Douglas County, KS

Douglas County, Kansas
County
Douglas County Courthouse in Lawrence
Location in the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	August 25, 1855
Named for	Stephen Douglas
Seat	Lawrence
Largest city	Lawrence
Area
• Total	475 sq mi (1,230 km2)
• Land	456 sq mi (1,181 km2)
• Water	19 sq mi (49 km2), 4.0%
Population (est.)
• (2016)	119,440
• Density	243/sq mi (94/km²)
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	douglascountyks.org

Douglas County (county code DG) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 110,826, making it the fifth-most populous county in Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Lawrence.

For 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 1855, Douglas County was established. Douglas County was opened for settlement on May 15, 1854, and was named for Stephen A. Douglas, a senator from Illinois. The county was practically at the center of the Bleeding Kansas years as leaders in Lecompton, the territorial capital, wanted Kansas to be a slave state and leaders in Lawrence wanted Kansas to be a free state. Because of this, multiple events took place, including the drafting of the Lecompton Constitution admitting Kansas as a slave state, the sacking of Lawrence, and the Battle of Black Jack.