Riley

Formed August 25, 1855 (18^th county)

Riley County (71,963), Manhattan (54,103)

A classic clock tower tops the stone and concrete Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse built in 1906.  It was restored in 1986.  It is on Poyntz Avenue at 5^th Street.  United States Highway 24 is five blocks northeast of the building.  The architects were J. C. Holland and Frank Squires.  An annex was added in 1984 using the same stone exterior.  The county was created on August 25, 1855 as an original Kansas county (18^th county.)  Ogden was the first county seat followed by Manhattan in 1858.  It is named for Mexican War General Bennett Riley.  The county seat is named for Manhattan, New York. 

Riley County government consists of a police chief and 3 Commissioners.  Four District Court Judges serve Riley and Clay counties.  The county is in northeast Kansas.  Topeka, Kansas is southeast and Salina, Kansas is southwest of the county.  The Kansas River flows in the county.  The county center is 23.1 miles Northwest of Manhattan nearer Leonardville.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Marshall, Pottawatomie, Wabaunsee, Geary, Clay, and Washington counties. 

The area of the county is 610 square miles.  It is 82 out of 105 in the state.  It ranks 7 out of 105 in population in the state.  It has a density of 118.0 persons per square mile making it 7 out of 105 in the state.  Riley County has 79.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 24 crosses the county east to west from Pottawatomie County to Clay County.  United States Highway 77 goes north to south from Marshall County to Geary County.  The county is shaped like the left side parenthesis.  Manhattan is in the southeast quarter of the county and extends into Pottawatomie County.  Manhattan is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 75.2% of the county population.  This county is in the Manhattan Metropolitan Statistical Area.