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Kansas County
Harper County, Kansas
Anthony and south Kansas wheat and oil border country - from Anthony's role as the governmental hub of Harper County to the county's wheat and oil production landscape (Harper County's rolling plains along the Chikaskia River support winter wheat farming - the county sits on the Oklahoma border in the southern Kansas wheat belt where dryland farming traditions and some oil and gas production from the Anadarko Basin fringes have defined agricultural and energy communities for over a century).
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Office: Harper County Emergency Management – (620) 842-6006. Harper County Communications/911 Dispatch handles four 911 land-lines, two wireless trunks, text-to-911, and coordinates with Anthony PD/Fire, Attica PD, Harper PD, County EMS, and the Sheriff’s Office, plus mutual-aid monitoring of surrounding counties, 24/7.
Roads: US-160 and K-2 serve Anthony, the county seat, in south-central Kansas along the Oklahoma border.
Notes: Harper County was established February 26, 1867, named for Sergeant Marion Harper of the 2nd Kansas Cavalry, killed in the Civil War. Anthony’s path to becoming county seat was genuinely contentious: the county’s original 1873 organization was found to be fraudulent, and after reorganization in 1878 an 1879 county-seat election between Anthony and Harper City saw 2,960 ballots cast despite only about 800 legal voters in the entire county – Anthony ultimately prevailed and was named for then-Governor George T. Anthony.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Harper County Courthouse – 201 N. Jennings Avenue, Anthony, KS (built 1907-08, designed by George P. Washburn, National Register of Historic Places since 1978).
Notes: Anthony hosts the genuinely popular Sunflower Balloon Fest each Mother’s Day weekend – the largest annual event in Harper County, drawing hot air balloon pilots from across the country and 8,000-10,000 visitors over its three-day run, with hot air balloon rides, a parade, helicopter rides, and a kite festival centered on the Anthony Municipal Airport. That airport itself has notable history: it served as Kansas Wing headquarters for the Civil Air Patrol beginning December 1941 and hosted stationed B-17 Flying Fortress bombers during WWII.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Harper County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via harpercountyks.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Anthony Public Library (Anthony) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Anthony Municipal Airport (Sunflower Balloon Fest grounds), the Art Deco Anthony Theater (1936, National Register of Historic Places), Anthony Lake and its nine-hole golf course, and the Historical Museum of Anthony (in the former 1928 Santa Fe Railroad Depot) are the county’s premier heritage and recreational attractions.
Notes: The genuine popularity of the Sunflower Balloon Fest and the airport’s WWII Civil Air Patrol history are distinctive local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Harper County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via harpercountyks.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
A Harper County-based animal welfare organization is listed at PO Box 504, Anthony, KS 67003 in statewide shelter directories; confirm current name/contact via harpercountyks.gov or the Sheriff’s Office, (620) 842-5135.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Harper County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via harpercountyks.gov.
NOTES: Harper County is the fifth county in the sixth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine popularity of the Sunflower Balloon Fest and the airport’s WWII Civil Air Patrol history are distinctive local facts covered in this project. 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 Harper County
Harper County is south-central Kansas’s Chikaskia River wheat and Oklahoma border agricultural county – winter wheat farming across the rolling plains defines a county where Anthony provides governmental services to farming communities along the Kansas-Oklahoma border corridor between Wichita and Enid.
Anthony (the county seat, population ~2,100) is Harper County’s governmental and commercial hub, a south Kansas wheat town on US 281 near the Oklahoma border.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Harper County Appraiser at 201 N. Jennings Avenue, Anthony, KS 67003, phone 620-842-3313.
Courts & Legal
Harper County District Court at 201 N. Jennings Avenue, Anthony, KS 67003, phone 620-842-3721, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
201 S. Jennings Ave., Anthony, KS 67003
(620) 842-5555
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
201 S. Jennings Ave., Anthony, KS 67003
(620) 842-3721
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
201 S. Jennings Ave., Anthony, KS 67003
(620) 842-5555
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Harper County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Harper 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
Harper County District Court, 30th Judicial District 201 North Jennings Avenue, P.O. Box 467, Anthony, KS 67003 (620) 842-3721 Harper County is on the Oklahoma border in south-central Kansas, seated in Anthony.
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 Harper 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
201 S. Jennings Ave., Anthony, KS 67003
(620) 842-3717
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
201 S. Jennings Ave., Anthony, KS 67003
(620) 842-5555
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
201 S. Jennings Ave., Anthony, KS 67003
(620) 842-5555
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Harper County Health Department – confirm current contact via harpercountyks.gov.
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Editorial Trust
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Anthony
Population: 5,700
Area: 801 sq mi
Established: 1867
Tier: 4
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Harper County residents.
