Jefferson County, Kansas
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 10 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1973. Most listings are in or near Oskaloosa, Perry, Valley Falls.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Kansas is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Jefferson titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP5 of 10 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
10 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Buck Creek School | Perry | 1988 |
| Delaware River Composite Truss Bridge | Valley Falls | 2003 |
| Delaware River Parker Truss Bridge | Perry | 2003 |
| Harris, Morris, Farmstead | Perry | 2023 |
| Jefferson Old Town Bowstring Truss | Oskaloosa | 1990 |
| Maplecroft Farmstead | Grantville | 2017 |
| Methodist Episcopal Church of Oskaloosa | Oskaloosa | 2025 |
| Newell-Johnson-Searle House | Oskaloosa | 2017 |
| Sunnyside School | Jefferson | 2011 |
| Union Block | Oskaloosa | 1973 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBJefferson was formed in 1855 (1855-08-25) from unknown / original county.
JEFFERSON created by Kansas Territory from non-county area.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusJefferson County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,459 | 15,563 | 17,533 | 14,750 | 12,718 | 11,084 | 11,252 | 15,207 | 18,426 | 18,368 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| brvb | Park unit | 33.6 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS34 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 34 of 34 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Bloomfield Cemetery |
| Buster Cemetery |
| Coal Creek Cemetery |
| Corpus Christi Cemetery |
| Fairview Cemetery |
| Farrar Cemetery |
| Fowler Cemetery |
| Graggs Chapel Cemetery |
| Grantville Cemetery |
| Hardy Oak Cemetery |
| Hart Cemetery |
| Holliday Cemetery |
| Hull Grove Cemetery |
| Mc Louth Cemetery |
| Medina Cemetery |
| Meriden Cemetery |
| Mount Calvary Cemetery |
| Newman Cemetery |
| Nortonville Cemetery |
| Oak Ridge Cemetery |
| Old Grantville Cemetery |
| Olive Branch Cemetery |
| Ozawkie Cemetery |
| Pleasant View Cemetery |
| Plum Grove Cemetery |
| Rose Hill Cemetery |
| Saint Aloysius Cemetery |
| Saint Joseph's Cemetery |
| Saint Mary's Cemetery |
| Spring Grove Cemetery |
| Underwood Cemetery |
| Wildhorse Cemetery |
| Wise Cemetery |
| Wise Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Lawrence | 653 | 33.9 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Jefferson County, Kansas
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.