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County in Kansas, United States

Jefferson County is a county located in the U. S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Oskaloosa. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 18,368. The county was named after Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States.

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre. In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U. S. state. In 1855, Jefferson County was established, and was named for President Thomas Jefferson. Settlement of the county was slowed by events prior to and during the Civil War, but the present day unincorporated community of Thompsonville (3 miles northwest of Perry on the Delaware River) was the first established in 1851 by Mormon settlers who initially refused to accompany the main group led by Brigham Young to the Salt Lake Valley. The settlement was first abandoned due to the violence resulting from the border wars, but was re established when the Civil War ended.

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 557 square miles (1,443 km2), of which 533 square miles (1,380 km2) is land and 2.4 square miles (6 km2) (4.3%) is water.

Jefferson County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement. The county voted "No" on the 2022 Kansas Value Them Both Amendment, an anti abortion ballot measure, by 55% to 45% despite backing Donald Trump with 65% of the vote to Joe Biden's 33% in the 2020 presidential election.

Jefferson County has two newspapers which are still in operation, The Oskaloosa Independent and The Valley Falls Vindicator. Both of which are owned by Davis Publications. Together, the two papers cover the happenings of Jefferson County and its townships. The editor for both papers is Holly Allen.

† means a community is designated a Census Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.

Jefferson County is divided into twelve townships. None of the cities within the county are considered governmentally independent, and all figures for the townships include those of the cities. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size. Township FIPS Populationcenter Population Populationdensity/km2 (/sq mi) Land areakm2 (sq mi) Water areakm2 (sq mi) Water % Geographic coordinates Delaware 17425 Valley Falls 2,034 9 (23) 229 (88) 0 (0) 0.11% Fairview 22525 Rural Ozawkie 1,510 22 (56) 70 (27) 20 (8) 22.20% Jefferson 35250 Winchester 1,240 8 (21) 151 (58) 0 (0) 0.24% Kaw 36125 Grantville 1,409 16 (43) 86 (33) 2 (1) 1.78% Kentucky 36575 Perry 1,576 17 (44) 93 (36) 14 (5) 13.18% Norton 51475 Nortonville 955 9 (25) 101 (39) 0 (0) 0.30% Oskaloosa 53400 Oskaloosa 2,142 14 (37) 149 (58) 0 (0) 0.17% Ozawkie 53950 Ozawkie 1,408 15 (38) 97 (37) 14 (5) 12.74% Rock Creek 60575 Meriden 2,718 19 (50) 140 (54) 1 (1) 0.92% Rural 61700 Williamstown 804 10 (25) 82 (32) 1 (0) 1.14% Sarcoxie 63100 Rural Lawrence 958 12 (31) 80 (31) 0 (0) 0.45% Union 72150 McLouth 1,672 15 (39) 111 (43) 0 (0) 0.30% Sources: