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Kansas County
Gray County, Kansas
Cimarron and southwest Kansas energy and agriculture - from Cimarron's position on the historic Santa Fe Trail (the Santa Fe Trail crossed the Arkansas River near present-day Cimarron, and the county's landscape preserves the memory of the commerce and conflict that defined the trail era) to Gray County's natural gas and agricultural economy (the county sits atop significant Hugoton natural gas field reserves - one of the world's largest natural gas fields - while feedlot cattle and irrigated corn and wheat define the agricultural economy of the Arkansas River valley).
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What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Gray County Emergency Management/Preparedness – contact via Gray County, (620) 855-3618. Provides 24-hour emergency operations to reduce loss of life, property, and environmental harm.
Sheriff: Gray County Sheriff’s Office – 300 S. Main Street, 3rd Floor, Cimarron, KS 67835 | Mailing: PO Box 487 | (620) 855-3916 | Fax (620) 855-3116 | Email: [email protected]; Sheriff Jeff Sharp. Employs five 24/7 dispatchers serving the entire county including Copeland, Ensign, Ingalls, and Montezuma. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM (dispatch 24/7).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Gray County averages roughly 25 EMS responses, 20 fire/rescue calls, and 736 law enforcement calls monthly, relying substantially on volunteer fire and EMS personnel.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-50/US-400 and US-56 serve Cimarron, the county seat, in southwestern Kansas; KDOT is expanding US-400 to a divided four-lane highway between Dodge City and Cimarron.
Notes: Gray County was established March 13, 1881, named for 19th-century Kansas politician Alfred Gray.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Gray County Courthouse – 300 S. Main Street, Cimarron, KS.
Notes: Gray County was the site of a genuine and dramatic Old West county-seat conflict. The “Gray County War” (1887-1893) pitted the towns of Cimarron and Ingalls against each other in a bitter fight for the county seat designation, drawing in famous Old West lawmen including Bat Masterson, his brother Jim Masterson, Bill Tilghman, and Ben Daniels – several of whom had also figured in Ford County’s Dodge City law enforcement history. The rivalry culminated in a deadly gun battle on January 12, 1889, after which Cimarron ultimately secured the permanent county seat. Cimarron itself takes its name from a fork in the Santa Fe Trail leading to the Cimarron River, and its historic 1886 Cimarron Hotel remains standing today.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Gray County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via grayco.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Cimarron City Library (Cimarron) – confirm current address/phone via the city.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Gray County Recreation Center, Cimarron Golf Club, and the historic 1886 Cimarron Hotel are the county’s premier community and heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine “Gray County War” – a real 1880s-90s county-seat gunfight involving legendary Old West lawmen – is one of the most colorful frontier-era conflicts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Gray County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via grayco.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Gray County animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Residents should contact the Gray County Sheriff’s Office, (620) 855-3916, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Gray County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via grayco.org.
NOTES: Gray County is the first county in the sixth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine “Gray County War” – a real 1880s-90s county-seat gunfight involving legendary Old West lawmen – is one of the most colorful frontier-era conflicts covered in this project. ⚠️ Animal services could not be confirmed and are flagged for follow-up rather than smoothed over. 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 Gray County
Gray County is southwest Kansas’s Santa Fe Trail, Hugoton gas field, and Arkansas River agricultural county – natural gas production and irrigated feedlot and grain farming define a county where Cimarron serves the surrounding energy and agricultural communities along the historic trail corridor.
Cimarron (the county seat, population ~2,200) is Gray County’s governmental and commercial hub, a southwest Kansas agricultural town on the Arkansas River along US 50.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Gray County Appraiser at 300 S. Main Street, Cimarron, KS 67835, phone 620-855-3821.
Courts & Legal
Gray County District Court at 300 S. Main Street, Cimarron, KS 67835, phone 620-855-3618, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
300 S. Main St., Cimarron, KS 67835
(620) 855-3618
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
300 S. Main St., Cimarron, KS 67835
(620) 855-3812
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
300 S. Main St., Cimarron, KS 67835
(620) 855-3618
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Gray County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The historic Santa Fe Trail, which runs through the county, is a significant local historical and genealogical resource area.
Local societies
No dedicated Gray 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
Gray County District Court, 16th Judicial District 300 South Main Street, Cimarron, KS 67835 (620) 855-3812 Gray County is in southwestern Kansas, seated in Cimarron along the historic Santa Fe Trail.
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 Gray 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
300 S. Main St., Cimarron, KS 67835
(620) 855-3701
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
300 S. Main St., Cimarron, KS 67835
(620) 855-3618
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
300 S. Main St., Cimarron, KS 67835
(620) 855-3618
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Gray County Health Dept
(620) 855-3226
KS DCF — Southwest Region
(620) 624-3406
KS Medicaid (KanCare)
(800) 792-4884
Southwest Medical Center (Liberal)
swmedcenter.com (adjacent Seward County — regional hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Gray County Health Department – confirm current contact via grayco.org.
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