 The highest temperature recorded was 117° F on August 12, 1936; the lowest temperature recorded was -21° F on February 13, 1905. The average date of the last killing frost in the spring is April 14, and the average date of the first killing frost in the fall is October 25. Killing frosts have occurred as late as May 15 and as early as September 20. The growing season averages 194 days but has been as long as 225 days and as short as 152 days.
Kingman County was organized from parts of Harper and Reno counties on February 27, 1874, and had fewer than 20 settlers. In 1955 the county had a population of 10,857, of which 31 percent was urban [Note: Kingman County population was listed as 8,673 in 2000 U.S. census, with 36.8 urban (KU Institute for Policy & Social Research).]. Kingman, the largest town and the county seat, had a population of 3,741 in 1955 [3,387 in 2000]. Other communities and their 1955 population are Norwich, 413 [551 in 2000]; Spivey, 137 [80 in 2000]; Cunningham, 587 [514 in 2000]; Penalosa, 71 [27 in 2000]; Nashville, 143 [111 in 2000]; and Zenda, 183 [123 in 2000].
Kingman County is served by about 110 miles of surfaced federal and state highways. U. S. Highway 54 crosses the northern half of the county from east to west, and Kansas Highway 42 crosses the southern half of the county from east to west. Kansas Highway 14 crosses the county from north to south near the center, and Kansas Highway 17 enters the county near the northeast corner and terminates at U. S. Highway 54. The southeast corner of the county is crossed by Kansas Highway 2. In addition, the county is served by about 120 miles of surfaced county roads. Most section-line roads in the county are open and are in good condition most of the year.
Transportation facilities provided by branch lines of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the Missouri Pacific Railroad are good. These railroads pass through almost all the towns, and few farms in the county are more than 7 miles from the nearest railroad.
According to the State Board of Agriculture, the number of farms in Kingman County in 1955 was 1,320 and the total acreage under cultivation was about 282,000, mostly devoted to the production of grain [830 farms and 550,000 acres in 2005, (KU Institute for Policy & Social Research)]. The acreages of the principal crops harvested in 1955 are shown in Table 1.
Table 1--Acreage of principal crops harvested in Kingman County in 1955
Livestock raising also is an important agricultural pursuit in Kingman County. In 1955 the livestock on farms included 6,200 cows, 44,200 other cattle, and 5,650 hogs.
The mineral resources of Kingman County include oil, gas, helium, salt, sand, gravel, and volcanic ash.
Oil and gas--Oil and gas are important mineral resources in Kingman County. Oil was discovered in the county in January 1926 in sec. 6, T. 27 S., R. 7 W., when a well 3,853 feet deep was completed in the uppermost part of the "Mississippi lime" for an initial production of 120 barrels a day. Development in the county has continued and in 1958 oil and gas were being produced from twenty-seven fields, which had yielded 14.3 million barrels of oil and 35.4 billion cubic feet of gas. The cumulative production, the number of wells, the producing zones, and the depth of production for all fields in the county are given in annual reports by the State Geological Survey of Kansas on oil and gas developments. [For current information on oil and gas production, see the Survey's oil and gas page for Kingman County.]
Helium--Helium is present in small quantities in natural gas produced from the Cunningham pool in western Kingman County and eastern Pratt County. During World War II an extraction plant was built by the U. S. Government near Cunningham to help meet the wartime demand for helium. The plant began operation on January 17, 1944, and operating continuously until July 9, 1945, produced 43 million cubic feet of helium. The extraction plant was dismantled shortly thereafter, and helium is not currently being produced in the county.
Salt--Salt deposits