Stafford County, Kansas

Stafford County (standard abbreviation: SF) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2020, 4,072 people lived there. Its county seat is St. John. The county is named after Lewis Stafford. He was captain of Company E, First Kansas Infantry, who was killed at the Battle of Young's Point in Madison Parish, Louisiana on June 7, 1863.A History of Stafford County, Frank A. Steele, 1982

History
19th century
In 1879, Stafford County was created.

The borders of Stafford County were defined by the Kansas Legislature of 1870. For several years, the county was still unorganized. The Legislature of 1875 gave the territory in Stafford County to other counties. They wanted to get rid of Stafford County. They gave the part in Range 15 West to Pawnee County; the portion included in Ranges 11, 12, 13 and 14 to Barton County; and the south half of the county, excepting the portion in Range 15, was added to Pratt County. But after each of the counties had taken its part, a strip six miles wide and twelve miles long (two townships) remained as Stafford County. This was the county until April 25, 1879. The Supreme Court of Kansas said that dividing the county was unconstitutional. The county was restored to its original borders.Stafford County, Kansas 1870-1990, Stafford County Historical & Genealogical Society, 1990, p.5

Geography
The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of . Of that,  is land and  (0.4%) is water.

People


Government
Stafford County is often won by Republican Candidates. The last time Stafford County was won by a democratic candidate was in 1976 by Jimmy Carter.

Presidential elections

+ Presidential Elections Results Year Republican Democratic Third Parties202080.9% 1,64517.6% 3571.6% 32201678.6% 1,49016.0% 3045.4% 102201275.3% 1,38522.0% 4042.7% 50200872.1% 1,49526.1% 5421.8% 37200475.4% 1,64923.2% 5061.4% 31200070.3% 1,54625.8% 5674.0% 87199663.0% 1,60425.6% 65111.4% 290199238.6% 1,06428.2% 77733.3% 919198856.0% 1,53240.9% 1,1213.1% 85198469.7% 2,06228.5% 8441.8% 52198062.7% 1,86529.3% 8728.0% 239197645.2% 1,43052.5% 1,6592.3% 73197270.4% 2,20027.0% 8442.7% 83196855.8% 1,85136.3% 1,2058.0% 264196441.6% 1,51657.3% 2,0871.0% 38196065.5% 2,53133.8% 1,3050.7% 26195668.4% 2,72831.1% 1,2420.5% 20195271.3% 3,16226.5% 1,1742.3% 100194851.7% 2,30446.0% 2,0492.3% 100194456.3% 2,49343.1% 1,9080.7% 31194052.2% 2,79546.8% 2,5091.0% 53193637.5% 1,93962.1% 3,2120.4% 20193241.2% 1,94556.2% 2,6512.6% 122192875.3% 3,27823.5% 1,0251.2% 52192468.6% 3,10021.2% 95710.2% 463192070.0% 2,77926.6% 1,0573.3% 132191641.9% 1,81249.6% 2,1488.5% 368191216.1% 42241.9% 1,09442.0% 1,098190851.0% 1,33443.4% 1,1355.6% 147190463.1% 1,41926.0% 58510.9% 244190046.8% 1,05550.5% 1,1392.7% 60189635.3% 71063.5% 1,2761.1% 23189239.3% 84060.7% 1,300188847.5% 97523.5% 48329.0% 594

Laws
Although the Kansas Constitution was changed in 1986 to allow the sale of alcohol, Stafford County was still a "dry" county until an election in 2016 when this prohibition was removed by 1,304 to 535, 71% of the vote.

Education

Unified school districts
 Stafford USD 349
 St. John-Hudson USD 350
 Macksville USD 351

Communities

Cities
 Hudson
 Macksville
 Radium
 Seward
 Stafford
 St. John

References

Notes

More reading
 Standard Atlas of Stafford County, Kansas; Geo. A. Ogle & Co; 56 pages; 1904.

Other websites

County

 Stafford County - Directory of Public Officials
Maps
 Stafford County Maps: Current , Historic , KDOT
 Kansas Highway Maps: Current , Historic , KDOT
 Kansas Railroad Maps: Current , 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society

Category:Kansas counties
Category:1879 establishments in Kansas