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Office: Morton County Emergency Management – 722 S. Stevens Avenue, Elkhart, KS 67950 | (620) 697-2803. Coverage area of roughly 729 square miles.
Sheriff: Morton County Sheriff’s Office / Elkhart Police Department (combined Law Enforcement Center) – 1025 Morton Street, Elkhart, KS 67950 | (620) 697-2157; Sheriff Thad Earls, who also serves as Elkhart Police Chief and 911 Communications Administrator due to the combined agency structure.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-56 and K-27 serve Elkhart, the county seat, in the far southwestern corner of Kansas.
Notes: Morton County was organized February 20, 1886, carved from Seward County and named for Oliver P. Morton, 14th governor of Indiana.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Morton County Courthouse – Elkhart, KS.
Notes: Morton County holds genuine, nationally significant Dust Bowl history – it was identified as the single most severely affected county in the entire nation during the 1930s Dust Bowl, after unsustainable farming and grazing practices combined with prolonged drought turned the land into blowing sand. Beginning in 1938, the federal government purchased bankrupt farmland and began restoring native prairie, eventually creating the Cimarron National Grassland in 1960 – today the largest single tract of public land in Kansas at over 108,000 acres. Twenty-three miles of the historic Santa Fe Trail’s Cimarron Cutoff cross the grassland, including two of the trail’s best-known landmarks: Point of Rocks, a flat-topped rock outcrop and the third-highest point in Kansas at 3,540 feet, used historically as a lookout by both Native Americans and Santa Fe Trail travelers; and Middle Spring, one of only a few reliable water sources along more than 150 miles of the Cimarron Cutoff. Mountain man Jedediah Smith was killed by Comanche warriors near the grassland in 1831.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Morton County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via mtcoks.com.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Elkhart Public Library (Elkhart) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Cimarron National Grassland (including a 30-mile self-guided auto tour, Point of Rocks, and Middle Spring) and the Morton County Historical Society Museum are the county’s premier heritage and outdoor attractions.
Notes: The genuine national significance of Morton County’s Dust Bowl devastation, alongside the well-preserved Santa Fe Trail landmarks within Cimarron National Grassland, are among the most historically and geographically rich facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Morton County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via mtcoks.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Elkhart Animal Shelter (City of Elkhart) – 433 Morton Street, Elkhart, KS 67950 | (620) 697-2171 | Fax (620) 697-2172. Animals held a minimum of 3 days before adoption; neutering/rabies deposit required.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Morton County Noxious Weed & Landfill – confirm current contact via mtcoks.com.
NOTES: Morton County is the sixth and final county in the tenth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine national significance of Morton County’s Dust Bowl devastation, alongside the well-preserved Santa Fe Trail landmarks within Cimarron National Grassland, are among the most historically and geographically rich 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 Morton County County
Morton County is Kansas’s far southwest corner – the Cimarron National Grassland’s longest remaining Santa Fe Trail segment and the tri-state corner of Kansas, Colorado, and Oklahoma near the 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Run starting point define the most remote county in Kansas near the intersection of three states and two of the American West’s defining stories.
Elkhart (the county seat, population ~1,700) is Morton County’s governmental hub on US 56, a far southwest Kansas community near the tri-state corner whose Cimarron Grassland access, Santa Fe Trail heritage, and shortgrass plains setting anchor its identity.
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Morton County Appraiser at 1025 Morton Street, Elkhart, KS 67950, phone 620-697-2157. KS assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Morton County District Court at 1025 Morton Street, Elkhart, KS 67950, phone 620-697-2157, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
1025 Morton St., Elkhart, KS 67950
(620) 697-2157
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
1025 Morton St., Elkhart, KS 67950
(620) 697-2563
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
1025 Morton St., Elkhart, KS 67950
(620) 697-2157
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Morton County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Morton 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
Morton County District Court, 26th Judicial District 1025 Morton Street, P.O. Box 825, Elkhart, KS 67950
Morton County was founded February 20, 1886, named for Vice President Oliver Morton. Its seat, Elkhart, sits on the Kansas-Oklahoma border, named after Elkhart, Indiana.
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 Morton 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
1025 Morton St., Elkhart, KS 67950
(620) 697-2157
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
1025 Morton St., Elkhart, KS 67950
(620) 697-2157
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
1025 Morton St., Elkhart, KS 67950
(620) 697-2157
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Morton County Health Department – confirm current contact via mtcoks.com.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Elkhart
Population: 2,700
Area: 730 sq mi
Established: 1886
Public Records
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