Osage County, Kansas

Osage County (/oʊˈseɪdʒ/ oh-SAYJ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Lyndon, and its most populous city is Osage City. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 15,766. The county was originally organized in 1855 as Weller County, then renamed in 1859 after the Osage tribe.

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 miles (2,140,000 km²) 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 1859, Osage County was established.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 720 square miles (1,900 km²), of which 706 square miles (1,830 km²) is land and 14 square miles (36 km²) (2.0%) is water.

Osage County is included in the Topeka metropolitan area.

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 15,766. The median age was 44.4 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.1 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 93.3% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.6% from some other race, and 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.9% of the population.