S. | |
| Statistics | |
| Founded | February 26, 1867 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Norton |
| Largest City | Norton |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
881 sq mi (2,282 km²) 878 sq mi (2,274 km²) 3.2 sq mi (8 km²), 0.4% |
| PopulationEst. - (2016) - Density |
5,493 6.5/sq mi (3/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Named for: Orloff Norton | |
History
19th century
Norton County was created by Noah H. Billings, Thomas Beaumont, Henry Gordon, P. Hansen, and George Cole on August 22, 1872. In 1878 Norton became the county seat. The county got its name for Civil War soldier Orloff Norton, who was killed at Cane Hill, Arkansas in 1864.[source?]
The first county fair, although not official, was held in Leota in October, 1878. After 1900 the fair was held every year in Elmwood Park in Norton. The first school district was created in Norton in 1872. School was held in a dugout beginning December 1, 1873.[1]
Geography
The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of 881 square miles (2,280 km2). Of that, 878 square miles (2,270 km2) is land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2) (0.4%) is water.[4]
People
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 6,998 | ||
| 1890 | 10,617 | 51.7% | |
| 1900 | 11,325 | 6.7% | |
| 1910 | 11,614 | 2.6% | |
| 1920 | 11,423 | −1.6% | |
| 1930 | 11,701 | 2.4% | |
| 1940 | 9,831 | −16.0% | |
| 1950 | 8,808 | −10.4% | |
| 1960 | 8,035 | −8.8% | |
| 1970 | 7,279 | −9.4% | |
| 1980 | 6,689 | −8.1% | |
| 1990 | 5,947 | −11.1% | |
| 2000 | 5,953 | 0.1% | |
| 2010 | 5,671 | −4.7% | |
| Est. 2016 | 5,493 | [5] | −7.7% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8] 1990-2000[9] 2010-2016[1] | |||
Government
County
Noah H. Billings was an early county settler, county superintendent of schools, county attorney, and state representative. Keith Sebelius was a U.S. congressman from 1969 to 1981.[10]
Presidential elections
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third Parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 82.4% 1,840 | 12.6% 281 | 5.1% 113 |
| 2012 | 80.8% 1,878 | 17.1% 398 | 2.1% 49 |
| 2008 | 77.8% 1,878 | 20.6% 497 | 1.7% 40 |
| 2004 | 80.5% 2,092 | 18.2% 473 | 1.3% 34 |
| 2000 | 71.2% 1,744 | 24.4% 598 | 4.5% 109 |
| 1996 | 66.4% 1,814 | 23.4% 640 | 10.1% 277 |
| 1992 | 47.9% 1,469 | 25.4% 779 | 26.7% 820 |
| 1988 | 67.5% 1,923 | 30.0% 855 | 2.4% 69 |
| 1984 | 79.2% 2,515 | 19.2% 611 | 1.6% 50 |
| 1980 | 75.5% 2,625 | 19.2% 666 | 5.4% 186 |
| 1976 | 60.6% 2,201 | 36.8% 1,337 | 2.7% 97 |
| 1972 | 75.8% 2,688 | 21.9% 776 | 2.3% 82 |
| 1968 | 70.9% 2,543 | 23.5% 841 | 5.6% 202 |
| 1964 | 60.1% 2,245 | 38.8% 1,449 | 1.1% 42 |
| 1960 | 68.0% 2,781 | 31.8% 1,300 | 0.2% 8 |
| 1956 | 71.6% 3,052 | 28.0% 1,194 | 0.4% 18 |
| 1952 | 76.2% 3,530 | 22.6% 1,047 | 1.2% 54 |
| 1948 | 61.0% 2,461 | 35.0% 1,414 | 4.0% 161 |
| 1944 | 70.9% 2,890 | 28.4% 1,159 | 0.7% 29 |
| 1940 | 70.3% 3,415 | 28.4% 1,378 | 1.4% 66 |
| 1936 | 54.8% 2,829 | 44.7% 2,307 | 0.5% 24 |
| 1932 | 44.2% 2,272 | 52.6% 2,705 | 3.3% 168 |
| 1928 | 74.0% 3,365 | 23.9% 1,087 | 2.1% 96 |
| 1924 | 59.3% 2,778 | 26.9% 1,261 | 13.7% 643 |
| 1920 | 65.2% 2,288 | 30.9% 1,082 | 3.9% 137 |
| 1916 | 34.3% 1,616 | 61.0% 2,876 | 4.7% 222 |
| 1912 | 24.0% 598 | 43.3% 1,081 | 32.7% 815 |
| 1908 | 49.8% 1,448 | 46.0% 1,337 | 4.3% 125 |
| 1904 | 67.2% 1,570 | 17.8% 417 | 15.0% 350 |
| 1900 | 51.7% 1,329 | 47.1% 1,212 | 1.2% 31 |
| 1896 | 42.1% 941 | 56.3% 1,260 | 1.6% 36 |
| 1892 | 48.3% 1,054 | 51.7% 1,130[a] | |
| 1888 | 56.6% 1,471 | 24.3% 631 | 19.1% 497 |
Norton County is very Republican. The last Democrat to reach forty percent of the county’s vote was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. Roosevelt in 1932 was the last Democrat to win Norton County. The only other Democrats to win are Woodrow Wilson (twice) and William Jennings Bryan in his first 1896 campaign.
Education
Unified school districts
- Norton Community USD 211
- Northern Valley USD 212
- northeastern portion of county, all east of US 283 and north of US 36; extends into northwestern Phillips County
- West Solomon USD 213 (elementary school only; students in grades 6-12 attend schools in Norton)
Communities
Cities
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ↑ Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume 2. Standard Publishing Company. p. 374.
- ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ↑ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
- ↑ Norton County, Kansas, Kansas Historical Society
- ↑ http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS
- Notes
- ↑ 1,090 votes (49.91%) were for Populist James B. Weaver (who was supported by the state’s Democrats) and 40 (1.83%) for Prohibition Party candidate John Bidwell.
More reading
- Handbook of Norton County, Kansas; C.S. Burch Publishing Co; 16 pages; 1880s.
- Standard Atlas of Norton County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 71 pages; 1917.
Other websites
- County
- Maps