Neosho County, Kansas

Neosho County (standard abbreviation: NO) is a county in the south east of the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2020, 15,904 people lived there. The county seat is Erie.

Neosho County
County
James and Ella Truitt House in Chanute (2017)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°40′57″N 95°17′51″W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	June 3, 1861
Named for	Neosho River
Seat	Erie
Largest city	Chanute
Area
• Total	578 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Land	571 sq mi (1,480 km2)
• Water	6.3 sq mi (16 km2)  1.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	15,904
• Density	27.9/sq mi (10.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.neoshocountyks.org

History

19th century

In 1861, Neosho County was created.

The first railroad was built through Neosho County in 1870.

Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of 578 square miles (1,500 km²). Of that, 571 square miles (1,480 km²) is land and 6.3 square miles (16 km²) (1.1%) is water.

People

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	88		—
1870	10,206		11,497.7%
1880	15,121		48.2%
1890	18,561		22.7%
1900	19,254		3.7%
1910	23,754		23.4%
1920	24,000		1.0%
1930	22,665		−5.6%
1940	22,210		−2.0%
1950	20,348		−8.4%
1960	19,455		−4.4%
1970	18,812		−3.3%
1980	18,967		0.8%
1990	17,035		−10.2%
2000	16,997		−0.2%
2010	16,512		−2.9%
2020	15,904		−3.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Age pyramid

Government

Presidential elections

Neosho County is a very Republican county. However, like the rest of Southeast Kansas counties, Democrats have not done poorly.

Presidential election results

Presidential Elections Results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2020	72.3% 4,970	26.1% 1,796	1.6% 111
2016	70.2% 4,431	23.8% 1,501	6.1% 382
2012	65.9% 4,272	31.6% 2,050	2.4% 158
2008	62.2% 4,473	35.6% 2,563	2.2% 156
2004	65.1% 4,705	33.5% 2,424	1.4% 102
2000	58.3% 4,014	37.6% 2,588	4.1% 284
1996	49.4% 3,409	36.6% 2,527	13.9% 961
1992	37.1% 2,926	35.5% 2,799	27.5% 2,168
1988	51.8% 3,739	47.1% 3,402	1.1% 81
1984	64.1% 4,968	34.6% 2,679	1.3% 102
1980	57.1% 4,613	36.2% 2,923	6.7% 541
1976	50.3% 4,038	47.9% 3,842	1.8% 144
1972	65.1% 5,034	33.1% 2,559	1.9% 145
1968	52.9% 3,950	36.5% 2,725	10.6% 789
1964	41.7% 3,458	57.8% 4,795	0.5% 43
1960	62.7% 5,877	36.8% 3,451	0.5% 43
1956	66.0% 5,886	33.7% 3,005	0.3% 29
1952	68.6% 6,595	31.1% 2,987	0.3% 32
1948	56.7% 5,072	42.1% 3,770	1.2% 105
1944	62.5% 5,420	37.3% 3,233	0.3% 26
1940	59.4% 6,556	40.1% 4,419	0.5% 56
1936	50.6% 5,777	49.1% 5,611	0.4% 41
1932	42.3% 4,212	56.4% 5,616	1.4% 137
1928	72.3% 6,603	26.9% 2,459	0.8% 74
1924	58.7% 5,106	26.1% 2,274	15.2% 1,319
1920	60.8% 5,150	37.7% 3,195	1.4% 122
1916	43.9% 4,053	52.9% 4,891	3.2% 295
1912	30.2% 1,580	38.1% 1,993	31.8% 1,662
1908	53.2% 2,929	43.3% 2,386	3.6% 196
1904	62.1% 3,134	30.3% 1,530	7.6% 382
1900	50.9% 2,424	47.9% 2,279	1.2% 56
1896	45.2% 2,177	54.0% 2,601	0.8% 38
1892	47.8% 2,000		52.2% 2,183
1888	49.7% 2,134	26.6% 1,144	23.7% 1,019

Education

Unified school districts

• Erie-Galesburg USD 101 (Web site), serves the communities of Erie, Galesburg, Stark.
• Cherokee USD 247 (Web site), serves mostly parts of Crawford and Cherokee counties, but also includes small parts of Labette and Neosho counties.
• Chanute USD 413 (Web site)
• Chetopa-St. Paul USD 505 (Web site)
• Cherryvale-Thayer USD 447 (Web site)

Communities

2005 KDOT Map of Neosho County (map legend)

Cities

• Chanute
• Earlton
• Erie
• Galesburg
• Stark
• St. Paul
• Thayer

More reading

• Standard Atlas of Neosho County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 53 pages; 1906.

Other websites

County

• Official website
• Neosho County - Directory of Public Officials

Maps

• Neosho County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society