Reno County, Kansas Genealogy Facts and Records

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Reno County History and Information

Reno County Facts

Click HERE to see full size D.O.T. County Map

Reno County was created on February 26, 1867 (Organized on 1872) from Peketon Territory. The County Seat is Hutchinson. The County was named for Gen. Jesse L. Reno (1823-1862). Commander of the Union 9th Army Corps, he was killed at the Battle of South Mountain (Maryland) on 14 Sept 1862.

Counties adjacent to Reno County are Rice County (north), McPherson County (northeast), Harvey County (east), Sedgwick County (southeast), Kingman County (south), Pratt County (southwest), Stafford County (west). Cities and Towns Include Hutchinson, South Hutchinson, Buhler, Haven, Nickerson, Pretty Prairie, Arlington, Turon, Sylvia, Partridge, Abbyville, Plevna, Willowbrook, Langdon. See also County History and County Courthouse for more details.

Kansas Settlers, 1854-1879: Listing of over 3200 early settlers of Kansas
The Reno County Official Government Website
Search the Kansas USGenWeb Archives
Reno County, Kansas History Books at Amazon.com
Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

Records at the Reno County Courthouse

PLEASE READ FIRST!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

All Departments below can be contacted by clicking the link, by contacting the Phone number below for each department or contacting the County Courthouse at 206 W 1st Avenue, Hutchinson, KS 67501-5204; Phone: (620) 694-2929. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.

Reno County Clerks Office has Birth Records from 1890-1911, Marriage Records from 1872 and Death Records from 1890-1911.
The Register of Deeds shall have custody of and safely keep and preserve all the books, records, deeds, maps, papers and microphotographs deposited or kept in the office of the Register of Deeds. The Register of Deeds shall also record or cause to be recorded all deeds, mortgages, maps, instruments and writings authorized by law to be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds and shall perform all other duties as are required by law.

Reno County Register of Deeds Office has Land Records from 1870.
The Register of Deeds shall have custody of and safely keep and preserve all the books, records, deeds, maps, papers and microphotographs deposited or kept in the office of the Register of Deeds. The Register of Deeds shall also record or cause to be recorded all deeds, mortgages, maps, instruments and writings authorized by law to be recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds and shall perform all other duties as are required by law.

Reno County Clerk of District Court has Probate Records from 1873 and Court Records from 1871.
The Clerk of Court is part of the Judicial Branch of local government and as such is required to maintain a record of all documents filed with the courts, keep a record of all court proceedings, and collect various fines and forfeitures ordered by the court and specified by statute.

Click Here to Search Kansas Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Reno County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Reno County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Kansas Election List, 1854: Listing of voters from Kansas in 1854 taken from Congressional report in 1856
Kansas Voter Registration Lists, 1854-1856: Voter registration lists from the territory of Kansas between 1854 and 1856
Kansas Settlers, 1854-1879: Listing of over 3200 early settlers of Kansas
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Reno County, Kansas Court Books at Amazon.com

Reno County Tax Records

See Also Military Records in Kansas

Click Here to Search Kansas Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.

The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.

Below is a list of online resources for Reno County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Reno County Military Records by clicking the link below:

Kansas Civil War Soldiers: Listing of over 20,000 men who served in the Union Army from Kansas, 1861-1865
Leavenworth, Kansas Veterans, 1915-16: One of the oldest and most important communities in Kansas, Leavenworth has been home to thousands of military veterans. This database is a listing of residents of the Western Branch of the Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers between 1915 and 1916.
Kansas Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, 2601 Central Avenue, Dodge City, KS 67801; (620) 225-1951
National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776 D Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20006; Phone: (202) 628-1776
Kansas Society of Sons of the American Revolution
National Society of Sons of the American Revolution, 1000 South Fourth Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40203; (502) 589-1776
Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900 from the State of Kansas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Pension applications for service in the U.S. Army between 1861 and 1917, grouped according to the units in which the veterans served.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Kansas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
1883 List of Pensioners on the Roll - Veterans or widows of veterans living in Kansas who have applied for a Pension
Reno County, Kansas Military Books at Amazon.com

Reno County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Kansasa Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Reno County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Reno County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Reno County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 5, Hutchinson 67504-0005
Reno County Historical Society, P.O. Box 664, Hutchinson 67504-0664
Local Kansas Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
Kansas State Historical Society, 6425 SW 6th Avenue, Topeka KS 66615-1099
Kansas State Genealogical Society, 2109 Twentieth Avenue, Monroe, WI 53566
Kansas Genealogical Society, PO Box 103, 700 Avenue G and Vine Street, Dodge City, KS 67801; (620) 225-1951
National Archives - Great Lakes Region (Chicago), 7358 South Pulaski Road, Chicago, Illinois 60629-5898; 773-948-9001; E-mail: chicago.archives@nara.gov (Maintains retired records from Federal agencies and courts in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Kansas.)
Kansas Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Kansas Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com

Reno County Church & Cemeteries

Click Here to Search Kansas Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Reno County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Reno County Tombstone Transcription Project.

The earliest churches were established among the native tribes settled in Kansas long before it was organized as a territory. The Methodist, Baptist, Society of Friends, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Congregational churches all had early missions which grew as the white settlers immigrated.

There is no central registry of cemetery locations in Kansas. The Woman's Kansas Day Club has identified and located many Kansas cemeteries. The project's results are at the Kansas State Historical Society which has additional collections of published cemetery inscriptions, though not comprehensive, listed in their card catalog.

The Register of Deeds in each county is often able to assist in locating cemeteries. Certain maps distributed by the Kansas Department of Transportation show the location of known cemeteries in relation to county roads.

Below is a list of online resources for Reno County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Reno County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Click Here to Search Kansas Obituary Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Reno County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Reno County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Sites on USGenweb: [ Reno County ] [ Kansas ] [ Main Page ]
Reno County USGenweb Archives
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Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
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Kansas Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Genealogical Document Search and Retrieval Service
Reno County, Kansas Family Books at Amazon.com

County History

Transcribed from Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912.

Reno County, in the central part of the state, is bounded on the north by Rice and McPherson counties; on the east by Harvey and Sedgwick; on the south by Sedgwick and Kingman, and on the west by Pratt and Stafford. Its boundary lines were fixed by the legislature of 1868, and it was named in honor of Gen. Reno, who was killed at the battle of Gettysburg. It was not settled until three years later. The first settlers were not at that time within the confines of Reno county, as the lines have been changed, but all those which shall be mentioned were settlers in Reno county as it now exists. The last change was made in 1872 when range 4 on the east and a tier of townships from Rice county on the north were added, while a large tract on the south was detached and given to the new county of Kingman.

The first settler was Lewis M. Thomas, who located a claim in Little River township in Nov., 1870. The next month he went to Lawrence to purchase provisions and on his return was accompanied by John Hunt, who located in the valley of the Little Arkansas. About the same time J. H. D. Rosan came, to the county, and early the next year he located a ranch. He and his brother, Charles W. Rosan, and a man by the name of Charles Street, drove in a large herd of Texas cattle. They procured a surveyor from Salina and had their lands surveyed—the first in either Rice or Reno counties. George W. Watson located n the valley of Cow creek in March, 1871. Others who located in this year were: A. S. Demock, Luther A. Dodge, John Swenson and a party of Swedes in Clay township; Charles Collins, D. B. Miller, A Smith, L. S. Shields and his two sons, Samuel and George, Peter Shafer, George Mills, F. Shafer, B. F. Evarts, George Laferty, Dr. A. S. Crane, William Lockhart and John Curley. Another party was composed of John Shahan, William and Robert Bell, William Caldwell, a Mr. Haverlin, John Butcher, P. Welch, William Kacy, F. Foley, Isaac Ijams and wife, James Freese, William Shoop and wife, Wesley Ijams, Hannah and Mary Freese. All these settlements were made in the northern and eastern parts of the county along the rivers.

In June, 1872, a bridge was constructed across the Arkansas river at Hutchinson, which opened the lands beyond to settlement. During the remaining months of 1872 and the year 1873, that part of the county was settled very rapidly. The sand hills in the northeastern part of the county were covered with a heavy growth of timber, which was rare in that part of Kansas. The trees were cottonwood, some of them were 6 feet in diameter with their lowest limbs 50 feet from the ground. The belt was 4 miles wide and was a great boon to the early settlers, who used it up so rapidly that the supply was nearly exhausted by 1873. This was one county in which there was no real damage suffered from the Indians, except on a few occasions when they drove away live stock. Reno was not, however, exempt from Indian scares, the worst one happening in April, 1871, on the occasion of a threatened attack by the Cheyennes.

The first crops were planted in the spring of 1871. The buffalo, which were still plentiful, took most of the sod corn. It was in this year that W. H. Caldwell built the first traveler's inn—near the mouth of Cow creek. The first postoffice in the county was established there and the place was called Queen Valley. It was expected at the time that the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R. R. would strike the Arkansas river at that point. The first business establishment in the county was at Queen Valley. The first birth was that of a son in a family named Johnson at Huthinson. The first death was that of a character known as "Mountain Jack," who was shot by accident while preparing for a buffalo hunt. The first threshing machine was brought into the county in 1873 by John N. Shahan. The first political convention was held in 1872. The ticket nominated was afterward elected. The Hutchinson news was established in 1871 and is still published.

County organization was effected in 1872, the census showing the requisite 600 inhabitants. A provisional organization was formed the first day of the year. A. C. Kies was chosen temporary county clerk and the following were appointed special commissioners: C. Bemis, W. H. Bell and Thomas Allen. A special election was held on Jan. 6 and C. C. Hutchinson (founder of the town of that name) was elected to the legislature. The election was irregular, but he was given his seat. On Feb. 3 a county seat election was held and the vote was almost unanimous for Hutchinson. An election of officers was held on March 12 and the following were chosen: Commissioners, C. C. Bemis, W. H. Bell and W. J. VanSickle; county clerk, A. C. Kies; sheriff, Charles Collins; clerk of the district court, Harry Hodson; superintendent of public instruction, W. E. Hutchinson; register of deeds, S. H. Hammond; probate judge, W. W. Updegraff; county surveyor, Luther Dodge; county attorney, L. Houk; coroner, C. S. Martin. About 150 votes were cast.

No subdivision of the county into municipal townships had been made at this time, and in April an election was held at which were elected township officers who should have jurisdiction over the whole county under the name of Reno township. These officers were: Peter Shafer, trustee; D. B. Miller, treasurer; S. N. Parker, clerk; J. Rhoades and D. D. Olmstead, justices of the peace; John McMurray and J. Brown, constables. The first bond election was held in April, when three propositions were submitted and carried, the first for $15,000 to build a court-house, the second for $35,000 to bridge the Arkansas river, Cow creek and Little river, and $10,000 for current expenses pending the collection of taxes. The first term of the district court was held in Aug., 1872, in a temporary court-house, W. R. Brown presiding. In the fall the first regular election was held and a non-partisan ticket was elected. The first school district was organized early in this year. It included Hutchinson and vicinity.

The first division of the county into townships took place on April 12, 1873, when the following were organized: Nickerson, Valley, Little River, Haven, Castleton and Clay. In September Lincoln and Center were organized, and the next March Salt Creek, Melford, Westminster, Troy and Langdon were organized. The following were organized out of the ones already mentioned: Grove, 1876; Grant, Reno, Loda, Sumner and Hayes, 1877; Albion and Bell, 1878; Enterprise, Roscoe and Plevna, 1879; and Arlington in 1881. At present there are 30 townships, the following having been organized since 1881: Huntsville, Medora, Miami, Ninnescah and Sylvia. The postoffices in the county in 1910 were Abbyville, Arlington, Bernal, Buhler, Castleton, Darlow, Haven, Hutchinson, Langdon, Medora, Nickerson, Ost, Partridge, Plevna, Pretty Prairie, Sylvia, Turon and Yoder.

The first railroad built through the county was the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, which extended its main line west from Newton in 1872, striking the Arkansas river at Hutchinson and following the course of the river northwest, leaving Reno county about mid-way on the north line. All lines of railroad operating in the county center at Hutchinson, except a branch of the St. Louis & San Francisco northwest from Wichita, which crosses the northeast corner, and a line of the Missouri Pacific which crosses the southwest corner into Stafford county. Besides the main line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, mentioned above, there are two other lines of the same system, a "cut off," which diverges west at Hutchinson and meets the main line at Kinsley, and another south from Hutchinson through Kingman and Harper counties. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific enters in the northeast and crosses southwest through Hutchinson into Pratt county. A line of the Missouri Pacific railroad enters in the southeast and crosses northwest along the Arkansas river into Rice county. There are nearly 200 miles of railroad in the county.

The surface of the county is undulating prairie, in some places nearly level. There is abundant drainage, the water system including the Arkansas river, the Little Arkansas, the north fork of the Ninnescah, Cow creek and their tributaries. The valley of the Arkansas river has an average width of 5 miles, in some places spreading out to 10 miles. On the smaller streams the bottoms average about one-half mile in width, the bottom lands being 15 per cent. of the total area. Growths of natural timber, mostly cottonwood and box-elder, flourish along the streams, and artificial plantings dot the county in every direction. Limestone is found in the northeast and southwest; red sandstone in the northeast and on the forks of the Ninnescah river; mineral paint is also found along this stream. The salt which places Kansas third in the production of this commodity, is mostly taken from the great beds underlying Reno county. The industry has been developed on a large scale and the source is seemingly inexhaustible. One of the largest salt plants in the world is in operation here.

Reno county is at the outlet of the great wheat and corn growing district, handling most of the grain grown in the surrounding counties and of those southwest as far as the state line. Aside from this the wheat and corn grown within the county places Reno in the front rank among the counties of the state in this respect. The value of the farm products runs from $6,500,000 to $8,500,000 annually. In 1910 the wheat and corn crops were each worth over $1,600,000; hay, $240,000; oats, nearly $600,000; the live stock sold for slaughter brought $1,316,000; dairy products, over $500,000, and poultry and eggs nearly $200,000. The year before the crops were somewhat better, the corn alone in 1909 bringing nearly $3,500,000. When this wealth is added to the immense income from salt, and the commerce which passes this way is taken into account, this locality appears to be an unusually favored spot.

The population of the county in 1910 was 37,853, and the assessed valuation of property $77,877,210, which shows the per capita wealth to be about $2,100.

County Courthouse

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