Kit Carson

Formed April 11, 1889 (51^st county)

Kit Carson County (7,086), Burlington (3,178)                

A masonry structure was built in 1909 and completely remodeled in 1950.  It is located on 17^th Street between Lowell and Donelan streets.  United States Highways 24/385 are located one block south of the courthouse.  There was an 1890 courthouse in Burlington also, the only county seat.  The building designer is Henry Wasson in Art Deco style.  Kit Carson County was created on April 11, 1889 from Elbert County as the 51^st county.  It was named for frontiersman Christopher “Kit” Carson.  The county seat gets its name from Burlington, Kansas and Burlington, Iowa.  The center of the county is 17.6 miles West of Burlington nearer Stratton. 

Kit Carson County government consists of a sheriff, assessor, manager, coroner, and treasurer (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Four District Court Judges serve Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma counties and a Trial Court Judge, clerk, and county attorney serve Kit Carson County (judicial.)  The county is located in the far east on the border with Kansas.  The South Fork of the Republican River flows through the county.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Yuma County and Kansas and Cheyenne, Lincoln, and Washington counties.  

The area of the county is 2162.4 square miles.  The county is 18 out of 64 in the state.  It ranks 43 out of 64 in population in the state.  It has a density of 3.3 persons per square mile making it 49 out of 64 in the state.  Kit Carson County has 68.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 70 crosses east to west in the county, Kansas to Lincoln County.  United States Highway 24 parallels Interstate Highway 70 from Kansas to Lincoln County.  United States Highway 385 crosses north to south from Yuma County to Cheyenne County.  The county is shaped like a rectangle with Burlington in the eastern quarter.  Burlington is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 44.9% of the county population.