Homesteading in Barton County

Prior to the year 1872, the territory that was to become Barton County fell under the jurisdiction of Ellsworth County. Ellsworth County used this territory for revenue purposes. In the summer of 1872, there were enough residents within this territory to start their own county. Barton County came into existence as a result.

The first people to settle within this territory in 1870 were J. Renake, and H. Shultz with their families. A year later in 1871, W. W. Halsey, Charles Rowdebush, E. D. Dodge, Thomas Stone, Edwin Tyler, and other settlers came to reside within this territory. The ethnic backgrounds of the settlers who resided within Barton County were of German, Czech, Bohemian, and Russian descent. Russian settlers arrived within Barton County in the years 1874 and 1875, with many more settlers from different ethnic backgrounds coming in the years after.

Contact Us:

Barton County Historical Society
85 S. Hwy 281
Great Bend, KS 67530
(620) 793 -5125 or (620) 792-2204

Sources

William G. Cutler’s History of the State of Kansas first published in 1883 by A. T.
Andreas, Chicago, IL.

Foreign Language Units of Kansas, 990.

Paragraphs about the towns were written by Patty Nicholas, Special Collections