Reno County

Reno County, Kansas
County
Reno County Courthouse in Hutchinson
Location in the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 26, 1867
Named for	Jesse Lee Reno
Seat	Hutchinson
Largest city	Hutchinson
Area
• Total	1,272 sq mi (3,294 km2)
• Land	1,255 sq mi (3,250 km2)
• Water	17 sq mi (44 km2), 1.3%
Population (est.)
• (2016)	63,220
• Density	51/sq mi (20/km²)
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	RenoGov.org

Reno County (standard abbreviation: RN) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 64,511. The largest city and county seat is Hutchinson.

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 1867, Reno County was established.

In 1887, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railway extended its main line from Herington to Pratt. This main line connected Herington, Ramona, Tampa, Durham, Waldeck, Canton, Galva, McPherson, Groveland, Inman, Medora, Hutchinson, Whiteside, Partridge, Arlington, Langdon, Turon, Preston, Natrona, Pratt. In 1888, this main line was extended to Liberal. Later, this line was extended to Tucumcari, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. This line is called the "Golden State Limited".