Ford County (county code FO) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 34,287. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

and most populous city is

Dodge City Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...

. The county is named in honor of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

James Hobart Ford James Hobart Ford (May 22, 1829 – January 12, 1867) was a Union colonel and brevet brigadier general during the American Civil War, notable for his contributions in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the war. Early life James Hobart Ford was born ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.07%) is covered by water.

Adjacent counties

* Hodgeman County (north) * Edwards County (northeast) * Kiowa County (east) * Clark County (south) * Meade County (southwest) * Gray County (west)

Major highways

* U.S. Route 50 * U.S. Route 54 * U.S. Route 56 *

U.S. Route 283 U.S. Route 283 is a spur of U.S. Route 83. It currently runs for 731 miles (1,175 km) from Brady, Texas at U.S. Route 87 to Lexington, Nebraska at U.S. Route 30. It passes through the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska. Route ...

U.S. Route 400 U.S. Route 400 (US 400) is a mostly east–west U.S. Highway, commissioned in 1994. The highway's western terminus is in Granada, Colorado, at an intersection with US 385. The highway's eastern terminus is southwest of Joplin, Missouri, ...

* K-34

Demographics

The Dodge City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Ford County. As of the 2000 census, 33,848 people, 10,852 households, and 7,856 families were residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 30 people/sq mi (11/km²). The 11,650 housing units averaged 11/sq mi (4/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 75.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 2.1%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.0% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 17.8% from other races, and 2.7% from

two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

Hispanic and Latino Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...

of any race were 51.2% of the population. Of the 10,852

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

s, 40.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were not families. About 22.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92, and the average family size was 3.42. In the county, the age distribution was 31.10% under 18, 11.20% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 17.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,860, and for a family was $42,734. Males had a median income of $27,189 versus $22,165 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $15,721. About 9.90% of families and 12.40% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 15.40% of those under age 18 and 8.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Ford County has been strongly Republican for most of its history, especially in recent elections. Only eight Democratic presidential candidates from 1880 to 2020 have carried the county, the most recent being

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

in 1976.

Laws

Ford County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the

Kansas Constitution The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas. Background The Kansas Territory was created in 1854. The largest issue by far in territorial Kansas was whether slavery was to be permitted or prohibited; aside from the m ...

was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.

Education

Colleges

Dodge City Community College Dodge City Community College (DC3, DCCC) is a public community college in Dodge City, Kansas, United States. History Campus Founded in 1935, Dodge City Community College was located on the third floor of the Senior High School Building at 16 ...

Unified school districts

Spearville USD 381
*

Dodge City USD 443 Dodge City USD 443, also known as Dodge City Public Schools, is a public unified school district headquartered in Dodge City, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Dodge City, Fort Dodge, Wilroads Gardens, Wright, Ho ...

Bucklin USD 459

Communities

Cities

* Bucklin *

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

* Spearville

Census-designated places

Fort Dodge Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Ce ...

* Wilroads Gardens *

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright i ...

Other unincorporated places

* Bellefont * Bloom * Kingsdown * Windhorst

Townships

Ford County is divided into 14

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

. The city of

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 (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.

Notable people

Numerous figures of the

American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

lived in Dodge City during its period as a frontier cowtown. These included, most notably, lawmen

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which la ...

and

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

, and gunfighter

Doc Holliday John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was an American Old West, American gambling, gambler, gunfighter, and dentistry, dentist. A close friend and associate of Sheriff, lawman Wyatt Earp, H ...

References

External links

;County *
Ford County - Directory of Public Officials
;Historical
Ford County History
from FCHS, Dodge City, KS
Ford County GenWeb

Ford County
from American History and Genealogy Project (AHGP) ;Maps * Ford County Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Highway Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Railroad Maps
Current19961915
KDOT and Kansas Historical Society {{coord, 37, 42, N, 99, 54, W, type:adm2nd_region:US-KS, display=title Kansas counties 1867 establishments in Kansas Populated places established in 1867