Neosho County, Kansas

Coordinates: 37°34′N 95°17′W / 37.567°N 95.283°W / 37.567; -95.283

Neosho County (standard abbreviation: NO) is a county located in the south east of the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 16,512. The county seat is Erie.

History

The first railroad was built through Neosho County in 1870.

Law and government

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1998, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 578 square miles (1,500 km²), of which 571 square miles (1,480 km²) is land and 6.3 square miles (16 km²) (1.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,997 people, 6,739 households, and 4,683 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 7,461 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.90% White, 0.87% Black or African American, 0.98% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.05% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. 2.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.