| Kiowa Rural Township | |
| Settlement Type: | Township |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Kansas |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Kiowa |
| Area Total Km2: | 1871.0 |
| Area Land Km2: | 1870.5 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.5 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 722.39 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 722.19 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.2 |
| Area Water Percent: | 0.03 |
| Population As Of: | 2000 |
| Population Total: | 3278 |
| Population Density Km2: | 1.752 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 4.538 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | -6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -5 |
| Elevation M: | 665 |
| Elevation Ft: | 2182 |
| Coordinates: | 37.4294°N -99.4925°W |
| Area Code: | 620 |
| Blank Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank Info: | 0470707 |
Kiowa Rural Township is the sole township in Kiowa County, Kansas, United States. The population was 3,278 at the 2000 census, out of whom 2,346 lived in one of the township's three cities and 813 lived in unincorporated areas of the township.[1] Kiowa Rural Township's boundaries are identical to those of Kiowa County: there are no other townships in the county, and none of the county's cities are governmentally independent.[2]
Kiowa Rural Township was once named simply "Kiowa Township." It has not always been the only township in the county: until 1980-01-01, when all existing townships in the county were dissolved,[3] there was also Martin Township, located near Mullinville in the western part of the county, and Wellsford Township (previously Dowell Township), located near Haviland in the eastern part of the county. Even these three townships were significantly expanded from past years; in 1940, Kiowa County was composed of fifteen townships: Brenham, Butler, Center, Garfield, Glick, Highland, Kiowa, Lincoln, Martin, Reeder, Union, Ursula, Valley, Wellsford, and Westland.[4] Although it includes the territories of those former townships, Kiowa Rural Township itself is not important to local government, having become inactive.
Because Kiowa Rural Township is coterminous with the county, its statistics are similar to the county's. It covers an area of 722.39 square miles (1871.0 square kilometers);[5] of this, 0.2 square miles (0.5 square kilometers) or 0.03%, is water.[6]
Six cemeteries are located in the township: Belvidere, Boles, Fairview, Haviland, Hillcrest, and McKinley.
Seven populated places are located in Kiowa Rural Township:
Major highways in Kiowa Rural Township include U.S. Routes 54, 183, and 400.[7] As well, two airports are located in the township: Gail Ballard Municipal Airport and Paul Windle Municipal Field.