Dickinson County, Kansas

Dickinson County (county code DK) is a county in Central Kansas. In 2020, 18,402 people lived there.^[1] Its county seat is Abilene. Abilene is also the biggest city in Dickinson County.^[2] The county was named after Daniel S. Dickinson.^[3]

Dickinson County
County
Dickinson County Courthouse in Abilene (2009)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°53′N 97°10′W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 20, 1857
Named for	Daniel S. Dickinson
Seat	Abilene
Largest city	Abilene
Area
• Total	852 sq mi (2,210 km2)
• Land	847 sq mi (2,190 km2)
• Water	4.9 sq mi (13 km2)  0.6%
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	18,402
• Density	21.7/sq mi (8.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	785
Congressional district	1st
Website	DkCoKS.org

History

19th century

1915-1918 railroad map of Dickinson County

In 1857, Dickinson County was created.

The first railroad in Dickinson County was built through it in 1866.^[4]

In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a railroad from Topeka to Herington.^[5] This main line connected Topeka, Valencia, Willard, Maple Hill, Vera, Paxico, McFarland, Alma, Volland, Alta Vista, Dwight, White City, Latimer, Herington.

21st century

In 2010, the Keystone-Cushing Pipeline (Phase II) was built through Dickinson County. There was a lot of controversy about tax exemption and environmental concerns.^[6][7]

Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has an area of 852 square miles (2,210 km²). Of that, 847 square miles (2,190 km²) is land and 4.9 square miles (13 km²) (0.6%) is water.^[8]

People

Census	Pop.		%±
1860	378		—
1870	3,043		705.0%
1880	15,251		401.2%
1890	22,273		46.0%
1900	21,816		−2.1%
1910	24,361		11.7%
1920	25,777		5.8%
1930	25,870		0.4%
1940	22,929		−11.4%
1950	21,190		−7.6%
1960	21,572		1.8%
1970	19,993		−7.3%
1980	20,175		0.9%
1990	18,958		−6.0%
2000	19,344		2.0%
2010	19,754		2.1%
2020	18,402		−6.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11] 1990-2000[12] 2010-2020[1]

Population pyramid

Government

Presidential elections

Presidential Elections Results

Presidential Elections Results^[13]

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2020	76.2% 7,126	22.0% 2,060	1.7% 163
2016	73.4% 6,029	19.6% 1,609	7.0% 572
2012	72.5% 5,832	25.1% 2,020	2.4% 190
2008	70.2% 6,081	28.0% 2,422	1.9% 164
2004	71.6% 6,295	26.9% 2,364	1.5% 132
2000	64.8% 5,243	29.8% 2,413	5.4% 436
1996	60.5% 5,174	28.4% 2,423	11.1% 951
1992	41.8% 3,851	27.3% 2,518	30.9% 2,852
1988	63.3% 5,121	35.5% 2,870	1.3% 101
1984	74.0% 6,487	24.7% 2,168	1.3% 116
1980	67.6% 5,654	25.2% 2,108	7.1% 597
1976	55.2% 4,759	42.6% 3,672	2.2% 186
1972	75.3% 6,515	22.6% 1,957	2.0% 175
1968	64.3% 5,574	27.7% 2,399	8.0% 693
1964	53.2% 4,704	46.0% 4,070	0.8% 73
1960	69.2% 6,956	30.4% 3,054	0.5% 45
1956	74.9% 7,422	24.8% 2,452	0.3% 34
1952	81.8% 8,969	17.9% 1,967	0.3% 31
1948	60.0% 5,918	38.7% 3,815	1.4% 134
1944	65.9% 6,227	33.8% 3,190	0.3% 29
1940	63.3% 6,931	36.1% 3,957	0.6% 70
1936	52.6% 5,936	47.1% 5,313	0.3% 34
1932	49.0% 5,320	49.2% 5,339	1.8% 190
1928	77.0% 7,758	22.3% 2,246	0.7% 66
1924	64.6% 6,178	17.7% 1,690	17.8% 1,698
1920	69.1% 5,761	28.6% 2,387	2.3% 189
1916	45.1% 4,323	51.9% 4,974	3.1% 296
1912	18.3% 988	40.4% 2,182	41.2% 2,225[a]
1908	53.3% 2,886	42.2% 2,282	4.6% 246
1904	66.9% 3,185	25.6% 1,219	7.5% 358
1900	52.9% 2,771	44.9% 2,352	2.1% 112
1896	48.3% 2,291	50.6% 2,399	1.1% 52
1892	47.1% 2,419		52.9% 2,712
1888	54.2% 2,746	33.4% 1,695	12.4% 630

Education

Unified school districts

• USD 393, Solomon
  • Solomon, Rural Areas
• USD 435, Abilene
  • Abilene, Rural Areas
• USD 473, Chapman
  • Chapman, Carlton, Manchester, Enterprise, Rural Areas
• USD 487, Herington
  • Herington, Rural Areas

District Office In Neighboring County

• USD 481, Rural Vista (headquarters in White City)
  • Hope, Woodbine, Rural Areas

Communities

2005 KDOT Map of Dickinson County (map legend)

Cities

• Abilene
• Carlton
• Chapman
• Enterprise
• Herington
• Hope
• Manchester
• Solomon (partly in Saline County)
• Woodbine

Famous people

On April 15, 1871, Wild Bill Hickok became marshal of Abilene after its previous marshal was shot and killed.

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. He moved to Abilene when he was 2 years old. Prior to that he was a five-star general in the United States Army. He was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe World War II. He planned the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45.^[14] The Eisenhower Library is in Abilene.

Joe Engle is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a former NASA astronaut.