Stevens county boundaries were formed from Indian Lands in 1873, however the 1880 federal census showed there were only a few people actually living within it's borders, so the county was merged with Seward county in 1881. Then came the land boom. By 1886 there were some 2,600 inhabitants and they petitioned the state to re-establish Stevens county. After a bitter struggle between two towns, Hugoton won out over Woodsdale and was made the permanent county seat in February of 1887 by the State Legislature. After the great settlement boom and subsequent bust, the population declined, and by the 1900 census there were only 620 people left in the county. With the coming of the railroad in 1913 and the discovery of the Hugoton natural gas field about 1918 and its later development, the county again began to grow, reaching 4,665 by 1950. The population has remained stable and today is a little over 5,000.

My name is Mike Sweeney, the USGenWeb Project Coordinator for Stevens County, Kansas. If you would like to contribute information to this page, or have comments and suggestions, please let me know.

If you are interested in hosting one of the KsGenWeb adoptable Counties please contact Rebecca Maloney. Information about the responsiblities of a county host can be found by clicking here.

View Old Queries 1996-1999

Stevens County Message board View & Post Queries, bios, obits, etc.

Stevens County Digital Library

Stevens County 1895 Kansas State Census

Short History of Stevens County - 1912

Stevens County WWII Casulties

1894 G.A.R. Veterans Roster

Historic Stevens County Post Offices

Index to Several 1887 and 1888 Woodsdale Democrate Newspapers. Copies of articles available.

Biography of Sam Wood, founder of Woodsdale - (use "back" to return)

Stevens County Seat War and Hay Meadow Massacre - Story by Ken Butler     [updated 7/31/05]

Stevens County Links

• Stevens County Information site
• Stevens County Library, Hugoton
  • Partial Obituary Index
  • Hugoton Cemetery Index
• KS Map section showing Stevens County in 1895
• KS Map section showing Stevens & surrounding counties in 1914
• Hugoton Hermes Newspaper Read History of "The Hermes".
• List of Populated places in Stevens County KS (USGS)
• Search Stevens County Newspapers 1886-2010

Kansas Links

• Kansas State Vital Records
• One Room School House Project
• Kansas Surname List
• Kansas State Historical Society

USGenWeb Links

• USGenWeb Home Page (includes all state links)
• USGenWeb Archive Site
• KSGenWeb Home Page (includes all Kansas County links)
• A Genealogy Discussion list for Kansas Researchers

Adjacent USGenWeb county sites

• Morton County, Kansas
• Grant County, Kansas
• Seward County, Kansas
• Texas County, Oklahoma

Mike Sweeney / Cottonwood, Arizona / sweeney2@wolfenet.com

Last updated on

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