Johnson

Formed December 13, 1834 (45^th county)

Johnson County (54,007), Warrensburg (19,325)

The classic stone Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse was built in 1897.  A Justice Center has been added in 2002.  The courthouse is on a square on Courthouse Square at Market, Maynard, Hout and Holden streets.  The courthouse has a stately clock tower on top.  George E. McDonald is the building architect.  A statue of Old Drum, a legendary hunting dog sits on the square to pay tribute to a local trial of the dog’s shooter where “Man’s Best Friend” was coined.   United States Highway 50 is 11 blocks to the north of the courthouse.  Johnson County was founded on December 13, 1834 from parts of Lafayette and Van Buren counties as the 45^th county.  There was an 1841 and an 1875 courthouse earlier all in Warrensburg, the only county seat.  The county is named for United States Vice President Richard M. Johnson.  The county seat is named for settler Martin Warren. 

Johnson 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.)  Two Circuit Court Judges serve Johnson and Cass counties and Two County Court Judges and a court clerk serve Johnson County (judicial.)  Johnson County is in western Missouri.  Kansas City, Missouri is northwest and Saint Louis, Missouri is east of the county.  The county center is 9.7 miles Southwest of Warrensburg nearer Centerview.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lafayette, Pettis, Henry, Cass, and Jackson counties. 

The area of the county is 831 square miles.  It is 9 out of 115 in the state.  It ranks 21 out of 115 in population in the state.  It has a density of 65.0 persons per square mile making it 29 out of 115 in the state.  Johnson County has 47.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 50 crosses the county east to west from Pettis County to Jackson County.  The county is overall rectangular shaped.  Warrensburg is in the northeast quarter of the county.  Warrensburg is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 35.8% of the county population.  This county is in the Warrensburg Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Warrensburg