Morton County, Kansas
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 7 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1986. Most listings are in or near Elkhart, Richfield, Wilburton.
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 Morton titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP1 of 7 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
7 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Morton County WPA Bridge | Richfield | 1986 |
| Point of Rocks-Middle Spring Santa Fe Trail Historic District | Elkhart | 2013 |
| Santa Fe Trail-Cimarron National Grassland Segment 1 | Elkhart | 2013 |
| Santa Fe Trail-Cimarron National Grassland Segment 2 | Elkhart | 2013 |
| Santa Fe Trail-Cimarron National Grassland Segment 3 | Elkhart | 2013 |
| Santa Fe Trail-Cimarron National Grassland Segment 4 | Elkhart | 2013 |
| Santa Fe Trail-Cimarron National Grassland Segment 5 | Wilburton | 2013 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBMorton was formed in 1886 (1886-02-20) from Seward.
MORTON created from SEWARD. MORTON was located in the same area as KANSAS (extinct), but with slightly different boundaries.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusMorton County population from 1880 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 304 | 3,177 | 2,186 | 2,610 | 3,354 | 3,454 | 3,496 | 2,701 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS4 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 4 of 4 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Elkhart Cemetery |
| Prairie Flower Cemetery |
| Richfield Cemetery |
| Rolla Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
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 Morton County, Kansas
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.