Wallace County, Kansas


Wallace County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Sharon Springs. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 1,512, making it the second-least populous county in Kansas. The county was created in 1868 and named in honor of Brigadier General W.H.L. Wallace, who had been mortally wounded in combat in the Battle of Shiloh. Wallace County is home to Mount Sunflower, the highest point in Kansas at. Mount Sunflower is located approximately north-northwest of Weskan, less than from the Colorado state line. It is one of four Kansas counties to use the Mountain Time Zone rather than the Central Time Zone like the remainder of Kansas.
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History

Early history

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.
In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1868, Wallace County was established.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,512. The median age was 42.6 years. 25.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.2 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 90.6% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.0% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.0% from some other race, and 5.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.3% of the population.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 608 households in the county, of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 21.5% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 740 housing units, of which 17.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 75.8% were owner-occupied and 24.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 19.6%.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,749 people, 674 households, and 477 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 791 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 94.63% White, 0.63% Black or African American, 0.80% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 2.52% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. 4.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 674 households, out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.60% were married couples living together, 4.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.10% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 23.60% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 18.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $33,000, and the median income for a family was $42,022. Males had a median income of $25,610 versus $18,333 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,016. About 10.70% of families and 16.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.50% of those under age 18 and 12.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Wallace has long been one of the most overwhelmingly Republican of all the state's counties. Only two Democratic presidential nominees have ever won Wallace County – Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. Since 1944 only three Democratic presidential candidates have won 31 percent of Wallace County's vote – Harry S. Truman in 1948, Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and Jimmy Carter in 1976 – whilst since 1980 only Michael Dukakis during the drought-affected 1988 election has obtained so much as seventeen percent for the Democratic Party. Indeed, in the 2016 election Hillary Clinton recorded less than six percent of the county's vote, whilst the last seven Republican nominees have all exceeded 80 percent. In the 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections, Wallace was the only county in Kansas to give over 90% of the vote to the Republican nominee, namely Mitt Romney followed by Donald Trump.

Laws

Although the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, Wallace County has remained a prohibition, or "dry", county, the only such county remaining in the state as of March 2023.

Education

Unified school districts

Communities

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

† means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place by the United States Census Bureau.

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Wallace County is divided into four 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 included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.
TownshipFIPSPopulation
center		PopulationPopulation
density
/km2 		Land area
km2 		Water area
km2 		Water %Geographic coordinates
Harrison30450850 210 0 0%
Sharon Springs64400Sharon Springs1,0961 885 0 0%
Wallace74775Wallace1750 488 0 0.01%
Weskan76700Weskan3931 784 0 0.01%