Harvey County, Kansas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harvey County
County
Former Carnegie Library in Kansas, currently is the Harvey County Historical Museum
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	March 7, 1872
Named for	James Harvey
Seat	Newton
Largest city	Newton
Area
• Total	541 sq mi (1,400 km2)
• Land	540 sq mi (1,400 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	34,024
• Density	63.0/sq mi (24.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th

Harvey County (county code HV) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 34,024. Its county seat and most populous city is Newton.

History

Early history

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau. In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles.

In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre. In 1848, after the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with Spain brought into the United States all or part of land for ten future states, including southwest Kansas. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state.

1915 railroad map

19th century

In 1871, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway extended a main line from Emporia to Newton.

In 1872, Harvey County was founded, and named in honor of the fifth Governor of Kansas James M. Harvey.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 541 square miles (1,400 km²), of which 540 square miles (1,400 km²) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km²) (0.2%) is water. The Little Arkansas River flows through the county.

Adjacent counties

• Marion County (northeast)
• Butler County (east)
• Sedgwick County (south)
• Reno County (west)
• McPherson County (northwest)

Demographics

Population pyramid

Harvey County is part of the Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.

As of the U.S. Census in 2000, there were 32,869 people, 12,581 households, and 8,932 families residing in the county. The population density was 61 people per square mile (24/km²). There were 13,378 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.04% White, 1.59% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.17% from other races, and 2.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.97% of the population.

There were 12,581 households out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.20% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.00% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,907, and the median income for a family was $48,793. Males had a median income of $35,037 versus $22,492 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,715. About 4.20% of families and 6.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.50% of those under age 18 and 5.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

2005 KDOT Map of Harvey County (map legend)

Cities

• Burrton
• Halstead
• Hesston
• Newton
• North Newton
• Sedgwick
• Walton

Unincorporated communities

• McLain
• Patterson
• Putnam
• Zimmerdale

Ghost town

• Annelly
• Van Arsdale

Townships

Harvey County is divided into fifteen townships. The cities of Halstead and Newton are considered governmentally independent and are excluded from the census figures for the townships. 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.

Education

Colleges

• Bethel College in North Newton
• Hesston College in Hesston

Unified school districts

• Burrton USD 369
• Newton USD 373
• Sedgwick USD 439
• Halstead–Bentley USD 440
• Hesston USD 460

School district office in neighboring county

• Remington USD 206
• Peabody–Burns USD 398
• Goessel USD 411
• Moundridge USD 423

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Harvey para niños