Grant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and only city is Ulysses. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 7,352. Both the county and its seat are named after Ulysses Grant, the 18th President of the United States.

History

In 1873, the part of Kansas west of Range 25 was divided into 25 new counties. The new counties were Decatur, Rawlins, Cheyenne, Sheridan, Thomas, Sherman, Lane, Buffalo, Foote, Meade, Scott, Sequoyah, Arapahoe, Seward, Wichita, Kearny, Greeley, Hamilton, Stanton, Kansas, Stevens, and Grant. Grant County, Kansas was named after Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877), and incumbent president at the time of the county's formation. The initial survey establishing county boundaries was in the summer of 1874. In 1883, Kearny, Sequoyah, Arapahoe, Kansas, Stevens, Meade, Clark and Grant counties disappeared. Hamilton, Ford, Seward, and Hodgeman counties enlarged and Finney County was created. Grant County was split with the western portion becoming a part of Hamilton County and the eastern portion becoming a part of the newly created Finney County. On June 9, 1888, Grant County was again established as a Kansas county, with original county boundaries, with the first officers of the new Grant County being sworn in on June 18, 1888. In October 1888, the county seat election for Grant County resulted in victory for Ulysses, Kansas, election results were:. In the 1930s, the prosperity of the area was severely affected by its location within the Dust Bowl. This catastrophe intensified the economic impact of the Great Depression in the region.

Early Day Settlements

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 575 sqmi, of which 575 sqmi is land and 0.3 sqmi (0.06%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 7,909 people, 2,742 households, and 2,097 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 /mi2. There were 3,027 housing units at an average density of 5 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 77.00% White, 0.86% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.21% Black or African American, 19.46% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 34.67% of the population. There were 2,742 households, out of which 43.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.40% were married couples living together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.50% were non-families. 21.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.34. In the county, the population was spread out, with 32.80% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 20.20% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 100.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,854, and the median income for a family was $44,914. Males had a median income of $34,464 versus $22,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,072. About 6.50% of families and 10.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.60% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Grant County is heavily Republican. Lyndon B. Johnson was the last Democrat to win the county, and Jimmy Carter narrowly lost the county in 1976. Michael Dukakis (as of 2020) is the last Democrat to win more than a quarter of the county's vote.

Laws

Grant 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.

Education

Unified school districts

Communities

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

City

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Grant County is divided into three townships. 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.