Smith County, Kansas

Smith County (standard abbreviation: SM) is a located in the  of. In, its population was 4,536. Its is. It is named in memory of Maj. J. Nelson Smith, who was part of the 2nd Colorado Cavalry, killed in action at the, on ,.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,322 (896.53 ). 2,319 km² (895.43 sq mi) of it is land and 2.84 km² (1.096 sq mi) of it (0.122%) is water. The county is divided into 25, each of which is listed below in the subdivisions section of this article.

Geographic features
The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is located within the county, near the city of . The geographic center of North America is located in neighboring.

The Solomon River runs through the southern part of the county and provides a flat basin and water for irrigated crops.

Major Highways
The are two major s serving the county. The main east-west route is, which travels through Athol, Kensington, and Smith Center. The main north-south route is, which intersects U.S. 36 in Smith Center. Kansas state highways, and  serve other areas of the county.

Adjacent counties

 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 4,536 people, 1,953 households, and 1,322 families residing in the county. The was 2/km² (5/sq mi). There were 2,326 housing units at an average density of 1/km² (3/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 98.79%, 0.11% or , 0.24% , 0.04% , 0.11% , 0.22% from , and 0.49% from two or more races. 0.73% of the population were or  of any race.



There were 1,953 households out of which 25.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.60% were living together, 4.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.78.

In the county the population was spread out with 21.70% under the age of 18, 4.70% from 18 to 24, 22.10% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 27.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 92.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,486, and the median income for a family was $36,951. Males had a median income of $25,089 versus $18,608 for females. The for the county was $14,983. About 8.80% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the, including 12.80% of those under age 18 and 9.50% of those age 65 or over.

The population distribution by township is as follows according to the 2000 census: Banner 54; Beaver 60; Blaine 60; Cedar 619; Center 2,094; Cora 38; Crystal Plains 40; Dor 46; Garfield 33; German 34; Harlan 100; Harvey 130; Houston 206; Lane 134; Lincoln 73; Logan 47; Martin 24; Oak 399; Pawnee 35; Pleasant 34; Swan 42; Valley 75; Washington 63; Webster 47; White Rock 49.

History
The was enacted by President  in 1862. The first homestead in Smith County was in 1871 and there were 3,800 inhabitants by 1875. The county grew to 15,000 people by 1889. was the main crop at first but drought and plagues severely hurt the crops. When hardy was introduced to Kansas by Russian settlers, it eventually became the predominant crop in Smith County. The population of the county has slowly declined since 1900 due in large part because of advanced farming techniques that require less human labor.

Dr. Brewster Higley wrote the song "" in the early 1870s. It later became the Kansas State song.

Incorporated cities
Name and population (2004 estimate):
 * , 1,757 (county seat)
 * , 495
 * , 282
 * , 130
 * , 47
 * , 24

Townships
Smith County is divided into twenty-five. None of the cities within the county are considered governmentally independent, and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. 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

 * Smith Center USD 237
 * West Smith County USD 238