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Kansas County
Neosho County, Kansas
Chanute's Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum - from the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum in Chanute (one of the most remarkable small-city museums in America - Martin and Osa Johnson were pioneering wildlife filmmakers and explorers who documented African and South Pacific wildlife in the 1920s-30s, bringing the first moving images of gorillas, elephants, and Pacific islanders to American audiences; their Chanute hometown celebrates their extraordinary legacy with an exceptional collection of photographs, film equipment, and artifacts) to Chanute's role as a southeast Kansas regional hub and the Neosho River's agricultural corridor.
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Office: Neosho County Emergency Management – 402 E. State Street, Erie, KS 66733 | Mailing: PO Box 109 | (620) 244-3874 | Email: [email protected].
Sheriff: Neosho County Sheriff’s Office – 402 E. State Street, Erie, KS 66733 | (620) 244-3888; Sheriff Greg Taylor. Serves roughly 578 square miles and 16,500 residents including Chanute, Erie, St. Paul, and Thayer; operates an 80-bed jail. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM (24/7 dispatch).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-59 and US-169 serve Erie, the county seat, and Chanute, the county’s largest city, in southeastern Kansas.
Notes: Neosho County was established June 3, 1861, named for the Neosho River. Chanute, founded in 1873, is named for railroad engineer and aviation pioneer Octave Chanute, whose glider experiments in the 1890s directly influenced the Wright brothers’ work at Kitty Hawk.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Neosho County Courthouse – Erie, KS.
Notes: Chanute is home to the genuinely remarkable Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum. Osa Leighty was born and raised in Chanute; she married fellow Kansan Martin Johnson in 1910, and together the couple became among the most celebrated documentary filmmakers, photographers, and explorers of the early 20th century, traveling extensively through Africa, Borneo, and the South Pacific between 1917 and 1936. Their films (including “Simba,” 1928, and “Baboona,” 1935) and best-selling books, notably Osa’s “I Married Adventure,” popularized wildlife conservation and camera safaris for American audiences decades before television nature documentaries existed; the Johnsons also learned to fly at what is now Chanute Martin Johnson Airport, flying custom Sikorsky amphibious planes named “Spirit of Africa” and “Osa’s Ark.” Opened in 1961 in a restored 1903 building next to the Chanute Public Library, the museum has been recognized as one of the top museums in Kansas, housing thousands of the Johnsons’ photographs alongside African, Bornean, and Oceanic cultural artifacts. Both Johnsons are buried in Chanute’s Elmwood Cemetery.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Neosho County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via neoshocountyks.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Chanute Public Library (Chanute) – adjacent to the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum, Chanute Martin Johnson Airport, and Neosho County Community College are the county’s premier heritage and educational attractions.
Notes: The genuine, internationally significant careers of Martin and Osa Johnson, alongside Chanute’s namesake tie to Octave Chanute’s pioneering aviation work, make this one of the more historically rich small counties covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Neosho County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via neoshocountyks.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Chanute Animal Shelter (City of Chanute Animal Control) – 101 S. Lincoln Avenue, Chanute, KS 66720 | (620) 431-5768 | Fax (620) 431-5248 | Email: [email protected]; Officer Bill Penner. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM, plus one Saturday monthly and rotating evening hours.
Office: Neosho County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via neoshocountyks.org.
NOTES: Neosho County is the second county in the eleventh Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, internationally significant careers of Martin and Osa Johnson, alongside Chanute’s namesake tie to Octave Chanute’s pioneering aviation work, make this one of the more historically rich small counties 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 Neosho County
Neosho County is southeastern Kansas’s safari museum and Neosho River county – Chanute’s Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum celebrates two of the 20th century’s most remarkable wildlife explorers who called this Kansas community home.
Martin and Osa Johnson – married in 1910 – spent decades filming wildlife in Africa and the Pacific, producing films that introduced American audiences to gorillas, lions, and indigenous peoples. Their work established the template for wildlife documentary filmmaking.
Chanute (population ~9,000) is the county’s largest city and commercial hub for the surrounding agricultural region.
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Neosho County Appraiser at 100 S. Main Street, Erie, KS 66733, phone 620-244-3920. KS residential assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Neosho County District Court at 100 S. Main Street, Erie, KS 66733, phone 620-244-3830, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
100 S. Main St., Erie, KS 66733
(620) 244-3811
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
100 S. Main St., Erie, KS 66733
(620) 244-3859
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
100 S. Main St., Erie, KS 66733
(620) 244-3811
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Neosho County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Neosho 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
Neosho County District Court, 31st Judicial District 100 South Main Street, P.O. Box 19, Erie, KS 66733 Neosho County is in southeastern Kansas, seated in Erie.
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 Neosho 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
100 S. Main St., Erie, KS 66733
(620) 244-3864
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
100 S. Main St., Erie, KS 66733
(620) 244-3811
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
100 S. Main St., Erie, KS 66733
(620) 244-3811
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Neosho County Health Dept
(620) 244-3849
KS DCF — Southeast Region
(620) 331-0900
KS Medicaid (KanCare)
(800) 792-4884
Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center (Chanute)
nrmcc.com (quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Neosho County Health Department – confirm current contact via neoshocountyks.org.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Erie
Population: 15,000
Area: 573 sq mi
Established: 1866
Tier: 3
Public Records
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