Hodgeman County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
_from_W_2.JPG/1280px-Hodgeman_County_courthouse_(Kansas)_from_W_2.JPG) Hodgeman County Courthouse in Jetmore (2016) | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Kansas | |
| Coordinates: 38°02′38″N 100°10′17″W / 38.0439°N 100.1714°W / 38.0439; -100.1714 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Kansas |
| Founded | February 26, 1867 |
| Named after | Amos Hodgman |
| Seat | Jetmore |
| Largest city | Jetmore |
| Area | |
• Total | 860 sq mi (2,200 km2) |
| • Land | 860 sq mi (2,200 km2) |
| • Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.78 km2) 0.04% |
| Population (2020)[1] | |
• Total | 1,723 |
• Estimate (2021)[2] | 1,710  |
| • Density | 2/sq mi (0.77/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 1st |
| Website | hodgemancountyks.com |
Hodgeman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Jetmore.[3] As of the 2020 census, the county population was 1,723.[1] It was named for Amos Hodgman, a member of the 7th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry.
History
In 1867, Hodgeman County was established and named for Amos Hodgman, member of the 7th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The letter E was later added to the namesake's name.[4] The county was not formally organized until 1879.[5]
The Homestead Act of 1862 drew many settlers to the region beginning in the spring of 1877, with only a small amount of wheat sown that year due to hail damage. Crop yields improved in 1878. The county initially had several competing towns vying to become the county seat, including Buckner (present-day Jetmore), which eventually won out.[5] While many small towns, such as Kidderville and Milroy, had sprung up in the early years of the county, only Jetmore and Hanston survived as permanent settlements.[6]
By the late 1870s, Hodgeman County had a population of approximately 1,500 people.
In 1882, 24 families of Russian Jews affiliated with the Am Olam agricultural collective movement founded a colony in Hodgeman County named Beersheba, which included sod homes and a sod synagogue.[7]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 860 square miles (2,200 km2), of which 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2) (0.04%) is covered by water.[8]
Adjacent counties
- Ness County (north)
- Pawnee County (east)
- Edwards County (southeast)
- Ford County (south)
- Gray County (southwest)
- Finney County (west)
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 1,704 | — | |
| 1890 | 2,895 | 69.9% | |
| 1900 | 2,032 | −29.8% | |
| 1910 | 2,930 | 44.2% | |
| 1920 | 3,734 | 27.4% | |
| 1930 | 4,157 | 11.3% | |
| 1940 | 3,535 | −15.0% | |
| 1950 | 3,310 | −6.4% | |
| 1960 | 3,115 | −5.9% | |
| 1970 | 2,662 | −14.5% | |
| 1980 | 2,269 | −14.8% | |
| 1990 | 2,177 | −4.1% | |
| 2000 | 2,085 | −4.2% | |
| 2010 | 1,916 | −8.1% | |
| 2020 | 1,723 | −10.1% | |
| 2023 (est.) | 1,655 | [9] | −3.9% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] 1790-1960[11] 1900-1990[12] 1990-2000[13] 2010-2020[1] | |||
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,723, and the median age was 45.5 years. 24.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.3% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 101.1 males age 18 and over.[14] 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[15]
The racial makeup of the county was 91.9% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.1% from some other race, and 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.6% of the population.[16]
There were 724 households in the county, of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 18.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 842 housing units, of which 14.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 76.2% were owner-occupied and 23.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.[14]
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, 2,085 people, 796 households, and 581 families were residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (0.77 people/km2). The 945 housing units had an average density of 1 per square mile (0.39/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.31% White, 0.91% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.48% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 2.69% of the population.
Of the 796 households, 34.7% had children under 18 living with them, 65.1% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were not families. About 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county, the age distribution was 29.0% under 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,994 and for a family was $39,358. Males had a median income of $27,568 versus $21,534 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,599. About 10.70% of families and 11.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.9% of those under 18 and 7.7% of those 65 or over.
Government
Presidential elections
Hodgeman County is a Republican stronghold. Only six Republican presidential candidates have failed to win the county from 1888 to the present, and no Democrat has to managed to win even a quarter of the county's votes since Michael Dukakis in 1988. The last Democrat to carry the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| № | % | № | % | № | % | |
| 1888 | 563 | 63.98% | 220 | 25.00% | 97 | 11.02% |
| 1892 | 363 | 61.21% | 0 | 0.00% | 230 | 38.79% |
| 1896 | 262 | 53.69% | 224 | 45.90% | 2 | 0.41% |
| 1900 | 323 | 56.27% | 245 | 42.68% | 6 | 1.05% |
| 1904 | 449 | 67.52% | 192 | 28.87% | 24 | 3.61% |
| 1908 | 411 | 57.08% | 290 | 40.28% | 19 | 2.64% |
| 1912 | 136 | 17.17% | 302 | 38.13% | 354 | 44.70% |
| 1916 | 564 | 37.45% | 761 | 50.53% | 181 | 12.02% |
| 1920 | 945 | 73.31% | 306 | 23.74% | 38 | 2.95% |
| 1924 | 899 | 60.66% | 367 | 24.76% | 216 | 14.57% |
| 1928 | 1,122 | 67.55% | 528 | 31.79% | 11 | 0.66% |
| 1932 | 847 | 45.56% | 988 | 53.15% | 24 | 1.29% |
| 1936 | 781 | 40.13% | 1,162 | 59.71% | 3 | 0.15% |
| 1940 | 1,092 | 60.87% | 690 | 38.46% | 12 | 0.67% |
| 1944 | 982 | 66.31% | 490 | 33.09% | 9 | 0.61% |
| 1948 | 945 | 60.77% | 590 | 37.94% | 20 | 1.29% |
| 1952 | 1,330 | 76.44% | 392 | 22.53% | 18 | 1.03% |
| 1956 | 1,113 | 71.62% | 435 | 27.99% | 6 | 0.39% |
| 1960 | 926 | 61.45% | 570 | 37.82% | 11 | 0.73% |
| 1964 | 607 | 42.33% | 821 | 57.25% | 6 | 0.42% |
| 1968 | 756 | 59.20% | 387 | 30.31% | 134 | 10.49% |
| 1972 | 853 | 68.40% | 331 | 26.54% | 63 | 5.05% |
| 1976 | 576 | 43.80% | 697 | 53.00% | 42 | 3.19% |
| 1980 | 831 | 66.16% | 339 | 26.99% | 86 | 6.85% |
| 1984 | 939 | 74.17% | 306 | 24.17% | 21 | 1.66% |
| 1988 | 732 | 60.40% | 439 | 36.22% | 41 | 3.38% |
| 1992 | 625 | 50.85% | 258 | 20.99% | 346 | 28.15% |
| 1996 | 808 | 69.42% | 251 | 21.56% | 105 | 9.02% |
| 2000 | 835 | 76.75% | 217 | 19.94% | 36 | 3.31% |
| 2004 | 953 | 80.56% | 223 | 18.85% | 7 | 0.59% |
| 2008 | 865 | 78.92% | 211 | 19.25% | 20 | 1.82% |
| 2012 | 868 | 81.89% | 179 | 16.89% | 13 | 1.23% |
| 2016 | 855 | 84.07% | 124 | 12.19% | 38 | 3.74% |
| 2020 | 875 | 83.73% | 154 | 14.74% | 16 | 1.53% |
| 2024 | 817 | 84.58% | 136 | 14.08% | 13 | 1.35% |
Laws
Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained an alcohol-free, or "dry", county until 2004, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic beverages by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.[18]
Education
Unified school districts
Communities
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Hodgeman County.[19]
Cities
Townships
Hodgeman County is divided into nine townships. None of the cities within the county is considered governmentally independent, and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. 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.
| Township | FIPS | Population center |
Population (2000) |
Population density /km2 (/sq mi) |
Land area km2 (sq mi) |
Water area km2 (sq mi) |
Water % | Geographic coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton | 06225 | 48 | 1 (1) | 93 (36) | 0 (0) | 0.13% | 38°2′39″N 100°10′18″W / 38.04417°N 100.17167°W / 38.04417; -100.17167 | |
| Center | 11725 | 1,121 | 3 (8) | 374 (144) | 0 (0) | 0.05% | 38°5′7″N 99°53′46″W / 38.08528°N 99.89611°W / 38.08528; -99.89611 | |
| Hallet | 29525 | 62 | 0 (1) | 182 (70) | 0 (0) | 0% | 38°5′40″N 100°4′10″W / 38.09444°N 100.06944°W / 38.09444; -100.06944 | |
| Marena | 44575 | 432 | 1 (3) | 373 (144) | 0 (0) | 0.05% | 38°9′52″N 99°41′19″W / 38.16444°N 99.68861°W / 38.16444; -99.68861 | |
| North Roscoe | 51350 | 51 | 0 (0) | 276 (106) | 0 (0) | 0.05% | 38°10′29″N 100°7′14″W / 38.17472°N 100.12056°W / 38.17472; -100.12056 | |
| Sawlog | 63225 | 93 | 0 (1) | 187 (72) | 0 (0) | 0.02% | 37°58′18″N 99°54′32″W / 37.97167°N 99.90889°W / 37.97167; -99.90889 | |
| South Roscoe | 66900 | 76 | 0 (1) | 185 (71) | 0 (0) | 0.04% | 37°56′59″N 100°6′31″W / 37.94972°N 100.10861°W / 37.94972; -100.10861 | |
| Sterling | 68175 | 144 | 0 (1) | 374 (144) | 0 (0) | 0.02% | 37°59′46″N 99°40′24″W / 37.99611°N 99.67333°W / 37.99611; -99.67333 | |
| Valley | 72825 | 58 | 0 (1) | 185 (71) | 0 (0) | 0% | 38°12′41″N 99°51′47″W / 38.21139°N 99.86306°W / 38.21139; -99.86306 | |
| Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Archived from the original on August 2, 2002. | ||||||||
In popular culture
At the beginning of the 1992 film Unforgiven, the protagonist William Munny, played by Clint Eastwood, is living in Hodgeman County and working as a pig farmer, while attempting to hide evidence of his violent past from all those around him.
See also
- Community information for Kansas
- Kansas locations by per capita income
- List of counties in Kansas
- List of townships in Kansas
- List of cities in Kansas
- List of unincorporated communities in Kansas
- List of ghost towns in Kansas
References
- ^ a b c "QuickFacts; Hodgeman County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021". Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. Standard Publishing Company. pp. 859–860.
- ^ a b "Hodgeman County". www.kancoll.org. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ "Early Ford County, by Ida Ellen Rath, Ch. 4 | Dodge City and Other Towns | Dodge City, Kansas KS". www.kansashistory.us. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ Douglas, Donald M. (Summer 1993). "Forgotten Zions: Jewish Agricultural Colonies in Kansas in the 1880s" (PDF). fordcountyhistory.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 8, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
- ^ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
- ^ "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
- ^ "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
- ^ "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 26, 2007.
- ^ a b "General Highway Map of Hodgeman County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). December 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 3, 2023.
- Notes
Further reading
- Handbook of Hodgeman County, Kansas; C.S. Burch Publishing Co; 34 pages; 1887.
- Standard Atlas of Hodgeman County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 56 pages; 1907.
External links
_from_W_2.JPG){kind=link}
- County
- Hodgeman County - Official Website
- Hodgeman County - Directory of Public Officials
- Maps
- Hodgeman County Township Map - Kansas Department of Transportation
- Hodgeman County Road Maps - Kansas Department of Transportation
- Kansas State Highway Maps - Kansas Department of Transportation
38°05′N 99°54′W / 38.083°N 99.900°W / 38.083; -99.900
