Kiowa County

General Overview

Kiowa County, like the other seven counties in the southeast region of Colorado, was first settled by Native American tribes, especially the Arapaho, Cheyenne and Kiowas.  Trappers and traders following the Santa Fe Trail and the Arkansas River came north to the lakes in Kiowa County and followed the creeks that flow into these lakes. Cattle ranchers came north from Mexico and Texas, crossing the Arkansas River to establish huge cattle ranches on the lush buffalo grass prairies in Kiowa County.  In the 1880s, the Missouri Pacific Railroad came west from St. Louis, Mo., to Pueblo, Colo., and the towns in Kiowa County were established along this railroad.

The Homestead Act of 1863 brought additional settlers to develop the agricultural potential of Kiowa County.  Current agriculture raises beef cattle, sheep, goats and swine.  Crops of wheat, millet, grain sorghum, sunflowers and corn are grown, especially in the middle and eastern end of the county where the soil is more likely to be sandy loam instead of the adobe clay often found in the west end of the county.  Kiowa County has fossil fuel deposits, with several oil and gas wells currently operating and some on stand-by.  Kiowa County also has several ideal sites for wind farms to be developed, with most interest being shown in the stiff winds at the east end of the county.

Kiowa County is a long, narrow county.  It is 23 miles wide at the Kansas/Colorado border, extends west for 80 miles and is 17 miles wide at its border with Crowley County,  making its size 1,738 square miles.  The Victoria and Southern Railroad (originally the Missouri Pacific Railroad) goes west through the county from Kansas headed to Pueblo.  Colorado Highway 96 follows the rail line through the county.  US Highway 287 (recently referred to as the Ports to Plains Corridor) crosses Kiowa County headed north from Lamar to Kit Carson.

Demographics

Per the 2008 population estimate, 1,321 persons were residents of Kiowa County.  Persons aged 18-64 were 50.6% of the population, with 24.3% at 65 years of age and older.  The remainder are less than 18 years of age, with 4.8% of that group under 5 years old.  Most residents are non-Hispanic white (92%) while the rest are Hispanic, American Indian, Black or Asian.  Of those residents 25 years of age or older, 86.3% have graduated from high school and 16.1% have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Economy, Education and Health Services

Agricultural production and natural resource development are the foundation of the Kiowa County economy.  Many of the cattle ranches as well as the family farms are currently operated by fourth or fifth generation members of the original family settlers.

The county has many private businesses which sell food, medicines and cosmetics, supplies for vehicles and farm machinery, hardware, gasoline, diesel and propane, several grain elevators, a meat processing plant and companies that do agricultural as well as household spraying.  Kiowa County National Bank in Eads has been a major resource in the community of Kiowa County since 1887.  The Kiowa County Press has been publishing a newspaper since 1901.  Southeast Colorado Power Association provides electricity and Eastern Slope Rural Telephone along with Fairpoint Communications provides telephone service for most of the county.

Community services such as schools, health and social services, assisted living and county departments are major employers.  As of 2010, Kiowa County Hospital District, with its Critical Access Hospital and Emergency Room, Nursing Home, Rural Health Clinics, Ambulance Service and Home Health Care Program, employs 80 workers.  The two K-12 schools are also major employers with Re-1 providing 65 positions, and 22 for Re-2. Kiowa County elected officials and employees in all county departments equal 60.

Tourism and Recreation

In September 2010, the Kiowa County Fair and Rodeo will celebrate its 100th year. Other attractions in the county include the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site near Chivington, Woelk’s Park and Museum in Sheridan Lake, Kiowa County Museum in Eads, the Nation’s Smallest Jail in Haswell and the Artists of the Plains Gallery of Shops in Eads.  Ride your bicycle through Kiowa County on the Trans American Centennial Bike Trail (referred to as Prairie Horizons Trail through Kiowa County) which follows Colorado Highway 96.  The Great Plains and Adobe Reservoirs are great locations for fishing, boating, water skiing, and bird watching.  The Hi Plains Snow Goose Festival in February is an annual event sponsored jointly by Kiowa and Prowers counties; the mid-summer Maine St. Bash in Eads is a fund raising affair sponsored by the Crow Luther Cultural Events Center.  The newly developed Kiowa Creek Natural Area, at the south town limits of Eads, is an on-going project of the Kiowa County Economic Development foundation.  This area boasts an ideal location for any nature lover with a well-stocked fishing pond, a hiking trail and a historic barn for interpretive displays.

Nonprofit Organizations

• Artists of the Plains
• Baby Bear Hugs
• CLCEC – Theatre
• KCEDF
• Kiowa Albright Center
• Kiowa County
• Kiowa County Ambulance Service
• Kiowa County DSS
• Kiowa County Fairboard
• Kiowa County Public Library
• Kiowa County Re-1
• Kiowa County Re-2
• Little Sprouts Child Care
• Prairie Pines Assisted Living
• Senior Citizen Center
• Southeast Mental Health Services
• Town of Eads
• Town of Haswell
• Town of Sheridan Lake
• Unity Village
• Weisbrod Hospital
• West End Golden Age