Johnson County, Kansas

Johnson County (county code JO) is a county in northeast Kansas. The county is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. It contains many of the richer suburbs of Kansas City. As of the 2010 census, 544,179 people lived there. Its county seat is Olathe. The most populous city is Overland Park.
In 2010, "Money" magazine ranked Overland Park 7th and Shawnee 17th in its list of the 100 Best Cities in the United States in which to live. In 2008 the same magazine had ranked Olathe 11th.
History.
Johnson County is named for Thomas Johnson. It was one of the first counties in the Kansas Territory in 1855. The well known gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok lived in the county for a time. He was the constable of Monticello Township in 1858. Johnson County was the site of many battles dealing with slavery during Bleeding Kansas.
The county was mostly rural until the early 20th century. There was a large amount of urban development from 1914 though World War II. After the war, the development grew even greater.
Laws.
Johnson County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was changed in 1986.
Geography.
The county has a total area of . Of this, (or 99.30%) is land, and (or 0.70%) is water.
Cities and towns.
Incorporated cities.
Name and population (2010 Census Bureau):
Townships.
Johnson County was divided into nine townships. Two of these no longer exist. They were made part of independent municipalities. All of the cities are considered "governmentally independent". They are not included in the census numbers for the townships.