Hiawatha, Kansas

**Hiawatha** (Ioway: _Hári Wáta_ pronounced ) is the biggest city in Brown County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Brown County. In 2020, 3,280 people lived there.

## History

Hiawatha was created in 1857. This makes it one of the oldest towns in Kansas. John M. Coe, John P. Wheller, and Thomas J. Drummond were important in creating the city, and the place was found on February 17, 1857. B.L. Rider was responsible for naming Hiawatha. It was named after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, _The Song of Hiawatha_. Hiawatha became the Brown County Seat in 1858. The first school opened in 1870.

The main street was called Oregon Street after the Oregon Trail. Parallel streets north of it were named after Indian tribes north of the Trail, and streets south carried tribal names of those south of the Trail.

Hiawatha is named after a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called _The Song of Hiawatha_. The  Onondaga and Mohawk Indian leader Hiawatha is in the poem. Next the former Ioway-Sac reservation and the present-day Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Hiawatha is called _Hári Wáta_ in Ioway. It means "I am looking far away". This name may be the result of choosing Ioway words that sound like the English name. It has nothing to do with the Onondaga-Mohawk leader.

The city has also had the oldest Halloween parade in the United States. They started it in 1914.

## Geography

Hiawatha is at  (39.851855, -95.537999). The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of . All of it is land.

### 2020 census

The 2020 census says that there were 3,280 people, 1,378 households, and 798 families living in Hiawatha. Of the households, 60.7% owned their home and 39.3% rented their home.

The median age was 41.4 years. Of the people, 85.6% were White, 2.6% were Native American, 1.8% were Black, 0.8% were Asian, 1.5% were from some other race, and 7.7% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.4% of the people.

### 2010 census

The 2010 census says that there were 3,172 people, 1,369 households, and 843 families living in Hiawatha.

## Famous people

- Bion Barnett - banker
- Al Buell - pinup artist
- William Gallagher - 1953 Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer
- Bill Martin, Jr. - children's book author
- Homer McCrerey - commissioned US Naval Academy officer and bioengineering oceanographer
- John McLendon - inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979
- Joe Wilhoit - baseball player, record holder for longest consecutive game hitting streak in professional baseball (69)

## Other websites

- City
- City of Hiawatha
- Hiawatha - Directory of Public Officials
- Schools
- USD 415, local school district
- Maps
- Hiawatha City Map , KDOT

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Hiawatha, Kansas
- **settlement type**: City and County seat
- **image skyline**: BrownCoKScourthouse.JPG
- **image caption**: Brown County Court House (2011)
- **image map**: Brown_County_Kansas_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Hiawatha_Highlighted.svg
- **map caption**: Location within Brown County, Kansas, Brown County and Kansas
- **image map1**: Map of Brown Co, Ks, USA.png
- **map caption1**: Kansas Department of Transportation, KDOT map of Brown County, Kansas, Brown 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**: Brown County, Kansas, Brown
- **subdivision type3**: List of townships in Kansas, Township
- **established title**: Founded
- **established date**: 1857
- **established title1**: Platted
- **established title2**: Municipal corporation, Incorporated
- **established date2**: 1857
- **named for**: The Song of Hiawatha
- **leader title**: Mayor
- **area total sq mi**: 2.56
- **area land sq mi**: 2.56
- **area water sq mi**: 0.00
- **area total km2**: 6.63
- **area land km2**: 6.63
- **area water km2**: 0.00
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **elevation ft**: 1122
- **population as of**: 2020 United States census, 2020
- **population total**: 3280
- **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**: 66434
- **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**: 20-31675
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS ID
- **blank1 info**: 485591