Atchison County is a county in Kansas, United States, on the Missouri River bluffs in the northeastern corner of the state. It had a population of 16,348 at the 2020 census and covers 431 square miles (1,116 km2) of land, centred near 39°34′N 95°22′W.
Atchison is the county seat, and its postal code is 66002. The county has five incorporated cities, an unknown but small number of unincorporated communities, and a portion of the Kickapoo Indian Reservation in its western townships. It sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Atchison County
Atchison County has five incorporated cities and a handful of small unincorporated places scattered along its rural roads and rail lines. Only Atchison, the seat, has grown into a real town of size; the rest are farm hamlets of a few hundred residents or fewer.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atchison | City · seat | — | 66002 |
| Effingham | City | — | 66023 |
| Muscotah | City | — | 66058 |
| Lancaster | City | — | 66041 |
| Huron | City | — | — |
| Arrington | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cummings | Unincorp. | — | 66016 |
| Farmington | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kennekuk | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Monrovia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Potter | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shannon | Unincorp. | — | — |
Two names on the old list are ghost towns rather than living settlements: Mount Pleasant and Pardee are historic post-office sites with no current population and are not carried into this table. Dalbey, Good Intent, Hawthorne, Oak Mills, Parnell, Port Williams and Saint Pats appear in older gazetteers as rural post offices or landings, mostly on the Missouri River, but have no verifiable current population and are omitted here rather than guessed.
ZIP Codes
- 66002 — Atchison (also serves Arrington, Farmington, Kennekuk, Monrovia, Potter and Shannon)
- 66023 — Effingham
- 66016 — Cummings
- 66041 — Lancaster
- 66058 — Muscotah
Atchison County has five ZIP codes in total. Huron and the smaller unincorporated places use the ZIP of their nearest post office town rather than a code of their own.
Geography
Atchison County sits on the western bluffs of the Missouri River, which forms its entire eastern boundary. The terrain rolls from river-bottom farmland in the east to gently hilly prairie in the west, drained by Independence Creek, Deer Creek and Stranger Creek. Independence Creek, which enters the Missouri near the city of Atchison, earned its name from the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which camped there and marked the first Fourth of July celebration west of the Mississippi in 1804.
The county borders Doniphan County to the north, Buchanan County, Missouri across the river to the east, Leavenworth County to the south, Jefferson County to the southwest, Jackson County to the west and Brown County to the northwest. Platte County, Missouri touches the county’s southeastern corner across the river but has no live profile on this site yet.
Demographics
The 2020 census counted 16,348 residents. Atchison, the county seat, is by far the largest place, with Effingham a distant second among the incorporated cities. Median household income in Atchison County runs below the Kansas median of $70,333, reflecting the county’s mix of farming and light manufacturing. Density works out to about 38 people per square mile, concentrated around the city of Atchison and thinning out fast toward the rural west.
Economy & Local Life
Atchison’s riverfront industrial base — grain processing, MGP Ingredients’ distillery, and rail and barge traffic tied to the old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway — anchors the county’s economy, alongside Benedictine College and row-crop and livestock farming across the rural townships. The city’s annual Amelia Earhart Festival, honoring the aviator who was born in Atchison, draws visitors each July.
History
Atchison County was organized on August 25, 1855, during the “Bleeding Kansas” period, and named for David Rice Atchison, a pro-slavery U.S. Senator from neighboring Missouri who never lived in the county. The city of Atchison, founded the same year as a Missouri River steamboat landing, grew into one of the state’s earliest rail hubs after the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway began operating from there in 1868, and it remains the county’s commercial and institutional center.
Getting There
US-59 and US-73 cross the county through Atchison, with K-7, K-9 and K-116 linking the smaller towns.
- Kansas City, Missouri — 50 miles southeast
- Topeka — 50 miles southwest
- St. Joseph, Missouri — 20 miles north
- Leavenworth — 25 miles south
The nearest commercial airport is Kansas City International Airport (MCI).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Atchison County, Kansas?
It is in the northeastern corner of Kansas, on the Missouri River bluffs between Kansas City and St. Joseph, Missouri.
What is the population of Atchison County?
16,348 at the 2020 census.
How big is Atchison County?
431 square miles (1,116 km2) of land, the fourth-smallest county in Kansas by area.
What is the county seat of Atchison County?
Atchison is the county seat.
How many towns are in Atchison County?
Five incorporated cities — Atchison, Effingham, Huron, Lancaster and Muscotah — plus several unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Atchison County?
66002, 66016, 66023, 66041 and 66058.
Why is the county named Atchison?
For David Rice Atchison, a Missouri U.S. Senator who was never a resident of the county that bears his name.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Kansas.