Hodgeman County, Kansas Explained

County:Hodgeman County
State:Kansas
Type:County
Ex Image:Hodgeman County courthouse (Kansas) from W 2.JPG
Ex Image Cap:Hodgeman County Courthouse in Jetmore (2016)
Founded:February 26, 1867
Named For:Amos Hodgman
Seat Wl:Jetmore
Largest City Wl:Jetmore
Area Total Sq Mi:860
Area Land Sq Mi:860
Area Water Sq Mi:0.3
Area Percentage:0.04%
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:1723
Pop Est Footnotes:[1]
Pop Est As Of:2021
Population Est:1710
Population Density Sq Mi:2.0
District:1st
Time Zone:Central

Hodgeman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Jetmore.[2] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 1,723.[3] It was named for Amos Hodgman, a member of the 7th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry.

History

See also: History of Kansas. In 1867, Hodgeman County was established, and named for Amos Hodgman, member of the 7th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The letter E was later added to the namesake's name.[4] The county was not formally organized until 1879.[5]

The Homestead Act of 1862 drew many settlers to the region beginning in the spring of 1877, with only a small amount of wheat sown that year due to hail damage. Crop yields improved in 1878. The county initially had several competing towns vying to become the county seat, including Buckner (present-day Jetmore), which eventually won out. While many small towns, such as Kidderville and Milroy, sprung up in the early years of the county, only Jetmore and Hanston survived as permanent settlements.[6]

By the late 1870s, Hodgeman County had a population of around 1,500 people.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.04%) is water.[7]

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,085 people, 796 households, and 581 families residing in the county. The population density was 2/mi2. There were 945 housing units at an average density of 1/mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 97.31% White, 0.91% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.48% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.69% of the population.

There were 796 households, out of which 34.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.10% were married couples living together, 4.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.00% were non-families. 24.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.00% under the age of 18, 4.70% from 18 to 24, 25.20% from 25 to 44, 22.10% from 45 to 64, and 19.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,994, and the median income for a family was $39,358. Males had a median income of $27,568 versus $21,534 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,599. About 10.70% of families and 11.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.90% of those under age 18 and 7.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Hodgeman County is a Republican stronghold. Only six Republican presidential candidates have failed to win the county from 1888 to the present, and no Democrat has to managed to win even a quarter of the county's votes since Michael Dukakis in 1988. The last Democrat to carry the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Laws

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained an alcohol-free, or "dry", county until 2004, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic beverages by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.[8]

Education

Unified school districts

Communities

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Hodgeman County.[9]

Cities

Townships

Hodgeman County is divided into nine 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.

Township Population
center
Population Population
density
/km2 (/sq mi)
Land area
km2 (sq mi)
Water area
km2 (sq mi)
Water %Geographic coordinates
Benton 06225 48 1 (1) 93 (36) 0 (0) 0.13% 38.0442°N -100.1717°W
Center 11725 1,121 3 (8) 374 (144) 0 (0) 0.05% 38.0853°N -99.8961°W
Hallet 29525 62 0 (1) 182 (70) 0 (0) 0% 38.0944°N -100.0694°W
Marena 44575 432 1 (3) 373 (144) 0 (0) 0.05% 38.1644°N -99.6886°W
North Roscoe 51350 51 0 (0) 276 (106) 0 (0) 0.05% 38.1747°N -100.1206°W
Sawlog 63225 93 0 (1) 187 (72) 0 (0) 0.02% 37.9717°N -99.9089°W
South Roscoe 66900 76 0 (1) 185 (71) 0 (0) 0.04% 37.9497°N -100.1086°W
Sterling 68175 144 0 (1) 374 (144) 0 (0) 0.02% 37.9961°N -99.6733°W
Valley 72825 58 0 (1) 185 (71) 0 (0) 0% 38.2114°N -99.8631°W
Sources: Web site: Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files . https://web.archive.org/web/20020802223743/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/places2k.html . dead . August 2, 2002 . U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division .

In popular culture

At the beginning of the 1992 film Unforgiven, the protagonist William Munny, played by Clint Eastwood, is living in Hodgeman County and working as a pig farmer, while attempting to hide evidence of his violent past from all those around him.

References

Notes

Further reading

External links

County
Maps

38.0833°N -153°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021. October 23, 2022.
  2. Web site: Find a County . June 7, 2011 . National Association of Counties . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx . May 31, 2011.
  3. Web site: QuickFacts; Hodgeman County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010 . United States Census Bureau . August 16, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210817025035/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/hodgemancountykansas/POP010220 . August 17, 2021 . live.
  4. Book: Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. . Standard Publishing Company . Blackmar, Frank Wilson . 1912 . 859–860.
  5. Web site: Hodgeman County . April 4, 2024 . www.kancoll.org.
  6. Web site: EARLY FORD COUNTY, by Ida Ellen Rath, Ch. 4 Dodge City and Other Towns Dodge City, Kansas KS . April 4, 2024 . www.kansashistory.us.
  7. Web site: US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990. United States Census Bureau. April 23, 2011. February 12, 2011.
  8. Web site: Map of Wet and Dry Counties . Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue . November 2006 . December 26, 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071008013617/http://www.ksrevenue.org/abcwetdrymap.htm . October 8, 2007.
  9. Web site: General Highway Map of Hodgeman County, Kansas . Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) . https://web.archive.org/web/20231003055618/https://www.ksdot.gov/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/county-pdf/hodgeman.PDF . October 3, 2023 . December 2008 . live.