Wabaunsee County, Kansas

**Wabaunsee County** (standard abbreviation: **WB**) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2020, 6,877 people lived there. Its county seat is Alma. The county was created by the territorial legislature of Kansas Territory on March 25, 1859. It was named after a chief of the Potawatomi Indians.

### 19th century

The first white people in the area were said to have been a group of criminals. This group was known as the McDaniel Gang.

**Wabaunsee County** was created by the territorial legislature on March 25, 1859. The name used since 1859 is from the Potawatomi "Wah-bon-seh". This means "dawn of day." It was the name of the chief of the Potawatomi Indians. Originally, the county was named **Richardson**. This was named after William Alexander Richardson, a congressman from Illinois, who introduced the first Kansas and Nebraska Bill in the United States House of Representatives. This made certain Indian lands territories in 1854.

The county's first church, Wabaunsee Church of Christ, was created in June 1857.

The first railroad to be built through Wabaunsee County was the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe in 1880. In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway built a railroad from Topeka to Herington.  This railroad connected Topeka, Valencia, Willard, Maple Hill, Vera, Paxico, McFarland, Alma, Volland, Alta Vista, Dwight, White City, Latimer, Herington.

## Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of . Of that,  is land and  (0.7%) is water.

## People

Wabaunsee County is part of the Topeka, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area.

### Presidential elections

|Year|Republican|Democratic|Third Parties|||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|style="text-align:center;"|**2020**|style="text-align:center;"|**72.9%** _2,845_|style="text-align:center;"|24.7% _964_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.4% _93_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2016**|style="text-align:center;"|**70.2%** _2,372_|style="text-align:center;"|23.0% _776_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|6.9% _232_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2012**|style="text-align:center;"|**69.1%** _2,256_|style="text-align:center;"|28.1% _918_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.9% _93_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2008**|style="text-align:center;"|**68.0%** _2,395_|style="text-align:center;"|29.4% _1,036_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.6% _90_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2004**|style="text-align:center;"|**70.2%** _2,531_|style="text-align:center;"|27.8% _1,001_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.0% _72_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2000**|style="text-align:center;"|**63.8%** _2,182_|style="text-align:center;"|30.0% _1,025_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|6.2% _213_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1996**|style="text-align:center;"|**55.7%** _1,884_|style="text-align:center;"|28.6% _966_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|15.8% _534_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1992**|style="text-align:center;"|37.2% _1,254_|style="text-align:center;"|25.2% _851_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|**37.6%** _1,269_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1988**|style="text-align:center;"|**58.5%** _1,737_|style="text-align:center;"|39.3% _1,166_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.2% _64_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1984**|style="text-align:center;"|**72.7%** _2,276_|style="text-align:center;"|25.7% _805_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.6% _49_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1980**|style="text-align:center;"|**68.0%** _2,255_|style="text-align:center;"|25.7% _853_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|6.3% _209_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1976**|style="text-align:center;"|**57.6%** _1,921_|style="text-align:center;"|40.6% _1,354_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.8% _61_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1972**|style="text-align:center;"|**76.8%** _2,461_|style="text-align:center;"|20.7% _662_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.5% _80_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1968**|style="text-align:center;"|**64.2%** _1,979_|style="text-align:center;"|22.5% _695_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|13.3% _410_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1964**|style="text-align:center;"|**58.3%** _1,839_|style="text-align:center;"|40.8% _1,287_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.8% _26_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1960**|style="text-align:center;"|**70.6%** _2,351_|style="text-align:center;"|29.1% _969_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _11_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1956**|style="text-align:center;"|**76.6%** _2,650_|style="text-align:center;"|23.2% _802_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.2% _6_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1952**|style="text-align:center;"|**81.0%** _3,182_|style="text-align:center;"|18.7% _736_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.2% _9_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1948**|style="text-align:center;"|**66.8%** _2,437_|style="text-align:center;"|31.9% _1,162_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.3% _49_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1944**|style="text-align:center;"|**76.0%** _2,839_|style="text-align:center;"|23.4% _873_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.7% _26_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1940**|style="text-align:center;"|**73.6%** _3,481_|style="text-align:center;"|25.6% _1,212_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.7% _34_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1936**|style="text-align:center;"|**55.5%** _2,809_|style="text-align:center;"|44.2% _2,235_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _15_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1932**|style="text-align:center;"|47.4% _2,304_|style="text-align:center;"|**50.7%** _2,465_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.9% _93_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1928**|style="text-align:center;"|**71.9%** _3,099_|style="text-align:center;"|27.6% _1,189_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.5% _23_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1924**|style="text-align:center;"|**65.9%** _2,742_|style="text-align:center;"|15.2% _633_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|18.9% _786_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1920**|style="text-align:center;"|**77.6%** _2,859_|style="text-align:center;"|21.2% _782_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.1% _42_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1916**|style="text-align:center;"|**59.0%** _2,640_|style="text-align:center;"|38.1% _1,706_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|3.0% _132_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1912**|style="text-align:center;"|26.8% _783_|style="text-align:center;"|**38.6%** _1,128_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|34.6% _1,009_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1908**|style="text-align:center;"|**60.3%** _1,849_|style="text-align:center;"|37.9% _1,163_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.9% _57_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1904**|style="text-align:center;"|**71.4%** _2,016_|style="text-align:center;"|24.4% _688_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|4.2% _118_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1900**|style="text-align:center;"|**58.1%** _1,793_|style="text-align:center;"|40.9% _1,263_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.0% _32_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1896**|style="text-align:center;"|**51.8%** _1,586_|style="text-align:center;"|47.1% _1,442_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.1% _34_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1892**|style="text-align:center;"|46.8% _1,356_||style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|**53.2%** _1,540_||
|style="text-align:center;"|**1888**|style="text-align:center;"|**62.5%** _1,708_|style="text-align:center;"|35.1% _960_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.3% _64_|

Wabaunsee County is very Republican. No Democratic Presidential candidate has won Wabaunsee County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932.

### Unified school districts

- Wamego USD 320
- Mill Creek Valley USD 329
- Wabaunsee East USD 330

### Cities

- Alma
- Alta Vista
- Eskridge
- Harveyville
- Maple Hill
- McFarland
- Paxico
- St. Marys (part)
- Willard (part)

## More reading

- _Early History of Wabaunsee County, Kansas_; Matt Thomson; 376 pages; 1901.
- _Standard Atlas of Wabaunsee County, Kansas_; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 76 pages; 1919.
- _Standard Atlas of Wabaunsee County, Kansas_; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 47 pages; 1902.
- _Atlas of Wabaunsee County, Kansas_; Gillen & Davy; 51 pages; 1885.

## Other websites

- County
- Wabaunsee County - Directory of Public Officials
- Historical
- Wabaunsee County GenWeb website
- Maps
- Wabaunsee 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**: Wabaunsee County
- **state**: Kansas
- **type**: County (United States), County
- **ex image**: Sacred Heart Catholic Church.JPG
- **ex image cap**: Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Newbury, Kansas, Newbury (2009)
- **founded**: 1859
- **named for**: Chief Waubonsie
- **seat wl**: Alma
- **largest city wl**: Alma
- **area total sq mi**: 800
- **area land sq mi**: 794
- **area water sq mi**: 5.3
- **area percentage**: 0.7
- **population as of**: 2020
- **population total**: 6877
- **population density sq mi**: 8.7
- **district**: 2nd
- **time zone**: Central