Goodland, Kansas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Goodland, Kansas
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City and County seat
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Oversized reproduction of van Gogh's Sunflowers (2014)
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| Nickname(s):
The Golden Buckle on the Wheat Belt
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Location within Sherman County and Kansas
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| Country | United States |
| State | Kansas |
| County | Sherman |
| Founded | 1887 |
| Incorporated | 1887 |
| Named for | Goodland, Indiana |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.51 sq mi (11.67 km2) |
| • Land | 4.50 sq mi (11.66 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2) |
| Elevation | 3,681 ft (1,122 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 4,465 |
| • Density | 990.0/sq mi (382.60/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP code |
67735
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| Area code | 785 |
| FIPS code | 20-26875 |
| GNIS ID | 471241 |
Goodland is a city in and the county seat of Sherman County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,465. It was named after Goodland, Indiana. Goodland is home to Northwest Kansas Technical College.
Contents
History
One of the earliest pieces of recorded history relating to Goodland concerns the Kidder Massacre. On July 2, 1867, a detachment of the 2nd United States Cavalry Regiment was massacred; second lieutenant Lyman S. Kidder in command of the party, a sergeant, a corporal, eight privates and an Indian guide lost their lives. They were carrying dispatches for Lieutenant Colonel George Custer. Later, Custer found evidence of a running battle along Beaver Creek, which led to a ravine where the remains were found. They had been killed by Cheyenne and/or Sioux Indians.
In 1886, there were four communities vying to become county seat for Sherman County: Itasca, Voltaire, Sherman Center and Eustis. A man named Clark showed up in the county in 1887 proposing to create a new town to settle the dispute. The new town was to be named Goodland. A vote for the county seat was held among the county population and Goodland won with 872 of the 1495 votes cast while with Eustis received 611 and Voltaire received 12. Citizens of Eustis declared that the votes were unfair but the state department said that nothing could be done as all the voting was complete. The Supreme Court of Kansas considered various proceedings but did not change the outcome of the vote. Eustis refused to yield the county records it held until January 13, 1888, when an armed group from Goodland seized the records and sent them to the new county seat.
Goodland sprang up around the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad that had been built through it. The town was named after Goodland, Indiana.
Geography
Goodland is located at 39°20′55″N 101°42′40″W / 39.34861°N 101.71111°W (39.348583, −101.711148) at an elevation of 3,681 feet (1,122 m). It lies on the south side of the Middle Fork of Sappa Creek, part of the Republican River watershed, in the High Plains region of the Great Plains. Located at the intersection of Interstate 70 and K-27 in northwest Kansas, Goodland is roughly 17 miles (27 km) east of the Colorado state line, 176 miles east-southeast of Denver, 265 miles (426 km) northwest of Wichita, and 383 miles (616 km) west of Kansas City.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.37 square miles (11.32 km2), of which 4.36 square miles (11.29 km2) is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2) is water.
Climate
Goodland's climate is officially classed as Humid continental (Koppen Dfa); although it only just misses a semi-arid (Bsk) classification and is also close to a wet-summer continental climate (Dwa). Winters are generally cold and dry, summers hot and moderately wet. The average temperature for the year is 51 °F (10 °C) with temperatures exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) an average of 50 days a year and dropping below 32 °F (0 °C) an average of 159 days a year. Due to its higher elevation, Goodland experiences stronger wind and higher snowfall totals than other locations in Kansas. Wind speed averages 13 mph (21 km/h). On average, Goodland receives 19.75 inches (502 mm) of precipitation annually, and snowfall averages 41.9 inches (1,064 mm) per year. On average, January is the coolest month, and July is both the warmest month and the wettest month. The hottest temperature recorded in Goodland was 111 °F (44 °C) in 1940; the coldest temperature recorded was -27 °F (-33 °C) in 1989.
| Climate data for Goodland, Kansas (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1895–present) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 79 (26) |
87 (31) |
90 (32) |
96 (36) |
104 (40) |
110 (43) |
111 (44) |
108 (42) |
105 (41) |
96 (36) |
87 (31) |
83 (28) |
111 (44) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 42.4 (5.8) |
45.3 (7.4) |
54.6 (12.6) |
63.6 (17.6) |
73.0 (22.8) |
83.9 (28.8) |
90.0 (32.2) |
87.5 (30.8) |
79.1 (26.2) |
66.2 (19.0) |
52.4 (11.3) |
42.5 (5.8) |
65.0 (18.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 29.6 (−1.3) |
32.3 (0.2) |
40.5 (4.7) |
49.2 (9.6) |
59.4 (15.2) |
69.7 (20.9) |
75.7 (24.3) |
73.7 (23.2) |
64.6 (18.1) |
51.9 (11.1) |
39.0 (3.9) |
29.9 (−1.2) |
51.3 (10.7) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 16.9 (−8.4) |
19.4 (−7.0) |
26.5 (−3.1) |
34.7 (1.5) |
45.8 (7.7) |
55.6 (13.1) |
61.3 (16.3) |
60.0 (15.6) |
50.1 (10.1) |
37.5 (3.1) |
25.7 (−3.5) |
17.3 (−8.2) |
37.6 (3.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −26 (−32) |
−22 (−30) |
−20 (−29) |
0 (−18) |
21 (−6) |
31 (−1) |
40 (4) |
38 (3) |
19 (−7) |
1 (−17) |
−12 (−24) |
−27 (−33) |
−27 (−33) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.38 (9.7) |
0.49 (12) |
1.07 (27) |
1.59 (40) |
2.95 (75) |
3.25 (83) |
3.47 (88) |
2.70 (69) |
1.22 (31) |
1.37 (35) |
0.71 (18) |
0.46 (12) |
19.66 (499.7) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 5.9 (15) |
5.4 (14) |
6.8 (17) |
4.2 (11) |
0.5 (1.3) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0.4 (1.0) |
2.2 (5.6) |
4.6 (12) |
5.5 (14) |
35.5 (90) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 3.9 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 7.7 | 10.5 | 9.4 | 9.9 | 8.8 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 80.5 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 3.7 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 21.0 |
| Source: The Weather Channel; National Weather Service | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1890 | 1,027 | — | |
| 1900 | 1,059 | 3.1% | |
| 1910 | 1,993 | 88.2% | |
| 1920 | 2,664 | 33.7% | |
| 1930 | 3,626 | 36.1% | |
| 1940 | 3,306 | −8.8% | |
| 1950 | 4,690 | 41.9% | |
| 1960 | 4,459 | −4.9% | |
| 1970 | 5,510 | 23.6% | |
| 1980 | 5,708 | 3.6% | |
| 1990 | 4,983 | −12.7% | |
| 2000 | 4,948 | −0.7% | |
| 2010 | 4,489 | −9.3% | |
| 2020 | 4,465 | −0.5% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 4,489 people, 1,985 households, and 1,161 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,029.6 inhabitants per square mile (397.5/km2). There were 2,395 housing units at an average density of 549.3 per square mile (212.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.0% White, 0.7% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.3% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.0% of the population.
There were 1,985 households, of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.5% were non-families. 36.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.85.
The median age in the city was 40 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 25.9% were from 45 to 64; and 19% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.
Culture
In popular culture
Goodland was briefly mentioned in the 2006–08 television series Jericho.
In L.E. Howel’s novel, Planetfall, Goodland is the hometown of astronaut Karla Dawson and is a featured location in the story.
In T.D. Shields' novels, "Into Shadow" and "Into Light," Goodland is the site of the new national capital after Washington D.C. (among many other cities) is destroyed by war and climate change.
Education
Primary and secondary education
Unified School District 352 operates three public schools in the city:
- West Elementary School (Grades from pre-kindergarten to 2)
- North School (3–6)
- Goodland Junior Senior High School (7–12)
Colleges and universities
- Northwest Kansas Technical College
Notable people
Notable individuals who were born in and/or have lived in Goodland include:
- Milo Baughman (1923–2003), furniture designer
- Brook Berringer (1973–1996), football quarterback for University of Nebraska
- John Delehant (1890–1972), U.S. federal judge
- Harry Felt (1902–1992), U.S. Navy Admiral
- Mike Friede (1957- ), football wide receiver
- Dave Jones (1947– ), football wide receiver
- Tinker Keck (1976– ), actor and former NFL for the New York Giants and football player for University of Cincinnati
- Marla Luckert (1955– ), Kansas Supreme Court justice
- Charles Sparks (1872–1937), U.S. Representative from Kansas
- Deanell Tacha (1946– ), U.S. federal judge
See also
In Spanish: Goodland (Kansas) para niños
