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Kansas County
Phillips County, Kansas
Phillipsburg and North Fork Solomon wheat country - from Phillipsburg's Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (the state sports hall of fame is headquartered in Phillipsburg, an unexpected cultural institution in the northwest Kansas wheat plains that celebrates Kansas athletes from across the state's history) to Phillips County's productive wheat and cattle landscape (the North Fork Solomon River corridor supports winter wheat, sorghum, and cattle operations across the county's rolling plains terrain between the Nebraska border and the Smoky Hills region).
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Office: Phillips County Emergency Management – 301 State Street, Suite A, Phillipsburg, KS 67661 | (785) 543-6825 | Email: [email protected].
Sheriff: Phillips County Sheriff’s Office – 301 State Street, Phillipsburg, KS 67661 | (785) 543-6885. The City of Phillipsburg contracts with the county for law enforcement services.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Anyone planning open burning must call the Sheriff’s Office in advance to confirm it’s permitted, and again once the fire is extinguished.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-36 and US-183 serve Phillipsburg, the county seat, in northwestern Kansas.
Notes: Phillips County was established February 26, 1867, named for William A. Phillips, a free-state abolitionist journalist and Civil War colonel. Phillipsburg was organized in 1872, chosen for its central location as county seat, and incorporated as a city in 1880.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Phillips County Courthouse – Phillipsburg, KS (current courthouse built 1912).
Notes: Phillipsburg is genuinely famous statewide as the home of “Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo,” first held in September 1929 at what is now Phillipsburg Athletic Stadium, when rodeo stock was gathered from across Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska and 35 cowboys from nine states competed. In 1931, the Saturday Evening Post’s Courtney Riley Cooper compared the rodeo’s significance to the yacht races and the World Series. Still held annually the first weekend of August, the event swells Phillipsburg’s population several times over and remains, by local accounts, a major economic lifeline for the town. Fort Bissell, built in 1872 on land owned by John Bissell for settler protection, now operates as a museum showcasing county history.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Phillips County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via phillipscountyks.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Phillipsburg Public Library (Phillipsburg) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Phillips County Rodeo Grounds (home of Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo), Fort Bissell Museum, the C&R Railroad Museum, and Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge are the county’s premier heritage and outdoor attractions.
Notes: The genuine, decades-long fame of “Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo” is one of the most widely recognized annual events covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Phillips County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via phillipscountyks.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Kansas Dept. of Agriculture licensing records list a City of Phillipsburg animal shelter, though the city’s own website states Phillipsburg “is not licensed to shelter cats or other animals” and directs residents to local veterinarians instead – this discrepancy should be confirmed directly. City animal control complaints (dogs at large, missing pets) can be directed to Animal Control Officer Timothy Driggs via Phillipsburg City Office, (785) 543-5234.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Phillips County Landfill and Recycling – confirm current contact via phillipscountyks.org.
NOTES: Phillips County is the fourth county in the twelfth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, decades-long fame of “Kansas’ Biggest Rodeo” is one of the most widely recognized annual events covered anywhere in this project. ⚠️ A discrepancy in animal shelter licensing status is 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 Phillips County
Phillips County is northwest Kansas’s Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and North Fork Solomon River wheat county – the state’s sports hall of fame and the county’s productive wheat plains define a community where Phillipsburg serves the surrounding agricultural communities near the Nebraska border.
Phillipsburg (the county seat, population ~2,500) is Phillips County’s governmental and commercial hub, a northwest Kansas agricultural town on US 36 along the North Fork Solomon River.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Phillips County Appraiser at 301 State Street, Phillipsburg, KS 67661, phone 785-543-6825.
Courts & Legal
Phillips County District Court at 301 State Street, Phillipsburg, KS 67661, phone 785-543-6830, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
301 State St., Phillipsburg, KS 67661
(785) 543-6825
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
301 State St., Phillipsburg, KS 67661
(785) 543-6825
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
301 State St., Phillipsburg, KS 67661
(785) 543-6825
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Phillips County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Phillips 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
Phillips County District Court, 17th Judicial District 301 State Street, P.O. Box 564, Phillipsburg, KS 67661 (785) 543-6830
Phillips County was founded February 26, 1867, named for William A. Phillips. Its seat, Phillipsburg, is its largest city.
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 Phillips 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
301 State St., Phillipsburg, KS 67661
(785) 543-6885
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
301 State St., Phillipsburg, KS 67661
(785) 543-6825
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
301 State St., Phillipsburg, KS 67661
(785) 543-6825
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Phillips County Health Department – 301 State Street, Phillipsburg, KS 67661. Phillips County Hospital and Phillips County Medical Clinic also serve the community.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Phillipsburg
Population: 5,200
Area: 886 sq mi
Established: 1872
Tier: 4
Public Records
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