Pottawatomie County, Kansas Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Pottawatomie County
County
Pottawatomie County Courthouse in Westmoreland (2009)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 20, 1857
Named for	Potawatomi tribe
Seat	Westmoreland
Largest city	Manhattan
Area
• Total	862 sq mi (2,230 km²)
• Land	841 sq mi (2,180 km²)
• Water	21 sq mi (50 km²) 2.4%%
Population (2020)
• Total	25,348
• Estimate (2023)	26,382
• Density	30.1/sq mi (11.6/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Pottawatomie County is a county located in the state of Kansas. Its main town, called the county seat, is Westmoreland. In 2020, about 25,348 people lived here. The county got its name from the Potawatomi Native American tribe.

History
- Early Kansas History
- The 1800s
Geography
- Neighboring Counties
Demographics
Education
- Unified School Districts
- Private Schools
Communities
Images for kids
See also

History

Early Kansas History

For thousands of years, the Great Plains of North America were home to nomadic Native American tribes. These groups moved around to hunt and find food.

From the 1500s to the 1700s, France claimed large parts of North America. In 1762, after a big war, France secretly gave its land, called New France, to Spain. This was part of a deal known as the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

The 1800s

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

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was set up. This happened because of a law called the Kansas–Nebraska Act. Later, in 1861, Kansas officially became the 34th U.S. state.

Pottawatomie County was created in 1857 by the Kansas government. It was formed from land that used to be part of Riley County. The town of Westmoreland was chosen as the county seat in 1882 after a vote.

Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that Pottawatomie County covers about 862 square miles. Most of this area, about 841 square miles, is land. The rest, about 21 square miles, is water. This means about 2.4% of the county is water.

Neighboring Counties

Pottawatomie County shares borders with several other counties:

Marshall County to the north
Nemaha County to the northeast
Jackson County to the east
Shawnee County to the southeast
Wabaunsee County to the south
Riley County to the west

Demographics

Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	1,529	—
1870	7,848	413.3%
1880	16,350	108.3%
1890	17,722	8.4%
1900	18,470	4.2%
1910	17,522	−5.1%
1920	16,154	−7.8%
1930	15,862	−1.8%
1940	14,015	−11.6%
1950	12,344	−11.9%
1960	11,957	−3.1%
1970	11,755	−1.7%
1980	14,782	25.8%
1990	16,128	9.1%
2000	18,209	12.9%
2010	21,604	18.6%
2020	25,348	17.3%
2023 (est.)	26,382	22.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Pottawatomie County is part of the Manhattan area. This area is known as the Manhattan Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In 2000, there were 18,209 people living in the county. There were 6,771 households, which are groups of people living together. About 4,929 of these were families. The population density was about 22 people per square mile.

The population was spread out by age. About 29.5% of people were under 18 years old. About 13.5% were 65 years or older. The average age in the county was 36 years old.