Kansas Counties
Find information on current and defunct counties:
Ford County, Kansas
| Date Established: | February 26, 1867 |
| Date Organized: | April 05, 1873 |
| Location: |
 |
| County Seat: | Dodge City |
| Origin of Name: | In honor of James H. Ford (died 1867), colonel of the Second Colorado Cavalry, which in 1864 was posted along the Kansas/Missouri line to defend against bushwhackers and guerrillas. During the Confederate Gen. Sterling Price's raid through Kansas and Missouri in late 1864, Col. Ford and the 2nd Colorado fought at the battles of the Little Blue, Westport, and Mine Creek. Late in the war, the regiment was largely devoted to escorting supply and wagon trains across Kansas, and occasional skirmishes with Indians. Col. Ford, brevetted as brigadier general, commanded the military District of the Upper Arkansas, in which role he selected a location between two fordable crossings of the Arkansas River for the site of what became Fort Dodge. |
| Cities & Townships: |
| Place | Population (2000 census) |
|---|
| Dodge City (city) | 25,176 |
| Bloom Township | 113 |
| Bucklin Township | 900 |
| Concord Township | 117 |
| Dodge Township | 899 |
| Enterprise Township | 1,113 |
| Fairview Township | 346 |
| Ford Township | 456 |
| Grandview Township | 784 |
| Pleasant Valley Township | [defunct] |
| Richland Township | 931 |
| Royal Township | 105 |
| Sodville Township | 110 |
| Spearville Township | 1,150 |
| Wheatland Township | 170 |
| Wilburn Township | 88 |
| Total population: | 32,458 | |
|  |
| Population: |
|
1870
|
 (427) |
|
1880
|
(3,122) |
|
1890
|
(5,308) |
|
1900
|
(5,497) |
|
1910
|
(11,393) |
|
1920
|
(14,273) |
|
1930
|
(20,647) |
|
1940
|
(17,254) |
|
1950
|
(19,670) |
|
1960
|
(20,938) |
|
1970
|
(22,587) |
|
1980
|
(24,315) |
|
1990
|
(27,463) |
|
2000
|
(32,458) |
|
| Other Resources: | Bibliography
Cemeteries in Ford County, as of 1906
Newspapers available on microfilm
Townships & Independent Cities in Ford County
Post offices in Ford County
|
| Links to Other Sites: | Ford County page [Blue Skyways]
Ford County GenWeb
Early Kansas Maps [KanColl]
|
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