County Information

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Marshall County Courthouse in Marysville, Kansas. Photo by Susan Howell. 
Marshall County Courthouse

Marshall
CoLocationunty

  

County Seat: Marysville
Founded: 1855
Population:
· 10,965 (2000)
· 11,705 (1990)
· 24,355 (1900)
Area: 878 Square Miles
Standard Abbreviation: MS

 

History

Map of Marshall County, KS in 1899
Organized in 1855. County seat, Marysville. After General Frank J. Marshall, who established a ferry on the Big Blue at the crossing of the old Independence-California road in 1849. He was a prominent member of the first Legislature, and had his own name applied to the county. Marysville was declared the permanent county seat by the Legislature in 1860

Map and text from History of Kansas, Noble Prentis, (Winfield: E.P. Greer. 1899)

Marshall County was located on the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the route of the Pony Express. The Holladay stage line from Atchison to Salt Lake City also passed though here. Frank J. Marshall, a pioneer merchant, operated a tavern and a ferry across the Big Blue river and Marysville is named for his wife Mary. He was a proslavery candidate for governor in 1857.Blue Rapids was the site of the first gypsum mine in Kansas, which opened in 1862. Gypsum is still mined and Georgia Pacific is a major employer.A crowd of 3,000 watched the Chicago White Sox beat the New York Giants 8-5 in an exhibition game in Blue Rapids on October 24, 1913. The field is still in use; how many other cities have diamonds used by John McGraw, Jim Thorpe, and Christy Mathewson.William G. Cutler’s History of Kansas, first published in 1883, tells about early Marshall County.There is a section on Marshall County in the book Kansas: a Cyclopedia Of State History by Frank Blackmar (1912).The Special Collections of the Ablah Library at WSU contain historical images of Marshall County towns: Axtell, Beattie, Bigelo, Blue Rapids, Bremen, Frankfort, Herkimer, Home, Irving, Marysville, Summerfield, Vermillion, and Waterville.

The Kansas State Historical Society also has more historical data for Marshall County online including a rich bibliography and lists of cemeteries, post offices, and newspapers.

Special Places in Marshall County

Historic Marshall County Courthouse in Marysville, Kansas- © photo by Charles Hollenberg, used by permission
Marshal County Historic Courthouse in Marysville
Photo by Charles Hollenberg, used by permission.		  
  • The historic Marshall County Courthouse in Marysville, now owned by the Marshall County Historical Society, is on the National Register of Historic Places (1974) and houses a museum and genealogical research library. It is magnificent, especially when you round the corner and see it for the first time in the setting sun.
  • The Lee Dam Center for Fine Arts at 201 South 9th Street in Marysville hosts a variety of fine art exhibits throughout the year, workshops for adults as well as children, a Christmas Arts and Crafts Bazaar and from time-to-time sponsors musical entertainment.
  • The City Park in Marysville has a sod house, a little red schoolhouse, a steam locomotive, and the 1901 Union Pacific Depot.
  • Marysville also has a large bronze statue of a Pony Express rider.
  • Alcove Spring was a famous camping spot on the Oregon trail. It’s now a 200 acre park open to the public. You can see the names of pioneers carved into the rocks.
  • The library in Blue Rapids is one of the oldest public libraries west of the Mississippi still operating in its original building.
  • St. Bridget Church, begun in 1902 and completed in 1908, had its last Sunday Mass in 1967. It is one of the oldest gothic churches in northeast Kansas and was built by its parishioners. The town was founded by Irish immigrants in 1857.
  • Marysville is home to the black squirrel. Marysville's black squirrel

Special Events in Marshall County

  • Waterville celebrates Victorian Days in mid-April with tours of beautiful old homes, ice cream, and performances.

Cities, Towns, & Villages of Marshall County

2000 Town Population ZIP Year Elevation Alcove Spring 1201 Axtell 445 1368 Beattie 277 66406 1330 Blue Rapids 1,088 66411 1869 1158 Bremen 66412 1330 Carden 1216 Cottage Hill 1426 Frankfort 855 66427 1150 Herkimer 66433 1250 Hermansberg 1360 Home 66438 1341 Lillis 1243 Marietta 1176 Marysville 3,271 66508 1202 Nolan 1376 Oketo 87 66518 1178 Reedsville 1293 Shroyer 1136 St. Bridget 1857 1393 Sullivan 1185 Summerfield 211 66541 1511 Summit 1450 Vermillion 107 66544 1240 Vliets 66545 1198 Waterville 681 66548 1176 Winifred 66427 1210

U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts about Marshall County

Marshall County School Systems

Hospitals

Libraries

  • Axtell Public Library
    401 Maple, Axtell, KS 66403
  • Blue Rapids Public Library
    Public Square, Blue Rapids, KS 66411
  • Frankfort City Library
    107 N. Kansas, Frankfort, KS 66427
  • Marysville Public Library
    1006 Elm / P. O. Box 389 / Marysville, KS 66508
  • Summerfield Public Library
    P. O. Box 146 / Summerfield, KS 66541
  • Vermillion Public Library vplibrary@bluevalley.net
    102 Main St., Box 95, Vermillion, KS 66544

Museums

  • Doll Museum (785) 562-4077
    912 Broadway, Marysville, KS 66508
  • Koester House Museum
    919 Broadway, Marysville, KS 66508
  • Historic Courthouse Museum (785) 562-5012
    1207 Broadway, Marysville, KS 66508
  • Pony Express Station Museum (785) 562-3825
    106 S. Eighth St, Marysville, KS 66508

Newspapers

  • Frankfort Area News
  • Marysville Advocate (785) 562-2317
    107 S. Ninth / P. O. Box 271, Marysville, KS 66508
  • Waterville Telegraph

More Data About Marshall County

Economic Development

Health Data

Genealogy

Marshall County Offices

For more about Marshall County

  • Marysville Travel & Tourism (785) 562-3101
    P. O. Box 16, Marysville, KS 66508

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Last updated on September 11, 2006 by Brig C. McCoy, COUNTIES@KSLIB.INFO

 

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Kansas on the Net, LLC		 Kansas on the Net, a subsidiary of 'Kansas Traveler, LLC'
Graphics by John Howell,
photos by Susan Howell,
used by permission.