Council Grove, Kansas

**Council Grove** is a city in Morris County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Morris County. This city is fifty-five miles southwest of Topeka. It was named after an agreement between European Americans and the Osage Nation about allowing settlers' wagon trains to go through the area to go West. Pioneers came together at a grove of trees so that wagons could stay together for their trip west. In 2020, 2,140 people lived there.

## History

Council Grove was one of the last stops on the Santa Fe Trail when going southwest. The first European-American settler was Seth M. Hays. He came to the area in 1847 to trade with the Kaw tribe. The Kaw had a reservation created in the area in 1846. Hays was a great grandson of Daniel Boone.

On February 26, 1855, a post office was created in Council Grove.

In 1858, the town was officially incorporated by the Kansas legislature. Hays also opened a restaurant in 1857, the Hays House, which is said to be the oldest restaurant west of the Mississippi River.

In 1943, the United States government brought prisoners to Lawrence. These prisoners were war prisoners from World War II. The prisoners were mostly German people and Italian people. The government brought them because farmers needed more people. They were forced to live in camps. These camps were like prisons. Fort Riley created 12 small camps, and one was in Council Grove.

## Geography

The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . Of that,  is land and  is water.

### Weather

Council Grove has hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. The Köppen Climate Classification system says that Council Grove has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

### 2020 census

The 2020 census says that there were 2,140 people, 912 households, and 528 families living in Council Grove. Of the households, 63.9% owned their home and 36.1% rented their home.

The median age was 41.3 years. Of the people, 90.9% were White, 0.3% were Native American, 0.2% were Black, 0.2% were Asian, 2.1% were from some other race, and 6.1% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.1% of the people.

### 2010 census

The 2010 census says that there were 2,182 people, 991 households, and 565 families living in Council Grove.

### Primary and secondary education

Council Grove is part of Unified School District 417.

## Related pages

- Santa Fe Trail

## More reading

- _The Story of Council Grove on the Santa Fe Trail_; 2nd Ed; Lalla Maloy Brigham; 176 pages; 1921.

## Other websites

- City
- City of Council Grove
- Council Grove - Directory of Public Officials
- Council Grove Chamber of Commerce & Tourism
- Schools
- USD 417 , local school district
- USD 417 School District Boundary Map , KDOT
- Historical
- , from _Hatteberg's People_ on KAKE TV news
- Historic Images of Council Grove, Special Photo Collections at Wichita State University Library
- Kansas Photo Tour - Council Grove
- Council Grove 19th Century History
- Historical information about Council Grove
- Maps
- Council Grove City Map , KDOT

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Council Grove, Kansas
- **settlement type**: City and County seat
- **image skyline**: City between the Ages (8216610169).jpg
- **image caption**: Downtown Council Grove (2012)
- **image map**: Morris_County_Kansas_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Council_Grove_Highlighted.svg
- **map caption**: Location within Morris County, Kansas, Morris County and Kansas
- **image map1**: Map of Morris Co, Ks, USA.png
- **map caption1**: Kansas Department of Transportation, KDOT map of Morris County, Kansas, Morris County (:File:Kansas official transportation map legend.png, legend)
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: Kansas
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in Kansas, County
- **subdivision name2**: Morris County, Kansas, Morris
- **subdivision type3**: List of townships in Kansas, Township
- **established title**: Founded
- **established title1**: Platted
- **established title2**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established date2**: 1887
- **government type**: Mayor–council government, Mayor–Council
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **area total sq mi**: 2.21
- **area land sq mi**: 2.14
- **area water sq mi**: 0.07
- **area total km2**: 5.72
- **area land km2**: 5.53
- **area water km2**: 0.19
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **elevation ft**: 1234
- **population as of**: 2020 United States census, 2020
- **population total**: 2140
- **population density sq mi**: auto
- **population density km2**: auto
- **timezone**: Central Time Zone, CST
- **utc offset**: -6
- **timezone dst**: CDT
- **utc offset dst**: -5
- **postal code type**: ZIP codes
- **postal code**: 66846, 66873
- **area code type**: North American Numbering Plan, Area code
- **area code**: Area code 620, 620
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 20-15925
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS ID
- **blank1 info**: 477021