Rooks County, Kansas

Rooks County (standard abbreviation: RO) is a county of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, 4,919 people lived there.^[1] The county seat is Stockton,^[2] and the largest city is Plainville.

Rooks County
County
Rooks County courthouse in Stockton (2014)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 39°27′05″N 99°06′07″W
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 26, 1867
Named for	John C. Rooks
Seat	Stockton
Largest city	Plainville
Area
• Total	895 sq mi (2,320 km2)
• Land	891 sq mi (2,310 km2)
• Water	4.6 sq mi (12 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	4,919
• Density	5.5/sq mi (2.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	rookscounty.net

History

Rooks County was founded on February 26, 1867 and named for Private John C. Rooks of the 11th Kansas Infantry who died at the Battle of Prairie Grove near Fayetteville, Arkansas, during the Civil War.^[3]

Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of 895 square miles (2,320 km²). Of that 891 square miles (2,310 km²) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km²) (0.5%) is water.^[4]

Bordering counties

• Phillips County (north)
• Smith County (northeast)
• Osborne County (east)
• Ellis County (south)
• Trego County (southwest)
• Graham County (west)

People

Census	Pop.		%±
1880	8,112		—
1890	8,018		−1.2%
1900	7,960		−0.7%
1910	11,282		41.7%
1920	9,966		−11.7%
1930	9,534		−4.3%
1940	8,497		−10.9%
1950	9,043		6.4%
1960	9,734		7.6%
1970	7,628		−21.6%
1980	7,006		−8.2%
1990	6,039		−13.8%
2000	5,685		−5.9%
2010	5,181		−8.9%
2020	4,919		−5.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7] 1990-2000[8] 2010-2020[1]

Age pyramid

Government

Presidential elections

Presidential Elections Results

Presidential Elections Results^[9]

Year	Republican	Democratic	Third Parties
2020	86.1% 2,325	12.6% 339	1.3% 35
2016	84.0% 2,031	11.4% 275	4.7% 113
2012	82.9% 2,038	14.7% 361	2.5% 61
2008	79.9% 2,068	18.1% 468	2.0% 52
2004	78.3% 2,121	19.7% 534	2.0% 55
2000	72.7% 2,016	21.5% 597	5.8% 162
1996	66.9% 1,864	23.3% 650	9.8% 273
1992	40.4% 1,249	25.0% 771	34.6% 1,070
1988	64.5% 1,938	33.7% 1,012	1.9% 57
1984	77.8% 2,604	20.9% 699	1.4% 46
1980	71.4% 2,275	22.8% 725	5.9% 187
1976	53.0% 1,664	45.0% 1,412	1.9% 61
1972	71.7% 2,457	26.4% 904	1.9% 64
1968	63.0% 2,252	28.3% 1,012	8.7% 310
1964	50.6% 1,985	49.0% 1,923	0.4% 16
1960	63.3% 2,840	36.5% 1,639	0.2% 11
1956	70.9% 3,059	28.7% 1,238	0.4% 19
1952	74.3% 3,331	24.7% 1,105	1.0% 46
1948	56.6% 2,197	42.1% 1,636	1.3% 49
1944	66.5% 2,361	32.9% 1,166	0.6% 22
1940	60.6% 2,590	38.6% 1,650	0.8% 33
1936	49.0% 2,150	51.0% 2,235	0.0% 0
1932	46.4% 2,005	51.6% 2,229	2.0% 88
1928	70.7% 2,583	28.6% 1,044	0.7% 25
1924	66.0% 2,442	25.1% 930	8.8% 327
1920	69.9% 2,143	27.5% 843	2.6% 78
1916	38.3% 1,621	56.5% 2,394	5.2% 219
1912	24.1% 545	38.3% 865	37.6% 848
1908	53.1% 1,280	41.6% 1,003	5.2% 126
1904	64.5% 1,266	25.2% 495	10.3% 203
1900	49.3% 927	49.2% 925	1.5% 29
1896	45.1% 817	53.6% 971	1.3% 24
1892	47.9% 811		52.1% 881
1888	58.3% 1,112	21.6% 412	20.1% 383

Education

Unified school districts

• Palco USD 269
  • limited to western edge of county; includes Palco, Damar and Zurich
• Plainville USD 270
  • southern half of county, except western edge zoned to Palco
• Stockton USD 271
  • northern half of county

Communities

2005 KDOT Map of Rooks County (map legend)

Cities

• Damar
• Palco
• Plainville
• Stockton
• Woodston
• Zurich

Unincorporated communities

• Codell
• Webster

Townships

Rooks County is divided into twelve townships. None of the cities within the county are 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.

Sources: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer from the U.S. Census Bureau; Census Data Explorer from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population (2020)	Population density /km² (/sq mi)	Land area km² (sq mi)	Water area km² (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Township 1	71203		196	1 (2)	276 (107)	1 (0)	0.23%	39°26′19″N 99°5′53″W
Township 2	71207		360	1 (3)	278 (107)	1 (0)	0.24%	39°25′57″N 99°12′34″W
Township 3	71211	Stockton	1,360	7 (19)	184 (71)	0 (0)	0.14%	39°29′6″N 99°19′11″W
Township 4	71215		11	0 (0)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.13%	39°20′46″N 99°19′28″W
Township 5	71219		64	0 (1)	277 (107)	0 (0)	0.05%	39°29′32″N 99°30′9″W
Township 6	71224		86	0 (1)	178 (69)	8 (3)	4.31%	39°22′57″N 99°26′2″W
Township 7	71229		154	2 (4)	92 (35)	0 (0)	0.05%	39°20′58″N 99°32′46″W
Township 8	71234		265	3 (7)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.08%	39°15′36″N 99°33′18″W
Township 9	71239		45	0 (1)	93 (36)	0 (0)	0.05%	39°10′30″N 99°33′28″W
Township 10	71243		173	1 (2)	187 (72)	0 (0)	0.08%	39°13′20″N 99°26′10″W
Township 11	71246	Plainville	2,063	7 (19)	279 (108)	1 (0)	0.40%	39°13′38″N 99°17′5″W
Township 12	71249		142	1 (1)	276 (107)	1 (0)	0.24%	39°12′17″N 99°8′7″W