In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mileLouisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1886, Sherman County was established.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Sherman County is one of only four Kansas counties to observe Mountain Time. Since Sherman County is part of the Wichitamedia market and the local broadcast stations are repeat signals of Wichita affiliates, prime-time programming in the county is aired from 6 to 9 p.m. local time, rather than 7 to 10 p.m. as is normal in the Central and Mountain time zones. However, cable providers carry the ABC and NBC affiliates from both Wichita and Denver, affording viewers the opportunity to view programs on those networks at the normal prime-time hours.
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,760 people, 2,758 households, and 1,781 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile. There were 3,184 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 93.83% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 4.14% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 8.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,758 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.80% were married couplesliving together, 6.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.40% were non-families. 29.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county, the population was spread out with 24.60% under the age of 18, 11.80% from 18 to 24, 23.90% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 17.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 104.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,684, and the median income for a family was $38,824. Males had a median income of $28,012 versus $20,927 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,761. About 9.70% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.90% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Sherman county is often carried by Republican Candidates, as like the majority of rural counties. However, Lyndon B. Johnson narrowly carried the county in 1964.
Presidential elections
Laws
Sherman County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.
Sherman County is divided into thirteen townships. The city of Goodland is considered governmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. Geographically, Goodland is located at the juncture of Voltaire, Itasca, and Logan Townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.
