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Kansas Counties

Garfield County, Kansas [defunct]

Date Established: March 23, 1887
Date Organized:
Date Defunct: March 18, 1893
Location: Kansas map showing location of Garfield County
Boundaries: "Commencing where the north line of township 21 south intersects the east line of range 27 west; thence south along the range line to its intersectoin with the north line of township 24 south; thense west along the township line to where it intersects the east line of range 31 west; thence north along the range line to where it intersects the north line of township 21 south, thence east to the place of beginning."
County Seat: Ravanna/Eminence
Origin of Name: In honor of James Abram Garfield (1831-1881), the twentieth president of the United States, who was fatally wounded by an assassin four months after taking office.
History: Garfield County substantially comprised the territory that had been Buffalo County. It was created by taking six congressional townships from Finney County and six from Hodgeman.

The communities of Ravanna and Eminence were bitter rivals for the position of county seat. Bat Masterson and twenty deputies from Dodge City were hired to keep the peace during the first election in 1887, in which Ravanna won the honor by thirty-five votes. However, the citizens of Eminence brough suit, alleging the ballot-box had been stuffed. The Kansas Supreme Court agreed, and in 1889 the seat was transferred to Eminence.

In 1892, the Kansas Supreme Court decided Garfield County was illegally organized, having less than the 432 square miles required by the state constitution; it was annexed to Finney County the following year.
Population: No Data Available.
Other Resources: Post offices in Garfield County
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