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Location of Harper County, KS
 
 
County Seat: Anthony
Founded: 1873
Population:
    ·   6,536 (2000)
    ·   7,124 (1990)
    · 10,310 (1900)
Area: 802 Square Miles
Standard Abbreviation: HP

  Harper
  County

 Harper County Courthouse in Anthony, Kansas. Photo by Susan Howell.
Harper County Courthouse 

History

Map of Harper County, KS in 1899
Organized in 1873.  County seat Anthony.  The organization of this county was one of the most glaring frauds ever perpetrated in the State.  Attorney-General Williams, in his official report, says: "It is not pretended that Harper county ever had an inhabitant."  The form of its organization was legal on paper, and that is all.  In 1878 the organization became legal.  The county was named in memory of Marion Harper, first sergeant of Company E, Second Regiment Kansas Cavalry.  He was mortally wounded at Waldron, Ark., December 29, 1863, and died the following day.  His comrades say he took his death cooly.  When brought in wounded, he proposed a wager that in so many hours he would be dead; the bet was taken, and Marion Harper won.
 
Map and text from History of Kansas, Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)
 
One of the rail lines that served Harper County was the Hutchinson & Southern, a remarkable railroad built by a group of Kansas businessmen without spending any of their own money. It later became part of the A.T.&S.F.
 
William G. Cutler's History of Kansas, first published in 1883, tells about early Harper County.
 
There is a section on Harper County in the book Kansas: a Cyclopedia Of State History by Frank Blackmar (1912).
 
The Special Collections of the Ablah Library at WSU contain historical images of Anthony, Attica, Bluff City, Harper, & Waldron.
 
The Kansas State Historical Society also has more historical data for Harper County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Harper County

                 2000
  Year  Elev  Population Name              ZIP
  ====  ====  ========== ================ =====
  1878  1350       2,440 Anthony          67003
  1884  1453         636 Attica           67009
  1886  1240          80 Bluff City       67018
        1280             Corwin
        1350             Crisfield
        1440             Crystal Springs
  1880  1346          59 Danville         67036
  1893  1582             Duquoin
  1885  1333           6 Freeport         67049
  1877  1421       1,567 Harper           67058
        1254             Hawk
        1314             Midway
        1330             Ruella
  1889  1379           0 Runnymede  Gone but not forgotten
  1901  1246          17 Waldron          67150
 
Census Bureau Profile & Map

Special Places in Harper County

Special Events in Harper County

Libraries

Museums

Harper County School Systems

Health Care

Newspapers

More Data About Harper County

Economic Development Health Data

Genealogy

References

Harper County Offices

For more about Harper County contact:

 
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Last updated on February 19, 2006 by Brig C. McCoy, COUNTIES@KSLIB.INFO
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Graphics by John Howell,
photos by Susan Howell,
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