Ottawa County, Kansas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ottawa County
County
Downtown Minneapolis (2009)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 27, 1860
Named for	Odawa tribe
Seat	Minneapolis
Largest city	Minneapolis
Area
• Total	721 sq mi (1,870 km2)
• Land	721 sq mi (1,870 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (2 km2)  0.08%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,735
• Density	8.0/sq mi (3.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Ottawa County is a place in the state of Kansas. The main town and biggest city is Minneapolis. In 2020, about 5,735 people lived here. The county got its name from the Odawa tribe.

History of Ottawa County

Early Days

For thousands of years, Native American tribes lived on the Great Plains of North America. They often moved around, following animals and seasons.

From the 1500s to the 1700s, France said they owned much of North America. After a war in 1762, France secretly gave this land to Spain.

The 1800s

In 1802, Spain gave most of the land back to France. Then, in 1803, the United States bought a huge area from France. This was part of the Louisiana Purchase. Most of what is now Kansas was included in this deal.

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was created. Kansas officially became the 34th U.S. state in 1861. Ottawa County was started in 1860.

The 1900s

For many years, Ottawa County had rules against selling alcohol. This was called being a "dry county." In 2006, people voted to allow restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks with meals.

Geography of Ottawa County

Ottawa County covers about 721 square miles. Most of this is land, with only a tiny bit being water.

Rivers and Lakes

The Solomon River is the longest river in Ottawa County. It flows into the county from Cloud County and leaves towards Saline County. The Saline River also crosses the southwestern part of the county.

The biggest lake is Ottawa State Fishing Lake. It's a 111-acre lake east of Minneapolis. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks takes care of it.

Neighboring Counties

Ottawa County shares borders with these counties:

• Cloud County (north)
• Clay County (northeast)
• Dickinson County (southeast)
• Saline County (south)
• Lincoln County (west)
• Mitchell County (northwest)

People of Ottawa County

Population pyramid showing age groups in 2000

Ottawa County is part of the Salina area.

In 2000, there were 6,163 people living in the county. Most people were White (about 97.5%). A small number were Black, Native American, or Asian. About 1.3% of the people were Hispanic or Latino.

The average age in the county was 40 years old. About 25.7% of the people were under 18.

Education in Ottawa County

School Districts

Students in Ottawa County go to schools in these districts:

• North Ottawa County USD 239
• Twin Valley USD 240

Communities in Ottawa County

2005 map of Ottawa County

Here are the towns and communities in Ottawa County:

Cities

• Bennington
• Culver
• Delphos
• Minneapolis (This is the county seat, or main town)
• Tescott

Unincorporated Communities

These are smaller communities that are not officially cities. Some are called Census-Designated Places (CDP) by the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Ada†
• Lindsey
• Niles†
• Sumnerville
• Verdi
• Wells†

Ghost Town

• Vine Creek (This town no longer exists)

Townships

1915-1918 railroad map of Ottawa County

Ottawa County is divided into twenty smaller areas called townships. The city of Minneapolis is separate from these townships for government purposes.

Images for kids

• 

  Downtown Minneapolis (2009)

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Ottawa (Kansas) para niños