Barton County, Kansas

Barton County (standard abbreviation: BT) is a county in the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2010, 27,674 people lived there. Its county seat is Great Bend. Great Bend is also the biggest city in Barton County. The county is named after Clara Barton. She was responsible for the creating the American Red Cross.
History.
In 1867, Barton County was created. It was named after Clara Barton. It is the only Kansas county named after a woman.
Geography.
Barton County was drawn in the shape of a square. The U.S. Census Bureau says that the county has a total area of . Of that, is land and (0.6%) is water. The geographic center of Kansas is in Barton County.
Major highways.
Sources: National Atlas, U.S. Census Bureau
People.
The Great Bend Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Barton County.
Government.
Presidential elections.
Prior to 1940, Barton County was a Democratic-leaning swing county in presidential elections, being a national bellwether from 1912 to 1936. From 1940 on, it has become a Republican Party stronghold, with the solitary Democratic Party presidential candidate to carry it since then being Lyndon B. Johnson in his national landslide of 1964.
Education.
Unified school districts.
The five school districts are part of the special education area of Barton County called Barton County Special Services.