Johnson

Formed August 25, 1855 (13^th county)

Johnson County (609,864), Olathe (141,283), Overland Park (197,249)

An Art Deco brown brick and concrete courthouse built in 1951 has additions from 1954, 1968, 1972, and 1976.  It sits at Cherry, Park, Kansas, and Santa Fe streets.  Kansas State Highway 7 is 11 blocks to the west of the location.  Corner stones from previous buildings and a gazebo sit in a “park” between the courthouse and the Justice Center (1992.)  A 1992 Administration Building supports the courthouse.  A new courthouse was under construction in 2020.  Johnson County was an original county (13^th county) founded on August 25, 1855.  Glover and Newcome are the courthouse architects.  The county is named for Reverend Thomas Johnson.  Olathe is Native American for “beautiful.”  Johnson County was the birthplace of 1 Kansas Governor, John Anderson, Jr. 

Johnson County government consists of a sheriff, a clerk, an attorney, a treasurer, a coroner, and an appraiser (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-two District Court Judges serve Johnson County (judicial.) The county is in eastern Kansas immediately south of Kansas City, Kansas.  Missouri is on its eastern border.  The county center is in Olathe 4.7 miles Southwest of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wyandotte County and Missouri and Miami, Franklin, Douglas, and Leavenworth counties.  There was an 1891 classic courthouse in Olathe, the only county seat.  The Kansas River is the northwest border of the county. 

The area of the county is 477 square miles.  It is 99 out of 105 in the state.  It ranks 1 out of 105 in population in the state.  It has a density of 1278.5 persons per square mile making it 1 out of 105 in the state.  Johnson County has 97.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 35 goes north to southwest in the county from Wyandotte County to Miami County.  United States Highway 50 enters from Missouri, east, and joins Interstate Highway 35 into Miami County.  United States Highway 56 comes from the east, Missouri, and exits west, Douglas County.  United States Highway 69 goes north to south from Wyandotte County to Miami County.  United States Highway 169 enters combined with Interstate Highway 35 from Wyandotte County, splits and exits south into Miami County.  The county is a rectangle except for the wavy northwest corner.  Olathe is located near the center of the county.  Overland Park is immediately to the east of the county seat.  Olathe is the county seat and Overland Park is the largest city.  Olathe is 23.2% of the county population while Overland Park is 32.3% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced OE-LAE-THA.  This county is in the Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area.