Ottawa, Kansas

**Ottawa** is a city in Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Franklin County. It is on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. In 2020, 12,625 people lived there.

### 19th century

The name comes from the Ottawa tribe of Indians. The city was planned on their reservation. In spring 1864, the land was obtained from the tribe through a treaty connected to the creation of Ottawa University. The Ottawa had given 20,000 acres of land to create and fund a school for the education of Indians and non-Indians alike. The word Ottawa itself means “to trade”. In 1867, the Ottawa tribe sold their remaining land in Kansas, and they moved to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

March 31st, 1864, J.C. Richmond built the first non-Indian settlement in the new town.

### Flooding

Ottawa has a history of flooding. This is because of where it is. It is on the Marais Des Cygnes river. The area's first recorded flood was the Great Flood of 1844. In 1928, a flood went up to at 38.65 feet, and it killed six people. Other floods included 1904. Water went up to 36 feet. In 1909, a flood went up to . In 1915, a flood went up to . Another flood happened in 1944, where the water went up to .

The most famous flood is the Great Flood of 1951. It was about five inches higher than the 1928 flood. The flood of 1951 hurt a lot of Missouri and Kansas. 41 people died. 1/3 of Ottawa was covered because of this flood.

### 20th century

In 1943, the United States government brought prisoners to Ottawa. 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. The camp closed in 1945.

## Geography

Ottawa is on the Marais des Cygnes River. It is  southwest of Kansas City at the junction of U.S. Route 59 and K-68. U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 35 go near Ottawa to the south and east, while business US-50 goes through the city.

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

## Climate

The area gets about  of precipitation during an average year. Most of the rain happens in May and June.
|Month||Jan||Feb||Mar||Apr||May||Jun||Jul||Aug||Sep||Oct||Nov||Dec||Year|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|colspan="14" style="text-align:left;"|**Notes**: Temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit.  Precipitation includes rain and melted snow or sleet in inches; median values are provided for precipitation and snowfall because mean averages may be misleading.  Mean and median values are for the 30-year period 1971–2000; temperature extremes are for the station's period of record (1900–2001).  The station is located in Ottawa at 38°37′N 95°17′W, elevation .||||||||||||||||||||||||||

### 2020 census

In 2020, there were 12,625 people, 5,095 households, and 3,095 families living in Ottawa. Of the households, 55.9% owned their home and 44.1% rented their home.

The median age was 36.1 years. Of the people, 86.5% were White, 2.0% were Black, 1.0% were Native American, 0.4% were Asian, 2.2% were from some other race, and 7.8% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.0% of the people.

### 2010 census

In 2010, there were 12,649 people, 4,998 households, and 3,127 families living in Ottawa.

## Economy

Ottawa's two biggest employers are Walmart and American Eagle Outfitters. They both have distribution centers in the city. Ottawa has freight rail service from BNSF railway. There is also a grain elevator operated by the Ottawa Co-Op. The city operates the Ottawa Municipal Airport, a small General Aviation airport four miles south of the city.

## Government

Ottawa had a Mayor-Council system. This changed in 1913 when the City became a Commission form of government. In 1970 voters created the City Manager form of government with a five-member Commission. The commission chooses a Mayor. The people of Ottawa elect commissioners at-large. Three seats on the Commission are open every odd numbered year. Two Commissioners are elected to four-year terms and one is elected to a two-year term.

## Education

Ottawa is served by USD 290 for public education. The private four-year university, Ottawa University, is in Ottawa. Ottawa is also where another campus of Neosho County Community College is.

USD 290 public education schools:
- Ottawa High School
- Ottawa Middle School
- Garfield Elementary School
- Lincoln Elementary School
- Sunflower Elementary school

Ottawa has several private schools.
- Sacred Heart Catholic Elementary School
- Pilgrim Bible Academy
- Ottawa Christian Academy

### Newspapers

There is one newspaper for the city of Ottawa, the _Ottawa Herald_. It was created in 1869. It is owned by CherryRoad Media.

## Entertainment

Downtown Ottawa is has the Plaza Grill and Cinema (formerly the Crystal Plaza and Bijou Theater). In 2013, it was found that it is the oldest operating movie theater in the United States.

## Related pages

- Great Flood of 1951

## Other websites

**Official sites**
- City of Ottawa
- Ottawa - Directory of Public Officials
- Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce
- Ottawa Main Street Association
- Franklin County Convention Visitors Bureau
- Schools
- USD 290, local school district
- Ottawa University
- Museums
- Old Depot Museum
- Maps
- Ottawa City Map , KDOT

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Ottawa, Kansas
- **settlement type**: City and County seat
- **image skyline**: Downtown Ottawa, Kansas historic district.jpg
- **image caption**: Ottawa Historic District (2018)
- **image map**: Franklin_County_Kansas_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Ottawa_Highlighted.svg
- **map caption**: Location within Franklin County, Kansas, Franklin County and Kansas
- **image map1**: Map of Franklin Co, Ks, USA.png
- **map caption1**: Kansas Department of Transportation, KDOT map of Franklin County, Kansas, Franklin County (:File:Kansas official transportation map legend.png, legend)
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: Kansas
- **subdivision type2**: List of counties in Kansas, County
- **subdivision name2**: Franklin County, Kansas, Franklin
- **subdivision type3**: List of townships in Kansas, Township
- **established title**: Founded
- **established date**: 1865
- **established title1**: Platted
- **established title2**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established date2**: 1866
- **named for**: Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma, Ottawa Tribe
- **government type**: Council-Manager
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **leader title1**: City Manager
- **area total sq mi**: 10.41
- **area land sq mi**: 10.32
- **area water sq mi**: 0.09
- **area total km2**: 26.96
- **area land km2**: 26.73
- **area water km2**: 0.28
- **area water percent**: 0.85
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **elevation ft**: 925
- **population as of**: 2020 United States census, 2020
- **population total**: 12625
- **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 code
- **postal code**: 66067
- **area code type**: North American Numbering Plan, Area code
- **area code**: Area code 785, 785
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 20-53550
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS ID
- **blank1 info**: 485638