Atchison County, Kansas

**Atchison County** (county code **AT**) is a county in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. In 2020, 16,348 people lived there. Its county seat is Atchison. Atchison is also the biggest city in the county.  The county is named after David Rice Atchison, a United States Senator from Missouri.

## Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of . Of that,  is land and  (0.6%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county by area in Kansas.

On July 4, 1804, to mark Independence Day, the Lewis and Clark Expedition named Independence Creek near the city of Atchison (see Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition).

### Major highways

Sources:  National Atlas, U.S. Census Bureau
- U.S. Route 59
- U.S. Route 73
- U.S. Route 159
- Kansas Highway 7
- Kansas Highway 9
- Kansas Highway 116

## People

Atchison County is in the Atchison, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is also included in the Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS Combined Statistical Area.

### Presidential elections

Atchison County has been a swing county for most of its history. It has had multiple extended streaks of being a bellwether county, the first  running from 1896 to 1936. After voting more Republican than the nation in the 1940s & voting for losing candidate Richard Nixon in 1960, another bellwether streak ran from 1964 to 2004. Since then, the county has become significantly more Republican, with Barack Obama failing to win the county in both of his victories & Hillary Clinton losing it by over 30 percent to Donald Trump in 2016.

|Year|Republican|Democratic|Third Parties|||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|style="text-align:center;"|**2024**|style="text-align:center;"|**67.4%** _4,911_|style="text-align:center;"|30.2% _2,201_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.4% _172_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2020**|style="text-align:center;"|**65.9%** _4,906_|style="text-align:center;"|31.7% _2,359_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.4% _175_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2016**|style="text-align:center;"|**61.6%** _4,049_|style="text-align:center;"|30.3% _1,989_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|8.2% _537_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2012**|style="text-align:center;"|**58.7%** _3,917_|style="text-align:center;"|38.5% _2,567_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.9% _190_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2008**|style="text-align:center;"|**52.7%** _3,791_|style="text-align:center;"|45.1% _3,241_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.2% _159_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2004**|style="text-align:center;"|**54.5%** _3,880_|style="text-align:center;"|43.8% _3,120_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.7% _118_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2000**|style="text-align:center;"|**49.0%** _3,378_|style="text-align:center;"|46.0% _3,171_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|5.1% _351_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1996**|style="text-align:center;"|43.3% _2,828_|style="text-align:center;"|**44.8%** _2,926_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|12.0% _784_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1992**|style="text-align:center;"|33.5% _2,521_|style="text-align:center;"|**39.3%** _2,959_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|27.2% _2,050_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1988**|style="text-align:center;"|**49.0%** _3,243_|style="text-align:center;"|48.0% _3,177_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.9% _194_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1984**|style="text-align:center;"|**62.5%** _4,537_|style="text-align:center;"|36.4% _2,641_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.1% _77_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1980**|style="text-align:center;"|**53.9%** _4,084_|style="text-align:center;"|40.4% _3,063_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|5.7% _434_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1976**|style="text-align:center;"|48.3% _4,030_|style="text-align:center;"|**49.2%** _4,108_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.5% _206_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1972**|style="text-align:center;"|**67.8%** _5,471_|style="text-align:center;"|29.8% _2,404_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.4% _191_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1968**|style="text-align:center;"|**46.0%** _3,644_|style="text-align:center;"|42.7% _3,379_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|11.4% _899_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1964**|style="text-align:center;"|38.2% _3,147_|style="text-align:center;"|**61.2%** _5,037_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.6% _45_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1960**|style="text-align:center;"|**52.3%** _4,793_|style="text-align:center;"|47.3% _4,336_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _31_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1956**|style="text-align:center;"|**64.1%** _5,608_|style="text-align:center;"|35.8% _3,134_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.1% _9_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1952**|style="text-align:center;"|**64.6%** _6,004_|style="text-align:center;"|35.3% _3,283_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.1% _9_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1948**|style="text-align:center;"|**51.0%** _4,141_|style="text-align:center;"|48.2% _3,910_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.8% _62_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1944**|style="text-align:center;"|**58.6%** _4,731_|style="text-align:center;"|41.2% _3,325_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _20_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1940**|style="text-align:center;"|**56.1%** _5,921_|style="text-align:center;"|43.2% _4,557_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.8% _82_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1936**|style="text-align:center;"|47.6% _5,312_|style="text-align:center;"|**52.1%** _5,817_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _31_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1932**|style="text-align:center;"|45.2% _4,778_|style="text-align:center;"|**53.3%** _5,640_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.5% _157_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1928**|style="text-align:center;"|**63.7%** _6,647_|style="text-align:center;"|36.0% _3,756_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.4% _37_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1924**|style="text-align:center;"|**63.8%** _6,246_|style="text-align:center;"|22.5% _2,199_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|13.7% _1,341_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1920**|style="text-align:center;"|**65.0%** _5,872_|style="text-align:center;"|34.1% _3,082_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.9% _77_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1916**|style="text-align:center;"|48.6% _4,624_|style="text-align:center;"|**48.7%** _4,634_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.7% _254_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1912**|style="text-align:center;"|27.4% _1,535_|style="text-align:center;"|**43.7%** _2,449_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|28.9% _1,618_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1908**|style="text-align:center;"|**54.9%** _3,244_|style="text-align:center;"|43.9% _2,593_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.2% _68_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1904**|style="text-align:center;"|**64.3%** _3,542_|style="text-align:center;"|33.6% _1,854_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.1% _117_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1900**|style="text-align:center;"|**55.5%** _3,390_|style="text-align:center;"|43.9% _2,682_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.5% _32_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1896**|style="text-align:center;"|**52.7%** _3,326_|style="text-align:center;"|46.9% _2,963_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.4% _28_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1892**|style="text-align:center;"|49.2% _2,666_||style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|**50.8%** _2,756_||
|style="text-align:center;"|**1888**|style="text-align:center;"|**52.1%** _3,219_|style="text-align:center;"|42.1% _2,603_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|5.8% _357_|

### Unified school districts

- Atchison County Community USD 377 (Web site)
- Atchison USD 409 (Web site)

### Cities

- Atchison
- Effingham
- Huron
- Lancaster
- Muscotah

## More reading

- _Standard Atlas of Atchison County, Kansas_; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 40 pages; 1903.

## Other websites

- Official sites
- Atchison County - Directory of Public Officials
- Atchison County - Chamber of Commerce
- Historical
- Atchison County - History, Kansas State Historical Society
- Atchison County - Historical Society
- Maps
- Atchison County Maps: Current , Historic , KDOT
- Kansas Highway Maps: Current , Historic , KDOT
- Kansas Railroad Maps: Current , 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society

## Infobox (u.s. county)

- **county**: Atchison County
- **state**: Kansas
- **type**: County (United States), County
- **ex image**: Atchison_County_Courthouse_(2023).png
- **ex image cap**: Atchison County Courthouse in Atchison, Kansas, Atchison (2023)
- **founded**: August 25, 1855
- **named for**: David Rice Atchison
- **seat wl**: Atchison
- **largest city wl**: Atchison
- **area total sq mi**: 434
- **area land sq mi**: 431
- **area water sq mi**: 2.6
- **area percentage**: 0.6%
- **population as of**: 2020
- **population total**: 16348
- **population density sq mi**: 37.9
- **area codes**: Area code 913, 913
- **district**: 2nd
- **time zone**: Central