Shawnee County, Kansas

Shawnee County (standard abbreviation: SN) is a located in the  of. In 2000, its population was 169,871. It houses the capital of Kansas,, which is also the. The county along with, , , and counties is included in the Topeka Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has an estimated population of 226,268 in the year 2003.

History
Before the treaty of 1854, the area now known as Shawnee County was inhabited by Shawnee, Kansas, and Pottowatomie Indian tribes. Westward expansion brought the country its first white settler in 1830 when Frederick Choteau opened a trading post on American Chief (now ) Creek. In 1855, Shawnee became one of the first counties established by the Kansas territorial legislature with a population of 250. General H. J. Strickler, of Tecumseh, who was a member of the council in 1855, and also of the joint committee on Counties, claimed Shawnee for the name of his county. At that time, Shawnee County borders were entirely south of the Kansas River and extended south to include Osage City and Carbondale. The legislature later desired to make Topeka the county seat and moved the borders of the county to their present locations to make Topeka centrally located in the county.

1855 also saw the first ever meeting of the Shawnee County Board of Commissioners. Tecumseh was the first county seat, and the first county courthouse was opened there in 1856. The building was 40x50 feet but was never finished. Topeka was made the county seat by popular vote in 1858, and a new courthouse was built at 4th Street and Kansas Avenue in 1867. In 1896, a new larger courthouse was constructed at 5th and Van Buren, with more than 50,000 residents then living in the county. That building remained in use until the current courthouse at 7th and Quincy opened in 1965.

Local etymologies
Concerning the origin of the names in this county, it is generally understood that Shawnee County receives its name from that well known tribe of Indians.
 * Topeka
 * Wakarusa:
 * Shunganunga:
 * Menoken:
 * Half-Day Creek: named after a Pottawatomie chief.
 * Mission Creek: so called because of the old Kaw mission on its banks.
 * Blacksmith Creek: from the Kaw blacksmith shop.
 * Soldier Creek: because its banks were a favorite camping ground for soldiers passing from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Riley.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,441 (556 ). 1,424 km² (550 sq mi) of it is land and 17 km² (6 sq mi) of it (1.17%) is water.

Geographic features
The runs east across the county being bordered on its north bank by the towns of Rossville, Silver Lake and Soldier, and on its south bank by the towns of Willard, Dover, Mission, Topeka and Tecumseh. There is little or no current major river traffic, but it is used extensively for irrigation in the county. The Wakarusa River, which, flowing east and northeast, empties into the Kansas River in the northeastern part of Douglas County. Major creeks emptying into the Kansas River include Cross, Soldier, Mission, Indian, and Shunganunga Creeks.

The soil is a rich dark loam, varying from fifteen feet in some parts of the bottoms, to a uniform surface covering the upland prairie from one to three feet. The underlying formation is limestone. Beds of clay, are well distributed. Coal is found in detached and non-continuous beds, and is mined in a small way for local purposes in Topeka, Soldier and Menoken.

Along the western border the landscape is hilly with the a few miles further west in. Burnett's Mound, the highest point in the county, is situated some four miles southwest of Topeka, in Mission Township. The land is described in the government and county surveys as "bottom land, 31%; upland, 69%; forest 8%; prairie, 92%." Lake Shawnee, a man made lake, is the largest body of water within the county. Wooded areas are mainly found along rivers and creeks with no true forrests. The growth consists of elm, cottonwood, black walnut, oak, sycamore, box elder, hickory and ash.

Major highways & transportation
crosses the county, as does the. crosses the county north to south and and  cross the county west to east. Kansas state highways K-4 and K-10 serve parts of the county. Air National Guard base and airport is located south of Topeka near Pauline. The airport was served by with biweekley service to. Other airports in the county include in the Oakland neighborhood of Topeka.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 169,871 people, 68,920 households, and 44,660 families residing in the county. The was 119/km² (309/sq mi). There were 73,768 housing units at an average density of 52/km² (134/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 82.89%, 9.03% or , 1.17% , 0.95% , 0.04% , 3.20% from , and 2.72% from two or more races. 7.26% of the population were or  of any race.



There were 68,920 households out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.60% were living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.20% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,988, and the median income for a family was $51,464. Males had a median income of $35,586 versus $26,491 for females. The for the county was $20,904. About 6.30% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.

Incorporated cities
Name and population (2004 estimate):
 * , 121,809 (county seat)
 * , 1,353
 * , 1,121
 * , 1,014
 * , 84

Unincorporated places

 * Belmont
 * (home of, former guitarist of the rock band )
 * Cullen Village (Montara)
 * Eastboro
 * Elmont
 * Grove
 * Highland Park
 * Kiro
 * Mathews Park
 * Menoken
 * North Topeka
 * Oakland
 * Potwin
 * Richland
 * Spencer
 * Terra Heights
 * Valencia
 * Wakarusa
 * Watson
 * Valencia
 * Wakarusa
 * Watson

Townships
Shawnee County is divided into twelve. The city of is considered governmentally independent and is 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.

Unified school districts

 * Kaw Valley USD 321 (website)
 * Wabaunsee East USD 330 (website)
 * Jefferson West USD 340 (website)
 * Seaman USD 345 (website)
 * Silver Lake USD 372 (website)
 * Santa Fe Trail USD 434 (website)
 * Auburn-Washburn USD 437 (website)
 * Shawnee Heights USD 450 (website)
 * USD 501 (website)

Points of interest

 * Kansas State Capitol, in downtown : Constructed over a period of 37 years, from 1866 to 1903, this beautiful building houses the.
 * , in Topeka : Located at Gage Park, this world famous zoo is well-known for its flock of eagles.