Smith Center, Kansas - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Smith Center, Kansas
City and County seat
First National Bank building
Location within Smith County and Kansas
KDOT map of Smith County (legend)
Coordinates: 39°46′26″N 98°47′00″W / 39.77389°N 98.78333°W / 39.77389; -98.78333[1]
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Smith
Founded	1871
Incorporated	1886
Named for	Maj. J. Nelson Smith
Area [2]
• Total	1.27 sq mi (3.28 km2)
• Land	1.27 sq mi (3.28 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation [1]	1,808 ft (551 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	1,571
• Density	1,200/sq mi (480/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	66967 [4]
Area code	785
FIPS code	20-65925
GNIS ID	2395900[1]
Website	smithcenterks.com

Smith Center is a city in Smith County, Kansas, United States.^[5] It is also the county seat of Smith County. In 2020, 1,571 people lived there.^[3]

Smith Center was created in 1871.^[6] The first post office in Smith Center was created in January 1873.^[7] Like Smith County, Smith Center was named after Maj. J. Nelson Smith of the 2nd Colorado Cavalry. He was a pre-war native of Elwood, Kansas, who died leading his regiment on October 21, 1864 at the Battle of the Little Blue River. ^{[8] [9]}

Smith Center is at 39°46′43″N 98°47′7″W / 39.77861°N 98.78528°W / 39.77861; -98.78528 (39.778550, -98.785141).^[10] The United States Census Bureau says that the city has a total area of 1.27 square miles (3.29 km²). All of it is land.^[2]

Smith Center is at the junction of U.S. Routes 281 and 36, about 100 miles south of Grand Island, Nebraska and 77 miles north of Russell and Interstate 70.

The 2020 census says that there were 1,571 people, 727 households, and 398 families living in Smith Center. Of the households, 76.1% owned their home and 23.9% rented their home.

The median age was 49.4 years. Of the people, 94.3% were White, 0.5% were Native American, 0.3% were Black, 0.2% were Asian, 1.3% were from some other race, and 3.5% were two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.5% of the people.^[3][11]

The 2010 census says that there were 1,665 people, 779 households, and 470 families living in Smith Center.^[12]

Smith Center is part of Unified School District 237.^[13]

• Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, silent film star
• Nolan Cromwell, NFL defensive back for the Los Angeles Rams
• Mitch Holthus, radio announcer for the Kansas City Chiefs
• Mark Simoneau, College Football Hall of Fame linebacker for Kansas State University; played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs
• Steve Tasker, NFL wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills
• Albert F. "Jud" Wagner, Kansas' last confirmed World War I veteran

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Smith Center, Kansas.

City

• City of Smith Center
• Smith Center - Directory of Public Officials

Schools

• USD 237, local school district

Historical

• Smith Center - History
• Saving Miss Liberty In Rural Kansas on YouTube, from Hatteberg's People on KAKE TV news
• Historic Images - Wichita State University Libraries

Maps

• Smith Center City Map, KDOT