Ottawa, Kansas

Ottawa, Kansas
City and County seat
Ottawa Historic District (2018)
Location within Franklin County and Kansas
KDOT map of Franklin County (legend)
Coordinates: 38°37′22″N 95°14′07″W / 38.62278°N 95.23528°W / 38.62278; -95.23528[1]
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Franklin
Founded	1865
Incorporated	1866
Named for	Ottawa Tribe
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
Area [2]
• Total	10.41 sq mi (26.96 km2)
• Land	10.32 sq mi (26.73 km2)
• Water	0.09 sq mi (0.28 km2)  0.85%
Elevation [1]	925 ft (282 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	12,625
• Density	1,200/sq mi (470/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	66067
Area code	785
FIPS code	20-53550
GNIS ID	485638[1]
Website	ottawaks.gov

Ottawa is a city in Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Franklin County.^[4][5] It is on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. In 2020, 12,625 people lived there.^[6]

The name comes from the Ottawa tribe of Indians. The city was planned on their reservation. In spring 1864, the land was obtained from the tribe through a treaty connected to the creation of Ottawa University. The Ottawa had given 20,000 acres of land to create and fund a school for the education of Indians and non-Indians alike. The word Ottawa itself means “to trade”. In 1867, the Ottawa tribe sold their remaining land in Kansas, and they moved to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.^[7][8]

March 31st, 1864, J.C. Richmond built the first non-Indian settlement in the new town.^[9][10]

Ottawa has a history of flooding. This is because of where it is. It is on the Marais Des Cygnes river. The area's first recorded flood was the Great Flood of 1844. In 1928, a flood went up to at 38.65 feet, and it killed six people. Other floods included 1904. Water went up to 36 feet.^[11] In 1909, a flood went up to 36.3 feet (11.1 m). In 1915, a flood went up to 31 feet (9.4 m). Another flood happened in 1944, where the water went up to 37.5 feet (11.4 m).^[12]

The most famous flood is the Great Flood of 1951. It was about five inches higher than the 1928 flood. The flood of 1951 hurt a lot of Missouri and Kansas. 41 people died. 1/3 of Ottawa was covered because of this flood.^[13]

In 1943, the United States government brought prisoners to Ottawa. These prisoners were war prisoners from World War II. The prisoners were mostly German people and Italian people. The government brought them because farmers needed more people. They were forced to live in camps. These camps were like prisons. The camp closed in 1945.^[14][15]

Ottawa is on the Marais des Cygnes River. It is 58 miles (93 km) southwest of Kansas City at the junction of U.S. Route 59 and K-68. U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 35 go near Ottawa to the south and east, while business US-50 goes through the city.

The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of 10.41 square miles (26.96 km²). Of that, 10.32 square miles (26.73 km²) is land and 0.09 square miles (0.23 km²) is water.^[2]

The area gets about 40 inches (1,000 mm) of precipitation during an average year. Most of the rain happens in May and June.

Source: Monthly Station Climate Summaries, 1971–2000, U.S. National Climatic Data Center

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Temperatures (°F)
Mean high	40.1	46.6	58.0	68.5	77.1	85.7	91.1	89.9	82.0	70.9	55.1	43.3	67.4
Mean low	20.6	25.8	35.4	45.6	55.4	64.8	69.6	67.4	58.8	47.5	35.6	25.2	46.0
Highest recorded	76 (1950)	84 (1981)	93 (1910)	96 (1910)	101 (2000)	108 (1980)	118 (1954)	113 (1936)	111 (1947)	98 (1939)	86 (1980)	75 (1939)	118 (1954)
Lowest recorded	−20 (1947)	−28 (1905)	−9 (1948)	11 (1920)	21 (1907)	41 (1946)	47 (1972)	42 (1910)	27 (1908)	16 (1925)	1 (1932)	−22 (1989)	−28 (1905)
Precipitation (inches)
Median	1.06	1.09	2.50	3.22	5.10	4.80	3.25	3.94	3.75	3.55	2.95	1.57	39.34
Mean number of days	5.3	4.8	7.3	9.0	10.4	9.1	7.4	7.6	7.2	7.2	6.2	5.6	87.1
Highest monthly	3.60 (1982)	4.17 (1997)	10.14 (1973)	9.08 (1994)	11.67 (1995)	12.84 (1981)	10.49 (1993)	8.43 (1996)	12.06 (1986)	7.48 (1985)	8.83 (1992)	4.10 (1971)
Snowfall (inches)
Median	3.3	4.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.2	8.5
Mean number of days	3.0	2.1	0.9	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.8	8.4
Highest monthly	22.3 (1985)	14.8 (1980)	7.0 (1975)	0.8 (1994)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	trace (1993)	9.0 (1975)	15.0 (1983)
Notes: Temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit. Precipitation includes rain and melted snow or sleet in inches; median values are provided for precipitation and snowfall because mean averages may be misleading. Mean and median values are for the 30-year period 1971–2000; temperature extremes are for the station's period of record (1900–2001). The station is located in Ottawa at 38°37′N 95°17′W, elevation 900 feet (270 m).

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	2,941		—
1880	4,032		37.1%
1890	6,248		55.0%
1900	6,934		11.0%
1910	7,650		10.3%
1920	9,018		17.9%
1930	9,563		6.0%
1940	10,193		6.6%
1950	10,081		−1.1%
1960	10,673		5.9%
1970	11,036		3.4%
1980	11,016		−0.2%
1990	10,667		−3.2%
2000	11,921		11.8%
2010	12,649		6.1%
2020	12,625		−0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census 2010-2020[6]

In 2020, there were 12,625 people, 5,095 households, and 3,095 families living in Ottawa. Of the households, 55.9% owned their home and 44.1% rented their home.

The median age was 36.1 years. Of the people, 86.5% were White, 2.0% were Black, 1.0% were Native American, 0.4% were Asian, 2.2% were from some other race, and 7.8% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.0% of the people.^[3][16]

In 2010, there were 12,649 people, 4,998 households, and 3,127 families living in Ottawa.^[17]

Ottawa's two biggest employers are Walmart and American Eagle Outfitters. They both have distribution centers in the city. Ottawa has freight rail service from BNSF railway. There is also a grain elevator operated by the Ottawa Co-Op. The city operates the Ottawa Municipal Airport, a small General Aviation airport four miles south of the city.

Ottawa had a Mayor-Council system. This changed in 1913 when the City became a Commission form of government. In 1970 voters created the City Manager form of government with a five-member Commission. The commission chooses a Mayor. The people of Ottawa elect commissioners at-large. Three seats on the Commission are open every odd numbered year. Two Commissioners are elected to four-year terms and one is elected to a two-year term.^[18]

Ottawa is served by USD 290 for public education. The private four-year university, Ottawa University, is in Ottawa. Ottawa is also where another campus of Neosho County Community College is.

USD 290 public education schools:

• Ottawa High School
• Ottawa Middle School
• Garfield Elementary School
• Lincoln Elementary School
• Sunflower Elementary school

Ottawa has several private schools.

• Sacred Heart Catholic Elementary School
• Pilgrim Bible Academy
• Ottawa Christian Academy

There is one newspaper for the city of Ottawa, the Ottawa Herald. It was created in 1869. It is owned by CherryRoad Media.^[19]

Downtown Ottawa is has the Plaza Grill and Cinema (formerly the Crystal Plaza and Bijou Theater). In 2013, it was found that it is the oldest operating movie theater in the United States.^[20]

• Great Flood of 1951

Official sites

• City of Ottawa
• Ottawa - Directory of Public Officials
• Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce
• Ottawa Main Street Association
• Franklin County Convention Visitors Bureau Archived 2006-08-13 at the Wayback Machine

Schools

• USD 290, local school district
• Ottawa University

Museums

• Old Depot Museum

Maps

• Ottawa City Map, KDOT