About Bourbon County

Bourbon County, Kansas, was one of the thirty-three original counties of Kansas created by the first Territorial Assembly of 1855.  The area containing the present Bourbon County was part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

In 1806 Zubulon Pike was sent to survey the area.  Pike entered the present Bourbon County near where the towns of Hammond, Fulton and Barnesville now stand.

Bourbon County is full of rich history, dating back to the Civil War.  Our county seat, Fort Scott, is home to the Fort Scott National Historic Site which was built as a frontier outpost keeping peace between settler and Native American territory then was a union fort in the civil war, as well as National Cemetery No. 1, and many beautiful, historic mansions and buildings.

As of the 2020 census, Bourbon County’s population is 14,360. The county chair and most populous city is Fort Scott, KS.