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Kansas County
Labette County, Kansas
The Bloody Benders of Labette County - from the Bloody Benders (the most notorious serial killers in Kansas history - the Bender family operated an inn on the Osage Trail in Labette County from 1872-1873, systematically murdering at least 11 travelers for their money before disappearing - the mystery of what happened to the Benders after their crimes were discovered has never been definitively resolved, making them one of American history's most compelling cold cases) and Parsons's railroad heritage as a Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway division point.
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Office: Labette County Emergency Management – 718 5th Street, Oswego, KS 67356 | (620) 795-2565; Director Charlie Morse, Coordinator Brandy Grassl. Housed at the Law Enforcement Center’s Emergency Operations Center. Labette County Emergency Communications Center (LCEC) dispatches for the Sheriff’s Office, Altamont, Oswego, and Chetopa PDs, Parsons Fire (full-time), nine volunteer fire departments, Labette Health EMS, and Emergency Management; IAED-certified dispatchers.
Roads: US-59 and US-160 serve Oswego, the county seat, and Parsons, the county’s largest city, in southeastern Kansas.
Notes: Labette County was established February 26, 1867, named for LaBette Creek, itself named for French-Canadian fur trapper Pierre LaBette, who settled along the Neosho River and married into the Osage tribe in the 1830s-40s. Oswego sits on the site of a former Osage village called No-tse-wa-spe (“Heart Stays,” or “Quiet Heart”).
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Labette County Courthouse – Oswego, KS.
Notes: Parsons, founded in 1870 by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway (the “Katy”), grew into a significant railroad division point, with the Katy’s employee-funded hospital (completed 1922) later becoming the public Labette Health system after county acquisition in 1985. Though the railroad’s dominance faded after WWII, Parsons preserves this heritage through its historical society museum, the annual Katy Days Festival, and the tracks still running through downtown. In 2006, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named Parsons a winner of the Great American Main Street Award for its successful historic-preservation-driven downtown revitalization. The city rebuilt after an F3 tornado struck on April 19, 2000, damaging roughly 700 homes and 60 businesses.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Labette County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via labettecounty.com.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Oswego Carnegie Library (Oswego) – National Register of Historic Places. Parsons Public Library (Parsons).
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Big Hill Lake, the Katy Railroad museum and annual Katy Days Festival, and revitalized downtown Parsons are the county’s premier heritage and recreational attractions.
Notes: The genuine Katy Railroad heritage and Parsons’s award-winning downtown revitalization are distinctive local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Labette County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via labettecounty.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
City of Parsons Animal Control (Parsons Police Department) – animals taken to Parsons Pet Hospital, 5021 West Main, Parsons, boarded 3 days; report animals at large via (620) 795-2131 area line. Outside city limits: Proud Animal Lovers (PALS) Shelter – 24052 Meade Road, Parsons, KS; state-licensed, no-kill nonprofit since 2010, offers $10 low-income spay/neuter clinics. Labette County Humane Society – Parsons, KS, PO Box 178.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Labette County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via labettecounty.com.
NOTES: Labette County is the fourth county in the eighth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine Katy Railroad heritage and Parsons’s award-winning downtown revitalization 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 Labette County
Labette County is southeastern Kansas’s Bloody Benders county – the most notorious serial killers in Kansas history operated an inn on the Osage Trail in Labette County before vanishing in 1873, leaving an unresolved mystery that has fascinated true crime enthusiasts for 150 years.
The Bender family – John, Ma, John Jr., and Kate – murdered at least 11 travelers at their inn near Cherryvale, concealing bodies in a trap door below their dining room. When the crimes were discovered in 1873, the family had vanished. Whether they were captured and lynched or escaped to live out their days in anonymity remains unknown.
Parsons (population ~9,000) grew as a Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway division point and is the county’s largest city.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Labette County Appraiser at 501 Merchant Street, Oswego, KS 67356, phone 620-795-2548. KS residential assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Labette County District Court at 501 Merchant Street, Oswego, KS 67356, phone 620-795-2926, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
501 Merchant St., Oswego, KS 67356
(620) 795-2138
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
501 Merchant St., Oswego, KS 67356
(620) 795-2523
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
501 Merchant St., Oswego, KS 67356
(620) 795-2138
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Labette County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Labette 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
Labette County District Court 517 Merchant Street, Oswego, KS 67356 (620) 795-4533 Labette County is in southeastern Kansas, seated in Oswego.
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 Labette 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
501 Merchant St., Oswego, KS 67356
(620) 795-2564
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
501 Merchant St., Oswego, KS 67356
(620) 795-2138
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
501 Merchant St., Oswego, KS 67356
(620) 795-2138
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Labette County Health Dept
(620) 795-2174
KS DCF — Southeast Region
(620) 421-3450
KS Medicaid (KanCare)
(800) 792-4884
Labette Health (Parsons)
labettehealth.com (quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Labette Health – 1902 S. US Highway 59, Parsons, KS 67357 | (620) 421-4881 or (800) 843-5262.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Oswego
Population: 19,000
Area: 653 sq mi
Established: 1867
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Labette County residents.
