In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mileLouisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1872, Kingman County was established and named for Samuel A. Kingman, chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court. During the 1870s, Kingman County abounded with bison. The old-time cowboy author Frank H. Maynard reported going there on his first buffalo hunt.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Kingman County is included in the Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the census of 2000, there were 8,673 people, 3,371 households, and 2,420 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 3,852 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 97.45% White, 0.21% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. 1.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 3,371 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.90% were married couplesliving together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.03. In the county, the population was spread out with 27.40% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 19.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,790, and the median income for a family was $44,547. Males had a median income of $31,771 versus $25,298 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,533. About 8.40% of families and 10.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.90% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Presidential elections
Laws
Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 2004, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.
Kingman County is divided into twenty-three townships. The city of Kingman is considered governmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.
