Formed February 26, 1867 (50th county)
Hodgeman County (1,723), Jetmore (867)
A light tan brick and masonry building was erected in 1929. It sits on a square at Main, Highway, Bowlus, and Bramley streets. United States Highway 283 is Main Street in the town. Routledge and Hertz were the building architects for this Second Renaissance Revival structure. A memorial wall is in front of the courthouse. There was a previous courthouse dating from 1886, following the county’s February 26, 1867 formation. It was taken from Native American Territory as the 50th county. Hodgeman County is named for Civil War hero Amos Hodgeman. Jetmore is named for railroad official Abraham Buckner Jetmore.
Hodgeman County government consists of a sheriff, a clerk, an attorney, a treasurer, a coroner, and an appraiser (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Seven District Court Judges serve Hodgeman, Edwards, Lane, Ness, Pawnee, and Rush counties (judicial.) The county is in western Kansas directly north of Dodge City, Kansas. The county center is in Jetmore .1 miles Northeast of the city center. Hodgeman Center was the original county seat followed by Jetmore in 1880. The county is surrounded clockwise by Ness, Pawnee, Edwards, Ford, Gray, and Finney counties.
The area of the county is 860 square miles. It is 41 out of 105 in the state. It ranks 101 out of 105 in population in the state. It has a density of 2.0 persons per square mile making it 103 out of 105 in the state. Hodgeman County has 59.7% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 283 travels north to south in the county from Ness County to Ford County. The county is a rectangle. Jetmore is at the county’s center. Jetmore is the county seat and the largest city. It is 50.3% of the county population.
Hanston
Jetmore
