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Kansas Counties

Arapahoe County, Kansas (1st) [defunct]

Date Established: August 30, 1855
Date Organized:
Date Defunct: February 28, 1861
Location: Kansas map showing location of Arapahoe  County
Boundaries: The statute creating Arapahoe County fixed its boundaries as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of New Mexico, running thence north to the south line of Nebraska and north line of Kansas; thence along said line to the east line of Utah territory; thence along said line between Utah and Kansas territories, to where said line strikes New Mexico; thence along the line between said New Mexico and the territory of Kansas to the place of beginning.
County Seat: Mountain City
Origin of Name: Named for the Arapahoe Indian tribe, who dwelt on the plains between Wyoming and Texas.
History: This county comprised land west of the present Kansas/Colorado border to the crest of the Rocky Mountains. A large swath of unorganized territory separated it from the westernmost tier of organized counties in present-day Kansas.

By the act of creation, Allen P. Tibbetts was appointed judge of the probate court, the plan for holding court being left to his discretion, and he, Levi Mitchell, and Jonathan Atwood were appointed commissioners to locate the county seat, to be known as Mountain City. Arapahoe County was attached to Marshall County for all business purposes.

Arapahoe County was never organized. In early 1859 it was split into six counties (Arapahoe, Broderick, El Paso, Fremont, Montana, and Oro). When Colorado Territory was established Feb. 28, 1861, the new Colorado legislature created seventeen counties, which are considered the original counties of the state. Arapahoe County is still extant, but today is a relatively small county (12 miles north-south, 72 miles east-west), with its western end in the Denver metropolitan area.
Population: No Data Available.
Other Resources: Post offices in Arapahoe County
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