The Arkansas River has carved a huge valley across the county.
Inside this valley, the landscape is rugged, but by going
north or south you climb out onto flat plains. The river
bed is sandy and lined with cottonwoods, but it is often dry.
It's hard now to imagine building an irrigation
canal from it, but the river was much larger a century ago.
History
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Organized July 20, 1887.
County seat, Cimarron.
Named in honor of Alfred Gray,
late Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture.
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Map and text from History of Kansas,
Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)
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The Special Collections of the Ablah Library at WSU contain historical images of
Copeland and
Cimarron.
The Kansas State Historical Society also has
more
historical data for Gray County online including a rich bibliography and lists of
cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.
Cities, Towns, & Villages of Gray County
2000
Year Elev Population Name ZIP
==== ==== ========== ================ =====
2712 Charleston
2627 1,934 Cimarron 67835
1912 2821 339 Copeland 67837
1887 2719 203 Ensign 67841
2776 Haggard
1887 2680 328 Ingalls 67853
1887 2785 966 Montezuma 67867
2600 Wettick
Census Bureau Profile & Map
Special Places in Gray County
There's a
wind farm (built and operated by Florida Power and Light) just NE of Montezuma on highway 56. It's awesome, with 170 wind towers, each 207 feet high with 3 blades, 77 feet each. Go to the Stauth Museum in Montezuma to pick up a card telling a lot more about this fascinating technology.
- At many places along US-50 you can see traces of the Eureka
Irrigation Canal, built in the 1880's and long abandoned.
- Ensign is notable mostly for the giant elevators, but there is
a park and playground at the Ford-Ensign Road and Aubrey St.
- Charleston has a gas station in addition to the elevator beside the tracks.
- Haggard is down to a grain elevator beside the SP tracks
and two houses. There is also a TV transmitter a couple of miles
West.
- US-50 follows the original
Santa
Fe Trail through Cimarron.
Cimarron Crossing Park has two markers describing the Trail
through this area.
Libraries
- Cimarron City Library (620) 855-3808
120 N. Main, Cimarron, KS 67835
- Copeland Public Library (620) 668-5559
P.O. Box 118, Copeland, KS 67837-0118
- Ingalls Library (620) 335-5118
200 S. Main, Ingalls, KS 67853
- Montezuma Township Library (620) 846-7032
309 N. Aztec / P. O. Box 184, Montezuma, KS 67867
Museums
- Santa Fe Trail Museum (620) 335-5220
204 S. Main, Ingalls, KS
- Stauth Memorial Museum (620) 846-2527 Opened February 24, 1996
111 N. Aztec, Montezuma, KS 67867
Hours: 9-12 & 1-4 Tue-Fri and 1:30-4:30 Sat & Sun
Gray County School Systems
Clinics
- Montezuma Clinic (620) 846-2251
304 N. Aztec / Montezuma, KS 67857
- Cimarron Clinic (620) 866-7717
111 S. Main / Cimarron, KS 67835
Newspapers
- Cimarron Jacksonian (620) 855-3902
101 N. Main, Cimarron, KS 67835
- Montezuma Press (620) 846-2312
208 N. Aztec / P. O. Box 188, Montezuma, KS 67867
More Data About Gray County
Economic Development
- Kansas County Profile Reports
Statistical data from The Institute for Policy and Social Research, the University of Kansas
Health Data
Genealogy
Gray County Offices
- Gray County Clerk (620) 855-3618
300 S. Main / Cimarron, KS 67835
- Extension Service (620) 855-3821
17002 W HWY 50, Box 248 / Cimarron,KS 67835
References
- WPA. The WPA Guide to 1930s Kansas
(Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, reprint 1984)
See tour 4a, page 398
For more about Gray County contact:
- Cimarron Chamber of Commerce (620) 855-2507
102 E. Avenue A / Cimarron, KS 67835
