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Kansas County
Finney County, Kansas
Garden City's meatpacking industry and Truman Capote's In Cold Blood - from Garden City's position as one of America's most significant beef processing centers (the Tyson and National Beef plants in Garden City and adjacent Holcomb process thousands of cattle daily, making Finney County one of the most economically productive agricultural processing counties on the High Plains) to the Holcomb murders documented in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (the November 15, 1959 murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb - four miles from Garden City - became the subject of Capote's landmark non-fiction novel, one of the most celebrated American books of the 20th century) and the Lee Richardson Zoo.
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Office: Finney County Emergency Management – 304 N. 9th Street, #1, Garden City, KS 67846 | (620) 272-3746. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:45 PM.
Sheriff: Finney County Sheriff’s Office – 304 N. 9th Street, Garden City, KS 67846 | (620) 272-3700 | Fax (620) 272-3777; Sheriff Steve Martinez. Shares the Finney County Law Enforcement Center with Garden City PD; Emergency Management on the lower level, jail on the top floor. Hours: Mon-Fri 7 AM-5 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Communications dispatches for nine agencies countywide, operating 24/7.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-50 and US-83 serve Garden City, the county seat, in southwestern Kansas along the Arkansas River.
Notes: Finney County was established February 22, 1883, named for David W. Finney, Kansas’s Lieutenant Governor from 1881-1885. Garden City was founded in 1878.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Finney County Courthouse – Garden City, KS.
Notes: Finney County is closely associated with a significant and tragic chapter of American literary history. On November 15, 1959, the Clutter family – Herbert, Bonnie, and their teenage children Nancy and Kenyon – were murdered in their farmhouse in nearby Holcomb. The case drew author Truman Capote to Garden City, where he spent years researching and interviewing residents (accompanied by fellow writer Harper Lee) for his landmark 1966 nonfiction novel “In Cold Blood,” which chronicled both the crime and the trial of the two men convicted and later executed for it. The Finney County Courthouse was the site of that trial. This history remains a significant, sensitive part of local memory and is presented here with care.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Finney County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via finneycounty.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Finney County Public Library (Garden City) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Lee Richardson Zoo (the largest zoological park in western Kansas), Garden City Community College, and the historic Windsor Hotel are the county’s premier recreational and heritage attractions.
Notes: The In Cold Blood history is presented here with care, given the real and tragic loss of life involved.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Finney County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via finneycounty.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Finney County Animal Shelter (jointly maintained with the City of Garden City) – 124 Fleming Street, Garden City, KS 67846 | (620) 277-3725. Operated in partnership with Finney County Humane Society (est. 1997), which handles adoptions – same address, Email: [email protected] | Mailing: PO Box 2031. Hours: Tue-Sat 12-6 PM, Sun 3-5 PM (reclaims only), closed Monday.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Finney County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via finneycounty.org.
NOTES: Finney County is the first county in the fifth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The In Cold Blood history is presented here with care, given the real and tragic loss of life involved. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Finney County
Finney County is southwest Kansas’s beef processing and literary landmark county – Garden City’s meatpacking industry and Holcomb’s Clutter family murder that inspired In Cold Blood define two very different sources of national attention.
Garden City (the county seat, population ~27,000) is one of the most ethnically diverse cities on the High Plains – decades of meatpacking industry recruitment have brought Latino, Vietnamese, Somali, and other immigrant communities to a southwest Kansas city that is far more cosmopolitan than its surroundings would suggest.
The Clutter family farmhouse in Holcomb – where Truman Capote spent years researching the November 1959 murders – draws literary pilgrims to a quiet Kansas farming community.
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Finney County Appraiser at 311 N. 9th Street, Garden City, KS 67846, phone 620-271-6060. KS residential assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Finney County District Court at 311 N. 9th Street, Garden City, KS 67846, phone 620-271-6080, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
311 N. 9th St., Garden City, KS 67846
(620) 272-3510
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
311 N. 9th St., Garden City, KS 67846
(620) 272-3530
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
311 N. 9th St., Garden City, KS 67846
(620) 272-3510
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Finney County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Finney County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Finney County District Court, 25th Judicial District 425 North 8th Street, P.O. Box 798, Garden City, KS 67846 (620) 271-6120
Finney County was founded February 22, 1883, named for Lieutenant Governor David W. Finney. Its seat, Garden City, is nicknamed “The Beef Empire” and is home to the Lee Richardson Zoo.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Kansas has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code, maintaining its own statutory framework under the Kansas Probate Code (K.S.A. Chapter 59). Kansas offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where the total value of probate property, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $75,000 (raised from $40,000 effective July 1, 2023), available under K.S.A. 59-1507b. This transfers personal property only. If the decedent left a will, it must still be filed with the probate court even though it isn’t being formally probated.
Simplified Administration – under the Kansas Simplified Estates Act (K.S.A. 59-3201 et seq.), the most common route for straightforward estates.
Formal Probate – supervised or unsupervised administration through the District Court for larger or more complex estates.
A will must be filed for probate within 6 months of death, or it may not be admitted, forcing the estate into intestate distribution.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Administration (if intestate) with the Finney County District Court.
The court admits the will (if any) and appoints the personal representative.
Notice to creditors is published per court order; creditors have a defined window to file claims.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and – under unsupervised administration – acts with reduced court check-ins.
Without a surviving spouse or children, Kansas intestate succession law (K.S.A. 59-501 et seq.) determines which blood relatives inherit.
After debts are paid, the personal representative distributes assets and files a final accounting; the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Court costs may be remitted for small estates under recent statutory changes.
Executor/administrator and attorney fees are generally reasonable-fee based rather than a fixed statutory percentage.
Typical timelines: Small Estate Affidavit can proceed relatively quickly; formal probate commonly takes several months to over a year.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
311 N. 9th St., Garden City, KS 67846
(620) 272-3636
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
311 N. 9th St., Garden City, KS 67846
(620) 272-3510
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
311 N. 9th St., Garden City, KS 67846
(620) 272-3510
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Finney County Health Dept
(620) 272-3626
KS DCF — Southwest Region
(620) 272-5650
KS Medicaid (KanCare)
(800) 792-4884
St. Catherine Hospital (Garden City)
stcatherinehosp.org (quality regional hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Finney County Health Department – confirm current contact via finneycounty.org.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Garden City
Population: 38,000
Area: 1,302 sq mi
Established: 1873
Tier: 3
Public Records
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