Gentry

Formed January 29, 1841 (71^st county)

Gentry County (6,165), Albany (1,678)

The red brick Second Empire and Late Victorian courthouse was built in 1884.  The county was founded on January 29, 1841 from Native American Territory as the 71^st county with Albany as the only county seat.  This version is located on a square at Clay, Smith, Wood, and Polk streets.  United States Highway 136 Business is one block north of the location.  The building features a working clock tower and a cannon.  Edmund J. Eckel is the architect.  The county is named for Seminole War hero Colonel Richard Gentry.  The county seat is named for Albany, New York. 

Gentry County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  One Circuit Court Judge serves Gentry, Atchison, Holt, Nodaway, and Worth counties and One County Court Judge and a court clerk serve Gentry County (judicial.) Gentry County is in the northwest part of the state.  Kansas City, Missouri is southwest and Omaha, Nebraska is northwest of the county.  The county center is 8 miles Southwest of Albany nearer Darlington.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Worth, Harrison, Daviess, De Kalb, Andrew, and Nodaway counties.  

The area of the county is 492 square miles.  It is 86 out of 115 in the state.  It ranks 103 out of 115 in population in the state.  It has a density of 12.5 persons per square mile making it 98 out of 115 in the state.  Gentry County has 62.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 136 crosses east to west in the county from Harrison County to Nodaway County.  United States Highway 169 goes north to south from Worth County to De Kalb County.  The county is a rectangle.  Albany is located in the northeast quarter of the county.  Albany is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 27.2% of the county population.  The county is pronounced GEN-TREE.