Doniphan County, Kansas

**Doniphan County** (county code **DP**) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2020 census, 7,510 people lived there. Its county seat is Troy. Its  biggest city is Wathena.

### 19th century

**Doniphan County** was created on August 25, 1855, then organized on September 18, 1855. It is named after the U.S. cavalry commander Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan (1808–1887) of Liberty, Missouri. He was important in the Mexican–American War.

## Geography

Doniphan County is in the northeastern corner of the state. It is bordered by Nebraska to the north and Missouri to the east. The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of . Of that,  is land and  (1.2%) is water. It is the third-smallest county in Kansas by land area and second-smallest by total area.

### Geographic features

The Missouri River defines the border in the north and east. Eight barge lines travel the river, and a Port Authority is across the river in Saint Joseph, Missouri. The river provides a lot of the water for the eastern part of the county. Cities away from the river, such as Troy and Highland, get their water from underground wells. The Wolf River goes through western pstyd of the county and north into the Missouri River.

### Major highways

The only major highway in the county is U.S. Highway 36, an east/west route going through St. Joseph.  Troy, Elwood, and Wathena lie along this route. Kansas state highways K-7, K-20, K-120, K-136, K-137, and K-238 serve other areas of the county.  K-7 has been designated a scenic byway.

## People

Doniphan County is included in the St. Joseph, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS Combined Statistical Area.

### County

Doniphan County is served by a Board of County Commissioners. In it, there is one elected official from each of three districts. The commissioners serve four-year terms. The 2nd and 3rd district elections happen two years after the 1st district election. The board is responsible for making the county's policies, procedures, and budgets. They also oversee functions of their respective road and bridge shops. The county has used county planning and zoning codes. The cities are governed by mayors and city councils. Government services are paid for through a sales tax, property tax, and an _ad valorem tax_ mill levy.

### Presidential elections

|Year|Republican|Democratic|Third Parties|||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|style="text-align:center;"|**2020**|style="text-align:center;"|**80.2%** _2,976_|style="text-align:center;"|18.5% _686_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.3% _47_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2016**|style="text-align:center;"|**76.8%** _2,606_|style="text-align:center;"|17.3% _587_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|5.9% _202_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2012**|style="text-align:center;"|**70.9%** _2,414_|style="text-align:center;"|26.5% _902_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.6% _87_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2008**|style="text-align:center;"|**66.6%** _2,372_|style="text-align:center;"|31.3% _1,115_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.2% _77_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2004**|style="text-align:center;"|**69.1%** _2,491_|style="text-align:center;"|29.6% _1,065_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.3% _47_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2000**|style="text-align:center;"|**64.4%** _2,350_|style="text-align:center;"|31.1% _1,134_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|4.5% _165_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1996**|style="text-align:center;"|**64.2%** _1,962_|style="text-align:center;"|34.4% _1,050_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.4% _42_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1992**|style="text-align:center;"|**39.7%** _1,579_|style="text-align:center;"|29.6% _1,177_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|30.6% _1,217_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1988**|style="text-align:center;"|**61.5%** _2,162_|style="text-align:center;"|37.3% _1,312_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.1% _40_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1984**|style="text-align:center;"|**73.8%** _2,818_|style="text-align:center;"|25.2% _962_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.1% _40_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1980**|style="text-align:center;"|**67.8%** _2,523_|style="text-align:center;"|26.9% _1,001_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|5.3% _195_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1976**|style="text-align:center;"|**62.2%** _2,469_|style="text-align:center;"|36.0% _1,428_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.8% _72_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1972**|style="text-align:center;"|**78.4%** _2,856_|style="text-align:center;"|18.9% _690_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.7% _97_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1968**|style="text-align:center;"|**63.3%** _2,402_|style="text-align:center;"|25.3% _958_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|11.4% _434_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1964**|style="text-align:center;"|**51.1%** _1,952_|style="text-align:center;"|48.5% _1,856_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.4% _16_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1960**|style="text-align:center;"|**67.4%** _2,882_|style="text-align:center;"|32.3% _1,383_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _12_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1956**|style="text-align:center;"|**72.1%** _3,130_|style="text-align:center;"|27.6% _1,197_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _12_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1952**|style="text-align:center;"|**75.7%** _3,711_|style="text-align:center;"|24.0% _1,175_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _16_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1948**|style="text-align:center;"|**63.7%** _2,785_|style="text-align:center;"|35.6% _1,555_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.7% _29_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1944**|style="text-align:center;"|**71.9%** _3,230_|style="text-align:center;"|28.1% _1,261_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.0% _0_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1940**|style="text-align:center;"|**67.7%** _4,204_|style="text-align:center;"|32.0% _1,986_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _20_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1936**|style="text-align:center;"|**57.8%** _3,791_|style="text-align:center;"|41.9% _2,749_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _19_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1932**|style="text-align:center;"|**51.4%** _2,748_|style="text-align:center;"|47.3% _2,532_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.3% _69_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1928**|style="text-align:center;"|**72.6%** _4,002_|style="text-align:center;"|27.2% _1,496_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.2% _11_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1924**|style="text-align:center;"|**72.8%** _3,789_|style="text-align:center;"|20.6% _1,072_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|6.6% _345_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1920**|style="text-align:center;"|**76.5%** _3,369_|style="text-align:center;"|22.2% _978_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.3% _59_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1916**|style="text-align:center;"|**58.1%** _2,826_|style="text-align:center;"|39.4% _1,916_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.6% _126_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1912**|style="text-align:center;"|**39.1%** _1,321_|style="text-align:center;"|30.1% _1,017_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|30.7% _1,037_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1908**|style="text-align:center;"|**66.3%** _2,307_|style="text-align:center;"|32.0% _1,113_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.7% _60_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1904**|style="text-align:center;"|**75.0%** _2,361_|style="text-align:center;"|22.7% _713_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.3% _73_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1900**|style="text-align:center;"|**65.9%** _2,464_|style="text-align:center;"|33.3% _1,244_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.8% _30_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1896**|style="text-align:center;"|**65.4%** _2,549_|style="text-align:center;"|34.2% _1,332_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.5% _18_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1892**|style="text-align:center;"|**64.4%** _2,161_||style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|35.6% _1,194_||
|style="text-align:center;"|**1888**|style="text-align:center;"|**66.5%** _2,245_|style="text-align:center;"|32.9% _1,109_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.6% _21_|

Because of its history of settlement by anti-slavery Yankees from Iowa and New England, Doniphan County became very Republican. The county has voted for the Republican nominee in every presidential election since Kansas became a state, beginning in 1864. Only three Democratic nominees reached forty percent of Doniphan County’s vote.

### Laws

Although the Kansas Constitution was changed in 1986 to allow the sale of alcohol, Doniphan County remained a "dry" county until 2012.

### Unified school districts

- Doniphan West USD 111
- Riverside USD 114
- Troy USD 429

### Colleges and universities

Highland Community College was the first college created in Kansas. This was when the Highland University charter was approved by the Territorial Legislature in 1858. Over time the college changed its name many times before becoming a regional rural community college. (Web site)

### Cities

- Denton
- Elwood
- Highland
- Leona
- Severance
- Troy
- Wathena
- White Cloud

## More reading

- _Standard Atlas of Doniphan County, Kansas_; North West Publishing Co; 38 pages; 1904.
- _Historical Plat Book of Doniphan County, Kansas_; J.S. Bird; 98 pages; 1882.

## Other websites

- County
- Doniphan County - Directory of Public Officials
- Additional information
- Lewis & Clark in Kansas: Doniphan County Attractions
- Doniphan County 1882 Historical Plat Book
- County Level Data from Kansas Statistical Abstract
- Kansas State Historical Society
- General county information
- The Political Graveyard
- List of extinct towns and post offices
- Maps
- Doniphan 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**: Doniphan County
- **state**: Kansas
- **type**: County (United States), County
- **ex image**: Doniphan County Courthouse Troy_Kansas.jpg
- **ex image cap**: Doniphan County Courthouse in Troy, Kansas, Troy (2006)
- **founded**: August 25, 1855
- **named for**: Alexander William Doniphan
- **seat wl**: Troy
- **largest city wl**: Wathena
- **area total sq mi**: 398
- **area land sq mi**: 393
- **area water sq mi**: 4.9
- **area percentage**: 1.2%
- **population as of**: 2020
- **population total**: 7510
- **population density sq mi**: 19.1
- **area codes**: Area code 785, 785
- **district**: 2nd
- **time zone**: Central