Formed August 25, 1855 (9th county)
Douglas County (118,784), Lawrence (94,930)
A beautiful stone and concrete Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse with working clock tower was erected in 1903. It is sited at Massachusetts and 11th streets. United States Highway 59 is five blocks to the north of the site. John G. Haskell and Frederick C. Gunn are the architects. The building features the tower and corner turrets. A Justice Center was added to the east of the courthouse in 1976. The county was founded on August 25, 1855 as an original county (9th county) with Lecompton as the first county seat. Lawrence became the county seat in 1858. The county is named for Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas. The county seat is named for Activist Amos A. Lawrence.
Douglas 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 Douglas County (judicial.) In eastern Kansas between Topeka, Kansas, west, and Kansas City, Kansas, east, Douglas County sits on the Kansas River. The county center is 5.9 miles Southwest of Lawrence. The county is surrounded clockwise by Jefferson, Leavenworth, Johnson, Miami, Franklin, Osage, and Shawnee counties.
The area of the county is 457 square miles. It is 101 out of 105 in the state. It ranks 5 out of 105 in population in the state. It has a density of 259.9 persons per square mile making it 5 out of 105 in the state. Douglas County has 89.9% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 70 crosses east to west in the county from Leavenworth County to Shawnee County. United States Highway 24 clips the northeast corner from Leavenworth County to Jefferson County. United States Highway 40 parallels Interstate Highway 70 from Leavenworth County and then joins it into Shawnee County. United States Highway 56 crosses the south from the east to the west from Johnson County to Osage County. United States Highway 59 goes north to south from Jefferson County to Franklin County. The county resembles the shape of the State of Utah except with wavy river borders on the north. Lawrence is in the northern quarter of the county. Lawrence is the county seat and the largest city. It is 79.9% of the county population. This county is in the Lawrence Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Baldwin City
Eudora
Lawrence
Lecompton
