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Kansas Counties

Howard County, Kansas [defunct]

Date Established: February 26, 1867
Date Organized:
Date Defunct: March 25, 1875
Location: Kansas map showing location of Howard County
Boundaries: The county was 42 miles north to south and 31 miles east to west along the southern boundary of the state, bounded by Greenwood County on the north, Montgomery and Wilson counties to the east, and Butler and Cowley counties to the west.
Origin of Name: Named for Gen. Oliver Otis Howard (1830-1909), a career army officer who commanded Union forces at the first and second battles of Bull Run and at Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg. After the war, he served as head of the Freedman's Bureau, and was later in the Indian campaigns. Howard was a moral crusader, insisting his troops attend prayer and temperance meetings, and he championed the freedom and equality of former slaves, helping to found what became Howard University in Washington, D.C.
History: Howard County was composed of lands acquired from the Great and Little Osage Indians by the U.S. government via treaty in the late 1860s.

Howard County was first established as Godfrey County, and in 1861 became Seward County. Howard County was established on 26 Feb 1867. A long-running dispute over the location of the county seat between Elk Falls, Howard City, Boston, Peru, and Langdon resulted in the use of the Kansas militia to keep the peace. In 1875, Howard County was divided lengthwise into Elk and Chautauqua counties, primarily to settle the county seat feud.
Population: No Data Available.
Other Resources: Post offices in Howard County
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