Welcome To

- GREENWOOD COUNTY -

History

Nestled in the rolling Flint Hills of the Tallgrass Prairie lies Greenwood County. Settlers began to arrive in the 1850’s to make their homes, in what is still today revered as some of the most beautiful rangeland in the Country. In 1916 the first oil well hit; since that time, Greenwood County has relied on agriculture and oil.

 Greenwood County was laid out by the Bogus Legislature of 1855 and received its name in honor of Alfred B. Greenwood, who as an Indian Agent with Presidents Pierce and Buchanan, negotiated treaties with the Sac and Fox, and other tribes in southern Kansas.  At the same time, Madison County, named for President James Madison, was created and had as its southern boundary the County of Greenwood, and what is now Logan Avenue in Emporia as its northern boundary.

 In 1861, Madison County was divided, the north part being attached to Breckenridge (now Lyon) County, and the south part, a strip six miles wide, attaching to Greenwood. Other boundary changes were made, but Greenwood County finally assumed its present outline in 1868.  It is 31 miles east to west, 39 miles north to south with a six by nine-mile area out of the northwest corner, giving the county an area of 739,200 acres or 1,155 square miles.