Chase

Formed February 11, 1859 (29^th county)

Chase County (2,576), Cottonwood Falls (849)

The classic rock and masonry Louis XIII Renaissance and Second Empire courthouse built in 1873 stands out in this small town.  It sits on a square surrounded by Pearl, Union, Elm, and Oak streets.  Kansas State Highway 177 is three blocks to the east.  John G. Haskell provided the building designs.  The building features a tower and the grounds have a cannon and memorial stone.  The county was established on February 11, 1859 from Butler County and Wise County (which no longer exists) as the 29^th county.  Cottonwood Falls has been the only county seat with an earlier courthouse built in 1859.  The county is named for United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase.  The county seat is a descriptive name for its location on the Cottonwood River. 

Chase County government consists of a sheriff, a clerk, an attorney, a treasurer, a coroner, and an appraiser (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Four District Court Judges serve Chase and Lyon counties (judicial.) The county is in east central Kansas.  Wichita, Kansas is southwest and Topeka, Kansas is northeast.  The county center is 6.1 miles South-Southwest of Cottonwood Falls nearer Bazaar.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Morris, Lyon, Greenwood, Butler and Marion counties. 

The area of the county is 776 square miles.  It is 50 out of 105 in the state.  It ranks 91 out of 105 in population in the state.  It has a density of 3.3 persons per square mile making it 86 out of 105 in the state.  Chase County has 54.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 35 cuts the southeast corner of the county from Lyon County, east, to Butler County, south.  United States Highway 50 crosses east to west from Lyon County to Marion County.  The county is overall rectangular with Cottonwood Falls located in the northern third of the county.  Cottonwood Falls is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 33.0% of the county population.  This county is in the Emporia Micropolitan Statistical Area.