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Lyon County, Kansas

Coordinates: 38°27′N 96°09′W / 38.450°N 96.150°W / 38.450; -96.150
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Not to be confused with Lyons, Kansas.

Lyon County
County
Lyon County Courthouse in Emporia (2009)
Lyon County Courthouse in Emporia (2009)
Map of Kansas highlighting Lyon County
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Map of the United States highlighting Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°27′N 96°09′W / 38.450°N 96.150°W / 38.450; -96.150
Country United States
State Kansas
FoundedFebruary 5, 1862
Named forNathaniel Lyon
SeatEmporia
Largest cityEmporia
Area
 • Total855 sq mi (2,210 km2)
 • Land847 sq mi (2,190 km2)
 • Water7.9 sq mi (20 km2)  0.9%
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • Total32,179
 • Estimate 
(2023)[2]
32,172 Decrease
 • Density38.0/sq mi (14.7/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district2nd
WebsiteLyonCounty.org

Lyon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Emporia.[3] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 32,179.[1] The county was named for Nathaniel Lyon, a general who was killed at the Battle of Wilson's Creek during the American Civil War.[4]

History

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Early history

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See also: History of Kansas

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

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In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.

In 1806, Zebulon Pike led the Pike Expedition westward from St Louis, Missouri, of which part of their journey followed the Cottonwood River through Lyon County.[5]

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1862, Lyon County was established from the county formerly known as Breckinridge County.[6]

In 1871, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway extended a main line from Emporia to Newton.[7]

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 855 square miles (2,210 km2), of which 847 square miles (2,190 km2) is land and 7.9 square miles (20 km2) (0.9%) is water.[8]

Adjacent counties

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National protected area

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Demographics

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Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18708,014—
188017,326116.2%
189023,19633.9%
190025,0748.1%
191024,927−0.6%
192026,1544.9%
193029,24011.8%
194026,424−9.6%
195026,5760.6%
196026,9281.3%
197032,07119.1%
198035,1089.5%
199034,732−1.1%
200035,9353.5%
201033,690−6.2%
202032,179−4.5%
2023 (est.)32,172[9]0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12]
1990-2000[13] 2010-2020[1]

Lyon County comprises the Emporia, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

As of the census[14] of 2000, there were 35,935 people, 13,691 households, and 8,639 families residing in the county. The population density was 42 inhabitants per square mile (16/km2). There were 14,757 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (6.6/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 83.27% White, 2.27% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.04% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 9.79% from other races, and 2.16% from two or more races. 16.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 13,691 households, out of which 32.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.80% were married couples living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.90% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 16.20% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,819, and the median income for a family was $43,112. Males had a median income of $28,865 versus $21,338 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,724. About 9.60% of families and 14.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.60% of those under age 18 and 9.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government

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Presidential elections

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Lyon County has been strongly Republican for most of its history. In only seven presidential elections from 1880 to the present has the county failed to back the Republican candidate, the most recent being Lyndon B. Johnson in his national landslide of 1964. The Republican party did come close to losing the county in 1992 and 2008, however.

Presidential election results
United States presidential election results for Lyon County, Kansas[15]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 7,550 53.74% 6,055 43.10% 444 3.16%
2016 6,552 52.53% 4,649 37.28% 1,271 10.19%
2012 6,470 54.48% 5,111 43.04% 294 2.48%
2008 6,698 51.88% 5,924 45.88% 289 2.24%
2004 7,951 59.16% 5,234 38.94% 255 1.90%
2000 6,652 53.41% 5,190 41.67% 613 4.92%
1996 6,612 50.01% 4,884 36.94% 1,725 13.05%
1992 5,090 34.73% 4,811 32.83% 4,755 32.44%
1988 6,820 55.29% 5,314 43.08% 200 1.62%
1984 9,796 69.37% 4,188 29.66% 137 0.97%
1980 8,431 57.94% 4,680 32.16% 1,440 9.90%
1976 7,062 52.59% 5,634 41.96% 732 5.45%
1972 9,157 69.67% 3,720 28.30% 266 2.02%
1968 6,558 57.30% 4,020 35.12% 868 7.58%
1964 5,184 45.23% 6,197 54.07% 81 0.71%
1960 7,470 60.90% 4,755 38.77% 41 0.33%
1956 8,021 67.34% 3,831 32.16% 59 0.50%
1952 8,544 67.98% 3,944 31.38% 80 0.64%
1948 5,941 50.03% 5,708 48.06% 227 1.91%
1944 5,710 52.88% 4,984 46.15% 105 0.97%
1940 6,918 52.33% 6,170 46.68% 131 0.99%
1936 6,005 44.73% 7,340 54.67% 80 0.60%
1932 6,044 47.38% 6,365 49.90% 347 2.72%
1928 8,753 75.49% 2,761 23.81% 81 0.70%
1924 6,290 57.32% 2,750 25.06% 1,934 17.62%
1920 5,492 61.09% 3,303 36.74% 195 2.17%
1916 4,215 40.28% 5,584 53.36% 665 6.36%
1912 962 17.41% 2,363 42.77% 2,200 39.82%
1908 2,973 50.87% 2,562 43.84% 309 5.29%
1904 3,450 62.12% 1,461 26.31% 643 11.58%
1900 3,083 50.72% 2,865 47.13% 131 2.15%
1896 2,860 45.91% 3,276 52.59% 93 1.49%
1892 2,591 48.48% 0 0.00% 2,753 51.52%
1888 3,014 60.10% 1,377 27.46% 624 12.44%

Laws

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Lyon County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement. The food sales requirement was removed with voter approval in 1992.[16]

The county voted "No" on the 2022 Kansas Value Them Both Amendment, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 63% to 37% despite backing Donald Trump with 54% of the vote to Joe Biden's 43% in the 2020 presidential election.[17]

Education

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Colleges and universities

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Unified school districts

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School district office in neighboring county

Communities

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2005 map of Lyon County[18] (map legend)

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Lyon County.[18]

Cities

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Unincorporated communities

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Townships

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Lyon County is divided into eleven townships. The city of Emporia 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: 2000 U.S. Gazetteer from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Township FIPS Population
center 		Population Population
density
/km2 (/sq mi) 		Land area
km2 (sq mi)		 Water area
km2 (sq mi)		 Water % Geographic coordinates
Agnes City 00525 430 2 (4) 279 (108) 0 (0) 0.15% 38°39′54″N 96°13′50″W / 38.66500°N 96.23056°W / 38.66500; -96.23056
Americus 01700 1,503 7 (17) 225 (87) 1 (0) 0.35% 38°31′12″N 96°16′0″W / 38.52000°N 96.26667°W / 38.52000; -96.26667
Center 11800 1,198 4 (10) 308 (119) 3 (1) 0.82% 38°14′17″N 96°13′13″W / 38.23806°N 96.22028°W / 38.23806; -96.22028
Elmendaro 20687 788 4 (10) 257 (99) 1 (0) 0.31% 38°15′31″N 96°1′8″W / 38.25861°N 96.01889°W / 38.25861; -96.01889
Emporia 21300 907 8 (21) 143 (55) 2 (1) 1.20% 38°23′7″N 96°10′13″W / 38.38528°N 96.17028°W / 38.38528; -96.17028
Fremont 24750 903 5 (12) 184 (71) 1 (0) 0.33% 38°29′35″N 96°9′17″W / 38.49306°N 96.15472°W / 38.49306; -96.15472
Ivy 34700 269 3 (9) 88 (34) 0 (0) 0.07% 38°38′23″N 96°5′25″W / 38.63972°N 96.09028°W / 38.63972; -96.09028
Jackson 34825 979 4 (11) 227 (88) 1 (1) 0.62% 38°23′39″N 96°0′37″W / 38.39417°N 96.01028°W / 38.39417; -96.01028
Pike 55825 1,034 6 (17) 139 (54) 0 (0) 0.35% 38°24′13″N 96°17′39″W / 38.40361°N 96.29417°W / 38.40361; -96.29417
Reading 58625 487 3 (8) 175 (67) 1 (1) 0.79% 38°31′35″N 95°59′56″W / 38.52639°N 95.99889°W / 38.52639; -95.99889
Waterloo 75925 284 2 (5) 154 (59) 1 (0) 0.40% 38°41′32″N 96°0′26″W / 38.69222°N 96.00722°W / 38.69222; -96.00722

Notable people

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See also: List of people from Lyon County, Kansas

R. Lee Ermey was born in Emporia on March 24, 1944, and died on April 15, 2018. He was a retired United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant, Drill Instructor and actor. Ermey was often best known for his roles of authority figures, such as his breakout performance as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in Prefontaine, Sheriff Hoyt in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, and plastic army men leader Sarge in the Toy Story films.

Homer Woodson Hargiss was an innovative college football coach who regularly used the forward pass and records show that it was used as early as 1910, three years before Knute Rockne began to call the play. He was head coach at both the College of Emporia and Emporia State.[19][20] He is also credited with inventing the huddle.[21]

Jerry Kill was the head football coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He has over 100 wins in his career as a head coach, having worked as a head coach through several institutions at the college level.[22]

Dean Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Smith coached from 1961 to 1997 and retired as the NCAA Division I men's basketball record-holder for victories (879), a record which was surpassed by Bob Knight in 2007, Mike Krzyzewski in 2011, and Jim Boeheim in 2012.[23] During his tenure as head coach of North Carolina, the team won two national titles and appeared in 11 Final Fours.[24]

William Allen White was a renowned American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death White became the iconic spokesman for middle America. He won a 1923 Pulitzer Prize for his editorial "To an Anxious Friend," published July 27, 1922, after being arrested in a dispute over free speech following objections to the way the state of Kansas handled the men who participated in the Great Railroad Strike of 1922.

Maud Wagner was the first known female tattoo artist in the United States. She was a circus performer and traveled with her husband as both tattoo artists and as "tattooed attractions."

See also

[edit]
Community information for Kansas

References

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  1. ^ a b c "QuickFacts; Lyon County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ^ Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Volume 2. Standard Publishing Company. pp. 196.
  5. ^ "1806 Pike Expedition map through Lyon County" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  6. ^ "Breckinridge County, Kansas - Kansas Historical Society".
  7. ^ Santa Fe Rail History
  8. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  9. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  10. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  11. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  12. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  13. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
  14. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  15. ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
  16. ^ "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  17. ^ Panetta, Grace (August 3, 2022). "14 of the 19 Kansas counties that rejected an anti-abortion amendment voted for Trump in 2020". Business Insider. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  18. ^ a b "General Highway Map of Lyon County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). September 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 16, 2023.
  19. ^ Emporia Gazette, 1910 Forward Pass
  20. ^ Definitive use of forward pass and the option pass in 1910 by Bill Hargiss
  21. ^ http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv11/CFHSNv11n2c.pdf#2 [bare URL PDF]
  22. ^ DeLassus, David. "Jerry Kill Records by Year (Jerry Kill)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  23. ^ "NCAA stats". NCAA. NCAA. Archived from the original on October 8, 2006. Retrieved February 1, 2007.
  24. ^ "Dean Smith Biography". Hall of Famers. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Inc. Archived from the original on May 5, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
Notes

Further reading

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See also: List of books about Kansas, including historical information about its counties and cities
See also: List of books about William Allen White
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lyon County, Kansas.
County
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