Woodson

Formed August 25, 1855 (21^st county)

Woodson County (3,115), Yates Center (1,352)

The red brick Romanesque courthouse was erected in 1899.  It is in a city square surrounded by Rutledge, State, Butler, and Main streets.  United States Highway 54 is two blocks south of the location.  George P. Washburn is the building architect.  A veterans’ memorial wall is on the courthouse grounds.  Woodson County is an original county (21^st county) formed on August 25, 1855.  Neosho Falls (1858), Kalida (1873), Defiance (1874), and Yates Center (1876) have all served as the county seat.  The county is named for Territorial Governor Daniel Woodson.  The county seat is named for settler Abner Yates. 

Woodson County government consists of a sheriff, a clerk, an attorney, a treasurer, a coroner, and an appraiser (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  Four District Court Judges serve Woodson, Allen, Neosho, and Wilson counties (judicial.) The county is in eastern Kansas.  Topeka, Kansas is north and Wichita, Kansas is west of the county.  The county center is 6.9 miles Northwest of Yates Center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Coffey, Anderson, Allen, Neosho, Wilson, and Greenwood counties. 

The area of the county is 501 square miles.  It is 98 out of 105 in the state.  It ranks 79 out of 105 in population in the state.  It has a density of 6.2 persons per square mile making it 66 out of 105 in the state.  Woodson County has 54.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 54 crosses the county east to west from Allen County to Greenwood County.  United States Highway 75 goes north to south from Coffey County to Wilson County.  The county is a rectangle.  Yates Center is located at or near the center of the county.  Yates Center is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 43.4% of the county population.