Comanche

Formed February 26, 1867 (44^th county)

Comanche County (1,687), Coldwater (687)

A light tan brick Classical Revival courthouse was built in 1927.  It is located on a square at 1^st, Philadelphia, 2^nd, and New York streets.  United States Highway 183 is one block to the west of the site.  Routledge and Hertz provided the building design.  Since the county formation on February 26, 1867, there was an 1886 courthouse previously also in Coldwater, the only county seat.  The county was taken from Native American Territory as the 44^th county.  Comanche County is named for the Native American tribe.  The county seat is named for Coldwater, Michigan. 

Comanche County government consists of a sheriff, a clerk, an attorney, a treasurer, a coroner, and an appraiser (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Six District Court Judges serve Comanche, Clark, Ford, Gray, Kiowa, and Meade counties (judicial.) The county is on the southern border with Oklahoma.  Wichita, Kansas is northeast and Dodge City, Kansas is northwest of the county.  The county center is 1.8 miles South-Southeast of Coldwater.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Kiowa and Barber counties and Oklahoma and Clark County. 

The area of the county is 788 square miles.  It is 48 out of 105 in the state.  It ranks 102 out of 105 in population in the state.  It has a density of 2.1 persons per square mile making it 101 out of 105 in the state.  Comanche County has 72.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 160 crosses the county east to west from Barber County to Clark County.  United States Highway 183 enters from the north, Kiowa County, and joins United States Highway 160 west into Clark County.  The county is a square.  Coldwater is in the northwest quarter of the county.  Coldwater is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 40.7% of the county population.