Wabaunsee County is a county in Kansas, United States, in the Flint Hills between Topeka and Manhattan. It had a population of 6,877 at the 2020 census and covers 794 square miles (2,060 km2) of land, centred near 38°58′N 96°11′W.
Alma is the county seat, and its postal code is 66401. The county has nine incorporated cities (two of them shared with a neighboring county), a handful of unincorporated communities and Census-designated places, and thirteen civil townships. It sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Wabaunsee County
Wabaunsee County’s settlements are mostly small farm and rail towns strung along the Kansas River valley and the Flint Hills grassland to the south. Alma, Alta Vista, Eskridge, Harveyville, Maple Hill, McFarland and Paxico are fully incorporated; St. Marys and Willard have only a small portion of their city limits inside the county, the rest lying in Pottawatomie County. Wabaunsee and Newbury are unincorporated Census-designated places. Bradford and Vera are historic sites that no longer function as towns.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alma | City · seat | Alma | 780 | 66401 |
| Alta Vista | City | Farmer | 417 | 66834 |
| Eskridge | City | Newbury | 519 | 66423 |
| Harveyville | City | Wilmington | 231 | 66431 |
| Maple Hill | City | Maple Hill | 598 | 66507 |
| McFarland | City | Kaw | 246 | 66501 |
| Paxico | City | Mission Creek | 229 | 66526 |
| St. Marys (part) | City · part | — | — | — |
| Willard (part) | City · part | — | — | — |
| Wabaunsee | CDP | Wabaunsee | — | — |
| Newbury | CDP | Newbury | — | — |
| Keene | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Volland | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Bradford | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Vera | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
St. Marys and Willard are counted as Wabaunsee County places only for the sliver of each city that crosses the county line; most of both towns, and their population totals, belong to Pottawatomie County next door.
Townships
Wabaunsee County is divided into thirteen civil townships: Alma, Farmer, Garfield, Kaw, Maple Hill, Mill Creek, Mission Creek, Newbury, Plumb, Rock Creek, Wabaunsee, Washington and Wilmington. Current township-level population figures are not published separately from the county total, so only the anchor settlement is given where it is known.
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Alma | — | Alma |
| Maple Hill | — | Maple Hill |
| Newbury | — | Eskridge, Newbury |
| Wilmington | — | Harveyville |
| Wabaunsee | — | Wabaunsee |
| Kaw | — | McFarland |
| Mission Creek | — | Paxico |
| Farmer | — | Alta Vista |
| Garfield | — | — |
| Mill Creek | — | — |
| Plumb | — | — |
| Rock Creek | — | — |
| Washington | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 66401 — Alma (also serves the Wabaunsee CDP and surrounding township)
- 66834 — Alta Vista
- 66423 — Eskridge (also serves Newbury)
- 66431 — Harveyville
- 66507 — Maple Hill
- 66501 — McFarland
- 66526 — Paxico
Keene, Volland and the historic sites of Bradford and Vera have no post office of their own and share the ZIP code of the nearest incorporated town.
Geography
Wabaunsee County sits in the Flint Hills, a belt of tallgrass prairie underlain by limestone that has never been broken by the plow across most of Kansas. The Kansas River forms the county’s northern edge, and Mill Creek and Mission Creek drain the northern townships toward it; the southern half of the county drains toward the Neosho basin. Roughly 5.3 square miles of the county’s 800 total square miles is water, mostly in small reservoirs including Lake Wabaunsee near Eskridge.
Wabaunsee County borders Pottawatomie County to the north, Riley County to the northwest, Geary County to the west, Morris County to the southwest, Lyon County to the south, Osage County to the southeast, and Shawnee County to the east.
Demographics
The 2020 census counted 6,877 residents, giving a density of about 8.7 people per square mile of land — one of the lowest in eastern Kansas. Alma and Maple Hill are the two largest communities. Median household income runs above the Kansas median of $70,333 in much of the county, reflecting its mix of commuter households and cattle-ranching operations, though it varies town to town.
Economy & Local Life
Cattle grazing on native Flint Hills grass is the backbone of the county’s economy, alongside hay and row-crop farming in the river-bottom townships. Many residents commute east to Topeka or northwest to Manhattan and Fort Riley. Alma calls itself the “City of Native Stone” for its many limestone buildings, and the county courthouse and several downtown storefronts are built from local rock.
History
The county was created by the Kansas territorial legislature on March 25, 1859, originally under the name Richardson County. It was renamed for Chief Waubonsie of the Potawatomi, whose name is often translated as “dawn of day” or “he causes it to rain,” and organized under its present name in 1859. During the Second World War the U.S. Army operated a prisoner-of-war camp for captured German soldiers at Lake Wabaunsee, near Eskridge, one of several such camps scattered across Kansas farm country.
Getting There
Interstate 70 crosses the northern part of the county along the Kansas River valley, with an interchange serving Alma; K-99 runs north–south through Alma, Alta Vista and Eskridge, and K-4 crosses the southern townships.
- Topeka — 25 miles east
- Manhattan — 30 miles northwest
- Emporia — 30 miles south
- Junction City — 30 miles west
The nearest commercial airport is Topeka Regional Airport; Manhattan Regional Airport is a similar distance to the northwest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Wabaunsee County?
It is in northeast Kansas, in the Flint Hills between Topeka and Manhattan.
What is the population of Wabaunsee County?
6,877 residents at the 2020 census.
How big is Wabaunsee County?
794 square miles of land (2,060 km2), plus 5.3 square miles of water.
What is the county seat of Wabaunsee County?
Alma is the county seat.
How many towns are in Wabaunsee County?
Seven fully incorporated cities, two more with a small shared portion, and several unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Wabaunsee County?
Alma is 66401; other towns include Alta Vista 66834, Eskridge 66423, Harveyville 66431, Maple Hill 66507, McFarland 66501 and Paxico 66526.
Why is Alma called the “City of Native Stone”?
Because so many of its downtown buildings, including the county courthouse, are built from local Flint Hills limestone quarried nearby.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Kansas.