Smith County, Kansas

**Smith County** (standard abbreviation: SM) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2020, 3,570 people lived there. Its county seat is Smith Center. The county is named after Maj. J. Nelson Smith, who was part of the 2nd Colorado Cavalry. He was killed in action at the Battle of Westport on October 21, 1864.

The geographic center of the contiguous United States is in the county, near Lebanon.

### 19th century

In 1872, **Smith County** was created. The first homestead in Smith County was in 1871. There were 3,800 people living there by 1875. The county grew to 15,000 people by 1889. Corn was the main crop, but drought and grasshoppers hurt the crops. When hardy Winter wheat was introduced to Kansas by Russian settlers, it eventually became the main crop in Smith County. The number of people living in Smith County has slowly gone down since 1900. This is due to advanced farming techniques that need fewer people to farm.

Brewster Higley wrote the song "Home on the Range" in 1873 in a cabin 9 miles northwest of Smith Center. It later became the Kansas State song.

## Geography

The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of . Of that,  is land and  (0.2%) is water. The county is divided into 25 townships, each of which is listed below in the subdivisions section of this article.

The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is in the county, near the city of Lebanon. The geographic center of North America is located in neighboring Osborne County.

The Solomon River runs through the southern part of the county. It provides a flat basin and water for irrigation.

### Major highways

There are two major highways in the county. The main east–west route is U.S. Highway 36. It goes through Athol, Kensington, and Smith Center. The main north–south route is U.S. Highway 281. Kansas state highways K-8, K-9 and K-180 go to other areas of the county.

### Presidential elections

|Year|Republican|Democratic|Third Parties|||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|style="text-align:center;"|**2020**|style="text-align:center;"|**82.8%** _1,763_|style="text-align:center;"|15.8% _336_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.4% _30_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2016**|style="text-align:center;"|**81.3%** _1,661_|style="text-align:center;"|14.5% _297_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|4.1% _84_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2012**|style="text-align:center;"|**80.3%** _1,624_|style="text-align:center;"|17.7% _358_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.0% _41_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2008**|style="text-align:center;"|**77.8%** _1,719_|style="text-align:center;"|20.2% _446_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.0% _45_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2004**|style="text-align:center;"|**76.1%** _1,803_|style="text-align:center;"|22.8% _540_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.1% _27_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**2000**|style="text-align:center;"|**70.2%** _1,534_|style="text-align:center;"|24.5% _534_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|5.3% _116_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1996**|style="text-align:center;"|**65.4%** _1,628_|style="text-align:center;"|25.6% _638_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|9.0% _224_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1992**|style="text-align:center;"|**43.3%** _1,236_|style="text-align:center;"|27.7% _789_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|29.0% _827_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1988**|style="text-align:center;"|**65.3%** _1,951_|style="text-align:center;"|33.6% _1,004_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.1% _33_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1984**|style="text-align:center;"|**75.7%** _2,332_|style="text-align:center;"|22.2% _684_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.1% _63_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1980**|style="text-align:center;"|**71.7%** _2,415_|style="text-align:center;"|21.4% _719_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|6.9% _234_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1976**|style="text-align:center;"|**58.5%** _2,009_|style="text-align:center;"|38.8% _1,333_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.7% _94_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1972**|style="text-align:center;"|**74.3%** _2,600_|style="text-align:center;"|23.4% _818_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.4% _83_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1968**|style="text-align:center;"|**67.5%** _2,558_|style="text-align:center;"|24.8% _939_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|7.7% _293_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1964**|style="text-align:center;"|**52.3%** _2,026_|style="text-align:center;"|46.7% _1,809_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.9% _36_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1960**|style="text-align:center;"|**71.9%** _3,013_|style="text-align:center;"|27.6% _1,157_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.5% _22_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1956**|style="text-align:center;"|**73.0%** _3,142_|style="text-align:center;"|26.5% _1,139_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.6% _26_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1952**|style="text-align:center;"|**77.8%** _3,623_|style="text-align:center;"|21.2% _986_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.1% _51_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1948**|style="text-align:center;"|**61.9%** _2,760_|style="text-align:center;"|35.7% _1,590_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.4% _106_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1944**|style="text-align:center;"|**69.9%** _3,282_|style="text-align:center;"|29.3% _1,377_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.7% _34_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1940**|style="text-align:center;"|**65.6%** _3,630_|style="text-align:center;"|33.5% _1,855_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.9% _50_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1936**|style="text-align:center;"|**53.5%** _3,292_|style="text-align:center;"|46.3% _2,847_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.3% _17_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1932**|style="text-align:center;"|46.5% _2,870_|style="text-align:center;"|**51.1%** _3,155_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.3% _144_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1928**|style="text-align:center;"|**74.3%** _4,021_|style="text-align:center;"|24.7% _1,338_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.9% _50_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1924**|style="text-align:center;"|**57.2%** _3,226_|style="text-align:center;"|29.0% _1,634_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|13.8% _777_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1920**|style="text-align:center;"|**66.1%** _3,251_|style="text-align:center;"|31.2% _1,535_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.7% _132_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1916**|style="text-align:center;"|41.1% _2,605_|style="text-align:center;"|**54.1%** _3,431_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|4.8% _306_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1912**|style="text-align:center;"|25.8% _970_|style="text-align:center;"|**40.9%** _1,534_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|33.3% _1,250_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1908**|style="text-align:center;"|**51.7%** _1,843_|style="text-align:center;"|44.7% _1,593_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|3.7% _132_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1904**|style="text-align:center;"|**66.0%** _2,254_|style="text-align:center;"|17.5% _596_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|16.5% _564_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1900**|style="text-align:center;"|46.5% _1,770_|style="text-align:center;"|**51.9%** _1,978_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.6% _61_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1896**|style="text-align:center;"|40.2% _1,385_|style="text-align:center;"|**58.6%** _2,019_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.1% _39_|
|style="text-align:center;"|**1892**|style="text-align:center;"|41.3% _1,389_||style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|**58.7%** _1,972_||
|style="text-align:center;"|**1888**|style="text-align:center;"|**51.7%** _1,726_|style="text-align:center;"|23.3% _777_|style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|25.0% _835_|

Smith County is very Republican. No Democratic presidential candidate has won Smith County since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. Since 1940, the only Democrat to win forty percent of the county’s vote was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

### Unified school districts

- Thunder Ridge USD 110
    - Kensington, Athol and western third of county; school district also covers the eastern third of Phillips County
- Smith Center USD 237
    - Smith Center, Lebanon, Gaylord and eastern two-thirds of county

### Cities

- Athol
- Cedar
- Gaylord
- Kensington
- Lebanon
- Smith Center

## More reading

- _Standard Atlas of Smith County, Kansas_; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 82 pages; 1917.
- _Plat Book of Smith County, Kansas_; North West Publishing Co; 48 pages; 1900.

## Other websites

- County
- Smith County - Directory of Public Officials
- Other
- Geographical Center of the Continental United States
- Maps
- Smith 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**: Smith County
- **state**: Kansas
- **type**: County (United States), County
- **ex image**: Home on the Range cabin from SE 2.JPG
- **ex image cap**: Home on the Range Cabin near Smith Center, Kansas, Smith Center (2014)
- **founded**: 1872
- **named for**: J. Nelson Smith
- **seat wl**: Smith Center
- **largest city wl**: Smith Center
- **area total sq mi**: 897
- **area land sq mi**: 895
- **area water sq mi**: 1.5
- **area percentage**: 0.2
- **population as of**: 2020
- **population total**: 3570
- **population density sq mi**: 4.0
- **area codes**: Area code 785, 785
- **district**: 1st
- **time zone**: Central