Kansas Last County Seat War

[W. Gray]

Does anyone want to take a shot at naming the county involved with the last county seat war in Kansas? In addition, name the year involved.

Think back a couple years before the last county seat war and name the county involved with the next to last county seat war and the year involved.

Some of us on this forum were alive when these two occurred.

[W. Gray]

Does anyone want to take a shot at naming the county involved with the last county seat war in Kansas? In addition, name the year involved.

Think back a couple years before the last county seat war and name the county involved with the next to last county seat war and the year involved.

Some of us on this forum were alive when these two occurred.

The last two county seat conflicts occurred in Kansas in the 1960s. These were also the last major conflicts in the United States. In Logan and Morton counties in the west and southwest parts of the state, respectively, a larger outlying town challenged and won the county seat by vote from the original centrally located county seat, the population of which had steadily dwindled.

In both cases, the winning challenger was located on the county line, peripheral to the county's main land area, but within easy automobile reach for everyone. Also in both of these counties, allegations of questionable election activities by those not wanting to move the county seat were taken seriously enough to require a decision by the Kansas Supreme Court to determine the rightful county seat.

The last county sear war is the 1963 case of Logan County where sheriff deputies and members of the Kansas Highway Patrol stood by during the removal of the county seat from Russell Springs to Oakley after an anonymously written threat of "Kill If We Must" coming from the losing town.

Oakley had 2,190 population in 1963 when it became the Logan County seat and today has 2,045, however its city limits is in three counties. Russell Springs had 94 people in 1963 and today has 24.

In Morton County, the county seat moved to Elkhart from Richfield in 1961. Elkhart population was 1,790 when it became the new county seat and now has a population of 2,205. Richfield the former county seat had a population of 122 in 1961 and now has 43.