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County · code 20057

Ford CountyKansas

Ford County is a county in Kansas with its seat in Dodge City. It was created in 1867 and named after James Hobart Ford.

  • Founded1867
  • County seatDodge City
  • Named forJames Hobart Ford
  • Land area1,098 sq mi + 0.8 sq mi water
  • Population34,287 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped16,317 checked 15 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Ford County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

HodgemanClarkGrayEdwardsKiowaMeade Dodge City Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Ford on the map of Kansas

Kansas has 105 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Allen CountyAnderson CountyAtchison CountyBarber CountyBarton CountyBourbon CountyBrown CountyButler CountyChase CountyChautauqua CountyCherokee CountyCheyenne CountyClark CountyClay CountyCloud CountyCoffey CountyComanche CountyCowley CountyCrawford CountyDecatur CountyDickinson CountyDoniphan CountyDouglas CountyEdwards CountyElk CountyEllis CountyEllsworth CountyFinney CountyFranklin CountyGeary CountyGove CountyGraham CountyGrant CountyGray CountyGreeley CountyGreenwood CountyHamilton CountyHarper CountyHarvey CountyHaskell CountyHodgeman CountyJackson CountyJefferson CountyJewell CountyJohnson CountyKearny CountyKingman CountyKiowa CountyLabette CountyLane CountyLeavenworth CountyLincoln CountyLinn CountyLogan CountyLyon CountyMcPherson CountyMarion CountyMarshall CountyMeade CountyMiami CountyMitchell CountyMontgomery CountyMorris CountyMorton CountyNemaha CountyNeosho CountyNess CountyNorton CountyOsage CountyOsborne CountyOttawa CountyPawnee CountyPhillips CountyPottawatomie CountyPratt CountyRawlins CountyReno CountyRepublic CountyRice CountyRiley CountyRooks CountyRush CountyRussell CountySaline CountyScott CountySedgwick CountySeward CountyShawnee CountySheridan CountySherman CountySmith CountyStafford CountyStanton CountyStevens CountySumner CountyThomas CountyTrego CountyWabaunsee CountyWallace CountyWashington CountyWichita CountyWilson CountyWoodson CountyWyandotte CountyFord County Ford
Counties of Kansas · Ford highlighted

History

Formed in 1867 from Marion County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Ford County was created from Marion County on February 26, 1867, though it was not fully organized at that time. The county was fully organized on April 5, 1873, and over the following years had multiple boundary adjustments with neighboring counties. In 1883, Ford County gained all of Clark County and parts of Gray and Meade counties before losing territory to the re-creation of Clark and Meade in 1885.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

  1. 1867
    Ford County created Ford created from Marion; Ford not fully organized.
    from Marion
    · Kans. Laws 1867, 7th leg., ch. 33, sec. 38/p. 57
  2. 1873
    Gained territory Ford gained from Hodgeman and Non-County Area 6, lost to Clark. Arapahoe (extinct), Buffalo (extinct), Foote (extinct), Grant, Hamilton, Kansas (extinct), Kearney (now spelled Kearny), Meade, Sequoyah (extinct), Seward, Stanton, and Stevens attached to Ford "for judicial purposes."
    from Hodgemanfrom Clarkfrom Arapahoefrom Buffalofrom Footefrom Grantfrom Hamiltonfrom Kansasfrom Kearneyfrom Kearnyfrom Meadefrom Sequoyahfrom Sewardfrom Stantonfrom Stevens
    · Kans. Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 72, secs. 7-8/pp. 147-148 and ch. 79, sec. 6/p. 166
  3. 1881
    Eliminated Buffalo and Foote eliminated, ending their attachment to Ford.
    into Buffalointo Foote
    · Kans. Laws 1881, 19th leg., ch. 48, secs. 6-7/p. 133
  4. 1883
    Gained territory Ford gained all of Clark and part of Gray and Meade; Clark, Gray, and Meade eliminated. Arapahoe, Clark, Grant, Kansas, Kearney (now spelled Kearny), Meade, Sequoyah, Stanton, and Stevens eliminated, ending their attachment to Ford.
    from Clarkfrom Grayfrom Meadefrom Arapahoefrom Grantfrom Kansasfrom Kearneyfrom Kearnyfrom Sequoyahfrom Stantonfrom Stevens
    · Kans. Laws 1883, 20th leg., ch. 70/pp. 113-115
  5. 1885
    Lost territory Ford lost to re-creation of Clark and Meade.
    to Clarkto Meade
    · Kans. Laws 1885, 21st leg., ch. 71, secs. 2-3, 6/pp. 110-111
Show all 15 changes (10 more)
  1. 1867
    Ford County created Ford created from Marion; Ford not fully organized.
    from Marion
    · Kans. Laws 1867, 7th leg., ch. 33, sec. 38/p. 57
  2. 1873
    Changed Clark detached from Sumner, attached to Ford "for judicial purposes;" Hodgeman attached to Ford "for judicial purposes."
    ClarkSumnerHodgeman
    · Kans. Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 79, sec. 6/p. 166
  3. 1873
    Gained territory Ford gained from Hodgeman and Non-County Area 6, lost to Clark. Arapahoe (extinct), Buffalo (extinct), Foote (extinct), Grant, Hamilton, Kansas (extinct), Kearney (now spelled Kearny), Meade, Sequoyah (extinct), Seward, Stanton, and Stevens attached to Ford "for judicial purposes."
    from Hodgemanfrom Clarkfrom Arapahoefrom Buffalofrom Footefrom Grantfrom Hamiltonfrom Kansasfrom Kearneyfrom Kearnyfrom Meadefrom Sequoyahfrom Sewardfrom Stantonfrom Stevens
    · Kans. Laws 1873, 13th leg., ch. 72, secs. 7-8/pp. 147-148 and ch. 79, sec. 6/p. 166
  4. 1873
    Changed Ford fully organized. · Rath, 48; Kansas Counties, KSHS, http://www.kshs.org/genealogists/places/counties.htm, 20 October 2004
  5. 1874
    Changed Hodgeman detached from Ford, attached to Pawnee "for judicial purposes."
    HodgemanPawnee
    · Kans. Laws 1874, 14th leg., ch. 67, sec. 2/p. 101
  6. 1881
    Changed Arapahoe (extinct), Buffalo (extinct), Clark, Foote (extinct), Grant, Hamilton, Kansas (extinct), Kearney (now spelled Kearny), Meade, Sequoyah (extinct), Seward, Stanton, and Stevens remained attached to Ford "for judicial purposes." Greeley attached to Ford "for judicial purposes."
    ArapahoeBuffaloClarkFooteGrantHamiltonKansasKearneyKearnyMeadeSequoyahSewardStantonStevensGreeley
    · Kans. Laws 1881, 19th leg., ch. 99, sec. 3/p. 200
  7. 1881
    Changed Wichita attached to Ford "for judicial purposes."
    Wichita
    · Kans. Laws 1881, 19th leg., ch. 103/p. 205
  8. 1881
    Eliminated Buffalo and Foote eliminated, ending their attachment to Ford.
    into Buffalointo Foote
    · Kans. Laws 1881, 19th leg., ch. 48, secs. 6-7/p. 133
  9. 1883
    Gained territory Ford gained all of Clark and part of Gray and Meade; Clark, Gray, and Meade eliminated. Arapahoe, Clark, Grant, Kansas, Kearney (now spelled Kearny), Meade, Sequoyah, Stanton, and Stevens eliminated, ending their attachment to Ford.
    from Clarkfrom Grayfrom Meadefrom Arapahoefrom Grantfrom Kansasfrom Kearneyfrom Kearnyfrom Sequoyahfrom Stantonfrom Stevens
    · Kans. Laws 1883, 20th leg., ch. 70/pp. 113-115
  10. 1884
    Changed Finney attached to Ford "for judicial purposes."
    Finney
    · Kans. Laws 1884, spec. sess., ch. 9/p. 21
  11. 1884
    Changed Finney fully organized, detached from Ford.
    Finney
    · Finney County Historical Society, 1:9
  12. 1885
    Lost territory Ford lost to re-creation of Clark and Meade.
    to Clarkto Meade
    · Kans. Laws 1885, 21st leg., ch. 71, secs. 2-3, 6/pp. 110-111
  13. 1885
    Changed Greeley, Hamilton, Seward, and Wichita detached from Ford, attached to Finney "for judicial purposes."
    GreeleyHamiltonSewardWichitaFinney
    · Kans. Laws 1885, 21st leg., ch. 119/pp. 165-166
  14. 1887
    Lost territory Ford lost to re-creation of Gray. Gray not fully organized, attached to Ford "for judicial purposes."
    to Gray
    · Kans. Laws 1887, 22d leg., ch. 81, secs. 5, 10/pp. 112-113 and ch. 132/p. 195
  15. 1887
    Changed Gray fully organized, detached from Ford.
    Gray
    · Kansas Counties, KSHS, http://www.kshs.org/genealogists/places/counties.htm, 20 October 2004

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Ford

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Ford by the Census

Population
34,287 2020 Census count
Housing units
12,550 2020 Census count
Land area
1,098 square miles
Water area
0.8 square miles
People per sq mi
31 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Records

Permits

Zoning and code

County government

See your own lot on these maps

Open Ford County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

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Questions

Common questions about Ford County

When was Ford County founded?
Ford County was founded in 1867, formed from Marion County, and named after James Hobart Ford.
What is the county seat of Ford County?
The county seat of Ford County is Dodge City.
Is there an online parcel map for Ford County?
Yes. A public source publishes a parcel map of 16,317 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Ford County's boundary or name changed?
Ford County was created in 1867 from Marion County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 14 later changes, chiefly involving Clark County, Meade County and Arapahoe County.
Who issues building permits in Ford County?
The county's page on building permits: Permits. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.
Who issues septic and well permits in Ford County?
The county's page on septic systems and wells: Health department: septic and well.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Ford County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door