Hiawatha, Kansas

Hiawatha, Kansas
City and County seat
Brown County Court House (2011)
Location within Brown County and Kansas
KDOT map of Brown County (legend)
Coordinates: 39°51′07″N 95°32′17″W[1]
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Brown
Founded	1857
Incorporated	1857
Named for	The Song of Hiawatha
Area [2]
• Total	2.56 sq mi (6.63 km^2)
• Land	2.56 sq mi (6.63 km^2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km^2)
Elevation [1]	1,122 ft (342 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	3,280
• Density	1,300/sq mi (490/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	66434
Area code	785
FIPS code	20-31675
GNIS ID	485591[1]
Website	cityofhiawatha.org

Hiawatha (Ioway: Hári Wáta pronounced [haːꜜɾi waːꜜtʰɐ]) is the biggest city in Brown County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Brown County. In 2020, 3,280 people lived there.^[3]

History

Hiawatha was created in 1857. This makes it one of the oldest towns in Kansas.^[4] John M. Coe, John P. Wheller, and Thomas J. Drummond were important in creating the city, and the place was found on February 17, 1857. B.L. Rider was responsible for naming Hiawatha. It was named after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, The Song of Hiawatha.^[5] Hiawatha became the Brown County Seat in 1858. The first school opened in 1870.

The main street was called Oregon Street after the Oregon Trail. Parallel streets north of it were named after Indian tribes north of the Trail, and streets south carried tribal names of those south of the Trail.

Hiawatha is named after a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called The Song of Hiawatha. The Onondaga and Mohawk Indian leader Hiawatha is in the poem. Next the former Ioway-Sac reservation and the present-day Ioway Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Hiawatha is called Hári Wáta in Ioway. It means "I am looking far away".^[6] This name may be the result of choosing Ioway words that sound like the English name. It has nothing to do with the Onondaga-Mohawk leader.^[source?]

The city has also had the oldest Halloween parade in the United States. They started it in 1914.^[7]

Geography

Hiawatha is at 39°51′7″N 95°32′17″W (39.851855, -95.537999). The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of 2.56 square miles (6.63 km²). All of it is land.^[2]

People

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	1,375		—
1890	2,486		80.8%
1900	2,829		13.8%
1910	2,974		5.1%
1920	3,222		8.3%
1930	3,302		2.5%
1940	3,238		−1.9%
1950	3,294		1.7%
1960	3,391		2.9%
1970	3,365		−0.8%
1980	3,702		10.0%
1990	3,603		−2.7%
2000	3,417		−5.2%
2010	3,172		−7.2%
2020	3,280		3.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

The 2020 census says that there were 3,280 people, 1,378 households, and 798 families living in Hiawatha. Of the households, 60.7% owned their home and 39.3% rented their home.

The median age was 41.4 years. Of the people, 85.6% were White, 2.6% were Native American, 1.8% were Black, 0.8% were Asian, 1.5% were from some other race, and 7.7% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.4% of the people.^[3][8]

2010 census

The 2010 census says that there were 3,172 people, 1,369 households, and 843 families living in Hiawatha.^[9]

Famous people

• Bion Barnett - banker
• Al Buell - pinup artist
• William Gallagher - 1953 Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer
• Bill Martin, Jr. - children's book author
• Homer McCrerey - commissioned US Naval Academy officer and bioengineering oceanographer
• John McLendon - inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979
• Joe Wilhoit - baseball player, record holder for longest consecutive game hitting streak in professional baseball (69)

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Hiawatha, Kansas
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
3. "DP1: PROFILE OF GENERAL POPULATION AND HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
4. Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. Standard Publishing Company. p. 840. ISBN 9780722249055.
5. Kansas Place-Names, John Rydjord, University of Oklahoma Press, 1972, p. 436 ISBN 978-0-8061-0994-7.
6. Goodtracks, Jimm (1992) Baxoje-Jiwere-Nyut'aji - Ma'unke: Iowa-Otoe-Missouria Language to English. Boulder, CO: Center for the Study of the Languages of the Plains and Southwest.
7. "Halloween Frolic". City of Hiawatha. Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
8. "P16: HOUSEHOLD TYPE". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
9. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-07-06.

Other websites

City

• City of Hiawatha
• Hiawatha - Directory of Public Officials

Schools

• USD 415, local school district

Maps

• Hiawatha City Map, KDOT