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Marshall County Courthouse in Marysville, Kansas. Photo by Susan Howell.
 Marshall County Courthouse

Marshall
    County  

 Location
 
 
County Seat: Marysville
Founded: 1855
Population:
    · 10,965 (2000)
    · 11,705 (1990)
    · 24,355 (1900)
Area: 878 Square Miles
Standard Abbreviation: MS

History

Map of Marshall County, KS in 1899
Organized in 1855.  County seat, Marysville.  After General Frank J. Marshall, who established a ferry on the Big Blue at the crossing of the old Independence-California road in 1849. He was a prominent member of the first Legislature, and had his own name applied to the county. Marysville was declared the permanent county seat by the Legislature in 1860.
 
Map and text from History of Kansas, Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)
 
Marshall County was located on the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the route of the Pony Express. The Holladay stage line from Atchison to Salt Lake City also passed through here. Frank J. Marshall established a trading post and a ferry across the Big Blue River at a site which he named Marysville for his wife. Marshall was a proslavery candidate for governor in 1857.
 
The Oregon Trail crossed the Blue River about 6 miles south of Marysville. The Donner party came through there in 1846 and named a spot near their campsite Alcove Spring. Today this site is considered one of the most important Oregon Trail sites in Kansas.
 
Two Pony Express stations were located in Marshall County. At Marysville the original 1859 pony barn is now a museum. Guittard Station near Beattie is commemorated by a roadside marker.
 
William G. Cutler's History of Kansas, first published in 1883, tells about early Marshall County.
 
There is a section on Marshall 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 Marshall County towns: Axtell, Beattie, Bigelow, Blue Rapids, Bremen, Frankfort, Herkimer, Home, Irving, Marysville, Summerfield, Vermillion, and Waterville.
 
The Kansas State Historical Society also has more historical data for Marshall County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

Special Places in Marshall County

Historic Marshall County Courthouse in Marysville, Kansas- © photo by Charles Hollenberg, used by permission
Marshall County Historic Courthouse in Marysville
Photo by Charles Hollenberg, used by permission.		   

Special Events in Marshall County

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Marshall County

                      2000
     Town          Population  ZIP         Year Elevation
     Alcove Spring                                1201
     Axtell               445             1872    1368
     Beattie              277  66406      1870    1330                                      
     Blue Rapids        1,088  66411      1869    1158
     Bremen                    66412      1885    1330
     Carden                                       1216
     Cottage Hill                                 1426
     Frankfort            855  66427      1867    1150
     Herkimer                  66433              1250
     Hermansberg                                  1360
     Home                      66438      1883    1341
     Lillis                                       1243
     Marietta                                     1176
     Marysville         3,271  66508      1854    1202
     Nolan                                        1376
     Oketo                 87  66518      1873    1178
     Reedsville                                   1293
     Shroyer                                      1136
     St. Bridget                          1857    1393
     Sullivan                                     1185
     Summerfield          211  66541      1888    1511
     Summit                                       1450
     Vermillion           107  66544      1869    1240
     Vliets                    66545      1887    1198
     Waterville           681  66548      1870    1176
     Winifred                  66427      1909    1210

U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts about Marshall County

Marshall County School Systems

Hospitals

Libraries

Museums

Newspapers

More Data About Marshall County

Economic Development Health Data

Genealogy

Marshall County Offices

For more about Marshall County

 
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Last updated on January 7, 2008 by COUNTIES@KSLIB.INFO
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Graphics by John Howell,
photos by Susan Howell,
used by permission.