Barber County, Kansas



Founding: 1874 (declared in 1867)
Parent county: Unorganized territory
Namesake: Thomas Barber, Kansas abolitionist
Seat: Medicine Lodge (1874–)
Land area: 1,134 square miles
Population (2020): 4,228
Population (historic): 2,661 (1880); 6,594 (1900); 10,178 (1930)
Periods of population growth: pre-1880–1890; 1900s
Subdivisions: Seven cities; 18 townships
National Register listings: Two
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 1,041 (37.3%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 40.6%
Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 13.1%
Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 5.3%
Average farmhouse value (1930): $1,220
Average outbuilding value (1930): $1,284
Average farmhouse size (1940): 5.5 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 1,093
Average farm size (1920): 246.9 acres
Sources of settlement: Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois
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Medicine Lodge

Namesake: The Medicine Lodge River
Founding: 1872 (post office); 1873 (platting); 1879 (incorporation)
Population (2020): 1,781
Population (historic): 373 (1880); 917 (1900); 1,655 (1930)
Periods of population growth: 1873–1890; 1900s; 1920–1960
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 387 (33.2%)
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