Atwood, Kansas

Atwood, Kansas
Atwood, Kansas
City and County seat
	Rawlins County Courthouse (2010)
	Location within Rawlins County and Kansas
	KDOT map of Rawlins County (legend)
	Coordinates: 39°48′36″N 101°02′31″W / 39.81000°N 101.04194°W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Rawlins
Founded	1875
Incorporated	1885
Named for	Attwood Matheny
Area
• Total	1.12 sq mi (2.91 km2)
• Land	1.06 sq mi (2.75 km2)
• Water	0.06 sq mi (0.16 km2)
Elevation	2,854 ft (870 m)
Population (2020)
• Total	1,290
• Density	1,200/sq mi (440/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	67730
Area code	785
FIPS code	20-03150
GNIS ID	2394021
Website	cityofatwoodks.com

Atwood is a city in Rawlins County, Kansas, United States.^[4] It is also the county seat of Rawlins County. In 2020, 1,290 people lived there.^[3]

History

In 1875, T.A. Andrews and J.M. Matheny went to Rawlins County. They started a town site about two miles east of the current city. The city of Attwood (with two t's) was named after Attwood Matheny. He was the 14-year-old son who went with his father on the trip. In 1882, the U.S. Post Office requested permission to drop one "t" thus becoming Atwood. In 1881, Atwood became the county seat of Rawlins County.^[5]^[6]

Geography

Atwood is at 39°48′36″N 101°2′31″W / 39.81000°N 101.04194°W / 39.81000; -101.04194 (39.8099, -101.041893). The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of 1.12 square miles (2.90 km²). Of that, 1.06 square miles (2.75 km²) is land and 0.06 square miles (0.16 km²) is water.^[2]

Climate

The Köppen Climate Classification system says that Atwood has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.^[7]

Area attractions

Rawlins County Historical Museum, 308 State Street.
Shirley Opera House (NRHP), 503 Main Street.

Area events

Rawlins County Fair, held in July.
Smokin on the Beaver BBQ competition, held the last full weekend in September.
Annual Rod Run, held annually in May.

People

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1890	450	—
1900	486	8.0%
1910	680	39.9%
1920	919	35.1%
1930	1,106	20.3%
1940	1,408	27.3%
1950	1,613	14.6%
1960	1,906	18.2%
1970	1,658	−13.0%
1980	1,665	0.4%
1990	1,388	−16.6%
2000	1,279	−7.9%
2010	1,194	−6.6%
2020	1,290	8.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

The 2020 census says that there were 1,290 people, 557 households, and 324 families living in Atwood. Of the households, 68.4% owned their home and 31.6% rented their home.

The median age was 42.4 years. Of the people, 87.2% were White, 1.0% were Black, 0.3% were Asian, 0.2% were Native American, 3.6% were from some other race, and 7.7% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.5% of the people.^[3]^[8]

2010 census

The 2010 census says that there were 1,194 people, 568 households, and 299 families living in Atwood.^[9]

Famous people

Mike Hayden, 41st Governor of Kansas 1987–1990.
Ted Uhlaender, Major League Baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds from 1965–1972.^[10]

Katie Uhlaender (born July 17, 1984) is an American skeleton racer who has competed since 2003. She won four medals at the FIBT World Championships with one silver (women's skeleton: 2008) and three bronzes (women's skeleton: 2007, mixed bobsleigh-skeleton team event: 2008, 2009).