Phillipsburg is a city in Phillips County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Phillips County. In 2010, 2,581 people lived there.

History

Phillipsburg was created in 1872. It became the county seat because it is in the middle of the county. It became county seat on July 26, 1872, but the first people did not come until Fall 1872. It was named after politician and journalist William A. Phillips. Phillipsburg was incorporated as a city in 1880.

The first post office was created in Phillipsburg on December 23, 1872. The first postmaster was Fred A Dutton. The name of the post office was spelled Phillipsburgh until 1893. Named in honor of John Bissel, Fort Bissel was built in 1872 to protect against possible harm from Native Americans. It closed in 1878. The Fort was rebuilt in the city park in 1962. The first cemetery in the town, Close cemetery, was created on March 19, 1879 by the Fairview cemetery association. It was given to the city on June 4, 1889. A branch of the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway was created through Phillipsburg in 1887. Also in 1887 complete telephone systems were installed in the city.  A fire almost destroyed the entire town square in 1906. The current courthouse was built in 1912. "Kansas' Biggest Rodeo" was first held in 1929. It happens every year on the last weekend in July or first weekend in August.

In 1939, Consumer's Cooperative Association opened the world's first cooperative oil refinery on the north edge of town. It closed in 1992.

Geography
Phillipsburg is at  (39.755173, -99.322331). It is in northwestern Kansas on the western edge of the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains. Phillipsburg is in the middle of Phillips County. It is about 20 miles south of the Nebraska border. The city is on the north side of Deer Creek, a tributary of the North Fork of the Solomon River. Plotner Creek, a tributary of Deer Creek, goes south along the western edge of the city. The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . All of it is land.

Weather
Phillipsburg's climate is either a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) or a humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa). Phillipsburg meets the criteria for a true winter dry season under the Köppen climate classification, which is a rare for its region and for the United States outside of South Florida. The average temperature for the year in Phillipsburg is 51 °F (11 °C), and the average yearly precipitation is 23.3 inches (594 mm). On average, January is the coldest month, July is the hottest month. May is the wettest month. The hottest temperature ever in Phillipsburg was 120 °F (49 °C) in 1936; the coldest temperature ever was -28 °F (-33 °C) in 1989.

People

2010 census
The 2010 census says that there were 2,581 people, 1,116 households, and 702 families living in Phillipsburg.

Education
Phillipsburg is has the USD 325.

The Phillipsburg Panthers have won the following Kansas State High School championships:
 2014 Boys Track & Field - Class 3A 
 2015 Football - Class 2-1A

Famous people
 McDill "Huck" Boyd, newspaper editor, Kansas politician
 Nelson B. McCormick, U.S. Representative from Kansas
 Wallace Pratt, geologist
 Mark Simoneau, former National Football League linebacker

References

Other websites

City
 City of Phillipsburg
 Phillipsburg - Directory of Public Officials
 Phillips County Kansas
Schools
 USD 325, local school district
Maps
 Phillipsburg City Map, KDOT

Cities in Phillips County, Kansas
1872 establishments in Kansas
County seats in Kansas