Kansas has a lot of counties, and that makes it a little hard to cross all of them off of your travel lists. However, there’s always a few counties that end up getting less attention than others, one way or another. Here’s a list of 11 charming counties you should definitely consider visiting. Road trip, anyone?
11. Elk County
A little under 3,000 people live in Elk County, and there's not a lot to attract tourists besides the curious Hubble's Rubble in Howard.
10. Haskell County
You may have heard of Sublette, Kansas, but have you heard of Haskell County? There's about 4,300 residents living here, but they definitely had a rocky start. A few universities found that Haskell County was the start of the 1918 flu pandemic (the Spanish Flu) that killed between 21 and 100 million people total. Whether that's absolutely true, however, we don't know.
9. Comanche County
Comanche County was named after the Native American nation who share the same name. It's largest city is Coldwater, but the whole county has under 2,000 residents.
8. Clark County
Another small population, Clark has only about 2,200 residents. There's not too much to say about it other than the scenery is absolutely stunning wherever you end up.
7. Rawlins County
This county way up in the northwest corner only has about 2,500 residents. It was named after a Union General named John Aaron Rawlins.
6. Linn County
Almost 10,000 people live in Linn County, with most in Pleasanton. It got its name from Lewis F. Linn, a senator from Missouri.
5. Labette County
One of the largest in this list, Labette county has a population at almost 22,000. That's probably due to Parsons, the largest city within its borders. Two big attractions are Big Hill Lake's beautiful scenery and the Antietam Circles in Parsons, where you can see Civil War monuments.
4. Morton County
With a county population of just over 3,000 there's a lot of small towns, and no large ones. However, that doesn't stop this from being one of the prettiest areas of the whole state. Cimmaron National Grasslands is a great place to view lots of wildlife and spend time watching the stars.
3. Thomas County
Coming in at just under 8,000 residents, this county is the site of the famous Cooper barn in Colby. The county itself was named after George Henry Thomas, a Union General during the American Civil War, the hero of the Battle of Chickamauga. The townships were then named after the soldiers that died at that battle.
2. Nemaha County
Larger than some of these, the county population for Nemaha comes in at just over 10,000. The county was established in 1855, just a year after the Kansas territory was organized.
1. Decatur County
This small county of just short of 3,000 residents is the home of Oberlin, Kansas, the site of the last Native American raid in Kansas.
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