Chautauqua County, Kansas
Chautauqua County was organized on June 1, 1875, by Richard Stater; William Bowden; O. Hayson; H. S. Halliday; Alexander Sawver; George M. Ross; John W. Morris; and John Sutter. These men were all land promoters who soon left the county after organization. It contains the cities of Cedar Vale, Chautauqua, Elgin, Niotaze, Peru and Sedan, and was named for Chautauqua County, New York.
The county seat dispute between Sedan, which had been named by the legislature as the county seat, and Elk Falls, where some officers remained with the county records, continued for nearly two years. Sedan offered to construct a courthouse with private funds if it was to be the county seat. By 1877 the building was completed and Sedan was the county seat.
The first school was organized in Elgin in 1870. The county fair is held in Sedan, but the origination date is unknown.
- See our Kansas Counties database for statistics in the county.
- Search our Register database for historic sites in the county.
- Search Kansas Memory for historic items from the county.
- Read more about the High Plains region where this county is located.
For more information see the Chautauqua County website.
Entry: Chautauqua County, Kansas
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: February 2010
Date Modified: October 2015
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
