Ottawa County, Kansas

Ottawa County (standard abbreviation: OT) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, 5,735 people lived there. The largest city and county seat is Minneapolis.

Ottawa County
County
Downtown Minneapolis (2009)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°08′00″N 97°40′00″W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 27, 1860
Named for	Odawa tribe
Seat	Minneapolis
Largest city	Minneapolis
Area
• Total	721 sq mi (1,870 km2)
• Land	721 sq mi (1,870 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (2 km2)  0.08%
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,735
• Density	8.0/sq mi (3.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	ottawacounty.org

History

On February 27, 1860, Ottawa County was founded. It was named for the Odawa tribe.

Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of 721 square miles (1,870 km²). Of that 721 square miles (1,870 km²) is land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) (0.08%) is water.

Features

The Solomon River is the longest river in the county, entering from Cloud County to the northwest and exiting to Saline County to the southeast. The Saline River traverses the southwestern part of the county, going from Lincoln County to Saline County.

The largest lake is Ottawa State Fishing Lake, a 111-acre (0.45 km²) reservoir to the east of Minneapolis. It is managed by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.

Bordering counties

• Cloud County (north)
• Clay County (northeast)
• Dickinson County (southeast)
• Saline County (south)
• Lincoln County (west)
• Mitchell County (northwest)

People

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	2,127		—
1880	10,307		384.6%
1890	12,581		22.1%
1900	11,182		−11.1%
1910	11,811		5.6%
1920	10,714		−9.3%
1930	9,819		−8.4%
1940	9,224		−6.1%
1950	7,265		−21.2%
1960	6,779		−6.7%
1970	6,183		−8.8%
1980	5,971		−3.4%
1990	5,634		−5.6%
2000	6,163		9.4%
2010	6,091		−1.2%
2020	5,735		−5.8%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Age pyramid

Ottawa County is part of the Salina, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Government

Presidential elections

Presidential election results

Presidential election results

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2020	81.8% 2,610	15.9% 506	2.4% 75
2016	78.1% 2,283	14.5% 424	7.4% 217
2012	78.3% 2,295	19.0% 558	2.7% 80
2008	75.3% 2,323	22.8% 704	1.9% 59
2004	78.5% 2,333	20.0% 595	1.5% 43
2000	70.8% 1,977	22.6% 631	6.6% 183
1996	63.9% 1,846	26.0% 752	10.1% 292
1992	45.5% 1,284	27.1% 764	27.4% 772
1988	64.8% 1,836	33.6% 953	1.6% 45
1984	75.7% 2,345	22.6% 699	1.7% 52
1980	71.9% 2,118	21.4% 630	6.8% 199
1976	52.9% 1,629	45.2% 1,393	2.0% 60
1972	72.9% 2,065	24.9% 705	2.2% 61
1968	62.7% 1,740	28.0% 777	9.4% 260
1964	48.9% 1,491	50.3% 1,535	0.9% 26
1960	66.8% 2,190	32.7% 1,072	0.5% 16
1956	68.8% 2,329	30.6% 1,037	0.6% 19
1952	77.7% 2,916	21.3% 801	1.0% 38
1948	59.0% 2,203	38.1% 1,424	2.9% 107
1944	63.1% 2,428	35.8% 1,378	1.1% 41
1940	57.1% 2,810	41.9% 2,065	1.0% 50
1936	44.3% 2,230	55.3% 2,785	0.4% 18
1932	41.3% 1,884	55.0% 2,505	3.7% 170
1928	72.5% 3,158	26.0% 1,131	1.5% 65
1924	60.3% 2,475	20.8% 854	19.0% 779
1920	62.9% 2,512	34.0% 1,358	3.0% 121
1916	40.6% 2,013	54.6% 2,711	4.8% 240
1912	18.3% 517	44.7% 1,264	37.1% 1,048
1908	50.5% 1,444	44.3% 1,265	5.2% 148
1904	66.3% 1,682	18.8% 477	14.9% 379
1900	51.6% 1,509	46.8% 1,367	1.6% 48
1896	45.3% 1,256	53.6% 1,486	1.1% 31
1892	47.5% 1,444		52.5% 1,597
1888	56.1% 1,569	27.5% 769	16.4% 460

Education

Unified school districts

• North Ottawa County USD 239
• Twin Valley USD 240
• Southern Cloud USD 334

Communities

2005 KDOT Map of Ottawa County (map legend)

Cities

• Bennington
• Culver
• Delphos
• Minneapolis
• Tescott

Unincorporated communities

• Ada (a census-designated place)
• Sumnerville
• Wells

Townships

Ottawa County is divided into twenty townships. The city of Minneapolis is considered governmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. 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.

Sources: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer from the U.S. Census Bureau; Census Data Explorer from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population (2020)	Population density /km² (/sq mi)	Land area km² (sq mi)	Water area km² (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Bennington	06100	Bennington	1,219	11 (29)	109 (42)	0 (0)	0.06%	39°0′3″N 97°38′41″W
Blaine	07150		95	1 (3)	94 (36)	0 (0)	0.03%	39°10′7″N 97°38′46″W
Buckeye	08975		98	1 (3)	78 (30)	0 (0)	0.18%	39°0′9″N 97°32′1″W
Center	11975		85	1 (2)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0.18%	39°4′0″N 97°46′13″W
Chapman	12575		69	1 (2)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0%	39°15′46″N 97°25′32″W
Concord	15175		247	3 (7)	90 (35)	0 (0)	0.07%	39°4′43″N 97°38′42″W
Culver	16725		239	3 (7)	94 (36)	0 (0)	0.09%	39°0′2″N 97°45′50″W
Durham	19075		16	0 (0)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.02%	39°11′41″N 97°25′9″W
Fountain	24075		160	2 (4)	94 (36)	0 (0)	0.01%	39°10′6″N 97°52′59″W
Garfield	25725		79	1 (2)	94 (36)	0 (0)	0.06%	39°10′19″N 97°45′11″W
Grant	27900		75	1 (2)	94 (36)	0 (0)	0.01%	39°11′14″N 97°33′29″W
Henry	31325		36	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.08%	39°4′46″N 97°52′24″W
Lincoln	40950		155	2 (4)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.08%	39°0′43″N 97°25′21″W
Logan	42050		74	1 (2)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.08%	39°16′9″N 97°38′35″W
Morton	48500		404	4 (11)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.08%	39°0′17″N 97°52′3″W
Ottawa	53600		36	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.02%	39°5′45″N 97°24′44″W
Richland	59500		207	2 (6)	92 (36)	0 (0)	0.46%	39°5′14″N 97°32′9″W
Sheridan	64725		402	4 (11)	94 (36)	0 (0)	0.07%	39°15′56″N 97°45′48″W
Sherman	65025		43	0 (1)	94 (36)	0 (0)	0%	39°15′47″N 97°32′13″W
Stanton	67950		50	1 (1)	95 (37)	0 (0)	0.12%	39°15′41″N 97°52′26″W

Other websites

County

• Official website
• Ottawa County - Directory of Public Officials

Maps

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