Norton County, Kansas

Norton County (standard abbreviation: NT) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2020, 5,459 people lived there.^[1] The county seat is Norton. Norton is also the biggest city in Norton County.^[2] The county was created in 1867. It was named after Orloff Norton, captain of Company L, 15th Kansas Militia Infantry Regiment.^[3]

Norton County
County
Norton County Courthouse in Norton (built 1929)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°48′N 99°55′W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 26, 1867
Named for	Orloff Norton
Seat	Norton
Largest city	Norton
Area
• Total	881 sq mi (2,280 km2)
• Land	878 sq mi (2,270 km2)
• Water	3.2 sq mi (8 km2)  0.4%
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	5,459
• Density	6.2/sq mi (2.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	785
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.nortoncountyks.gov

History

19th century

Norton County was created by Noah H. Billings, Thomas Beaumont, Henry Gordon, P. Hansen, and George Cole on August 22, 1872. In 1878 Norton became the county seat. The county got its name for Civil War soldier Orloff Norton, who was killed at Cane Hill, Arkansas in 1864.^[source?]

The first county fair, although not official, was held in Leota in October, 1878. After 1900 the fair was held every year in Elmwood Park in Norton. The first school district was created in Norton in 1872. School was held in a dugout beginning December 1, 1873. Archived 2018-11-12 at the Wayback Machine

Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of 881 square miles (2,280 km²). Of that, 878 square miles (2,270 km²) is land and 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) (0.4%) is water.^[4]

People

Age pyramid

Census	Pop.		%±
1880	6,998		—
1890	10,617		51.7%
1900	11,325		6.7%
1910	11,614		2.6%
1920	11,423		−1.6%
1930	11,701		2.4%
1940	9,831		−16.0%
1950	8,808		−10.4%
1960	8,035		−8.8%
1970	7,279		−9.4%
1980	6,689		−8.1%
1990	5,947		−11.1%
2000	5,953		0.1%
2010	5,671		−4.7%
2020	5,459		−3.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7] 1990-2000[8] 2010-2020[1]

Government

County

Noah H. Billings was an early county settler, county superintendent of schools, county attorney, and state representative. Keith Sebelius was a U.S. congressman from 1969 to 1981.^[9]

Presidential elections

Presidential Elections Results

Presidential Elections Results^[10]

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2020	83.1% 2,007	15.1% 364	1.8% 44
2016	82.4% 1,840	12.6% 281	5.1% 113
2012	80.8% 1,878	17.1% 398	2.1% 49
2008	77.8% 1,878	20.6% 497	1.7% 40
2004	80.5% 2,092	18.2% 473	1.3% 34
2000	71.2% 1,744	24.4% 598	4.5% 109
1996	66.4% 1,814	23.4% 640	10.1% 277
1992	47.9% 1,469	25.4% 779	26.7% 820
1988	67.5% 1,923	30.0% 855	2.4% 69
1984	79.2% 2,515	19.2% 611	1.6% 50
1980	75.5% 2,625	19.2% 666	5.4% 186
1976	60.6% 2,201	36.8% 1,337	2.7% 97
1972	75.8% 2,688	21.9% 776	2.3% 82
1968	70.9% 2,543	23.5% 841	5.6% 202
1964	60.1% 2,245	38.8% 1,449	1.1% 42
1960	68.0% 2,781	31.8% 1,300	0.2% 8
1956	71.6% 3,052	28.0% 1,194	0.4% 18
1952	76.2% 3,530	22.6% 1,047	1.2% 54
1948	61.0% 2,461	35.0% 1,414	4.0% 161
1944	70.9% 2,890	28.4% 1,159	0.7% 29
1940	70.3% 3,415	28.4% 1,378	1.4% 66
1936	54.8% 2,829	44.7% 2,307	0.5% 24
1932	44.2% 2,272	52.6% 2,705	3.3% 168
1928	74.0% 3,365	23.9% 1,087	2.1% 96
1924	59.3% 2,778	26.9% 1,261	13.7% 643
1920	65.2% 2,288	30.9% 1,082	3.9% 137
1916	34.3% 1,616	61.0% 2,876	4.7% 222
1912	24.0% 598	43.3% 1,081	32.7% 815
1908	49.8% 1,448	46.0% 1,337	4.3% 125
1904	67.2% 1,570	17.8% 417	15.0% 350
1900	51.7% 1,329	47.1% 1,212	1.2% 31
1896	42.1% 941	56.3% 1,260	1.6% 36
1892	48.3% 1,054		51.7% 1,130[a]
1888	56.6% 1,471	24.3% 631	19.1% 497

Norton County is very Republican. The last Democrat to reach forty percent of the county’s vote was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. Roosevelt in 1932 was the last Democrat to win Norton County. The only other Democrats to win are Woodrow Wilson (twice) and William Jennings Bryan in his first 1896 campaign.

Education

Unified school districts

• Norton Community USD 211
  • western two-thirds of county to borders with Decatur and Graham counties and Nebraska
• Northern Valley USD 212
  • northeastern portion of county, all east of US 283 and north of US 36; extends into northwestern Phillips County
• West Solomon USD 213 (elementary school only; students in grades 6-12 attend schools in Norton)

Communities

2005 KDOT Map of Norton County (map legend)

Cities

• Almena
• Clayton
• Edmond
• Lenora
• Norton