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Harper County KSGenWeb is a free genealogical site about the history of the county. It is a member of KSGenWeb, which is a member of USGenWeb®. We hope you find helpful clues for your research of Harper County ancestors.

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COUNTY FORMATION

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1867, Harper County was established. The original organization of Harper County was one of the largest frauds in county government. In 1873, a group of three men organized Harper County, designating the then fictitious city of "Bluff City" as the county seat. The petition for organization used several names out of a Cincinnati city directory to represent as residents of Harper County. In 1874, the state attorney general investigated, and found not a single resident of the county. The "founders" of the county had sold $40,000 worth of bonds. Harper County was settled starting in 1877, and the county was organized for a second time in 1878 by the Glenn and Robinson families. Since Bluff City could not be shown to have existed, Anthony was designated as the temporary county seat. In an election in 1879, Anthony won as county seat even though 2,960 votes were cast in a county with 800 legal voters.

Harper County is a beautiful part of Kansas located in the southernmost tier of counties about midway between the east and west borders of the State. The county is 30 miles wide from east to west and approximately 26 3/4 miles from north to south. It covers a total of 801 square miles or about 512,640 acres. The county was not settled until 1877. The city of Harper was founded in 1877, Anthony in 1878, and other towns soon thereafter.

The county seat is located in Anthony. Highway 44 is Main St. running east to west. Highway 179 is Jennings St. and runs south from Main St. to Oklahoma. This is the main intersection in this very active and attractive community.