Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Roads: US-24 and K-23 serve Hoxie, the county seat, in northwestern Kansas.
Notes: Sheridan County was established in 1873, named for Union General Philip Sheridan. Hoxie, laid out in 1886, was named for railroad official H.M. Hoxie; its founders convinced nearby Kenneth Township’s residents to relocate their entire town – buildings included – to the new site, since the coming rail line would pass through Hoxie rather than Kenneth, making Hoxie the new county seat.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Sheridan County Courthouse – 925 9th Street, Hoxie, KS.
Notes: Sheridan County is home to the genuinely charming Cottonwood Ranch State Historic Site, near the small community of Studley. Englishman Abraham Pratt, who had first visited America during the Colorado Gold Rush, returned to Kansas in 1878 with sons John Fenton and Tom and bought land along the South Solomon River. Beginning in 1885, the family – sheep ranchers back in Yorkshire, England – built a stone ranch house with a sod roof, later expanded with wood-framed additions, and established a genuinely successful working sheep operation; Fenton Pratt’s business ledgers record shipping over 3,500 pounds of wool to markets in St. Louis and Philadelphia in a single two-month stretch in 1891. Fenton’s fiancée, Jennie Elizabeth Place, traveled alone from Ripon, England to marry him in December 1888, and the family’s photograph collection of roughly 600 glass plates documents ranch life and neighboring settlers from the 1880s through the 1930s. The State of Kansas purchased 23 acres of the original ranch in 1982-83, and the Kansas Historical Society preserves it today as a National Register of Historic Places site (listed 1983), with guided and self-guided tours of the house and outbuildings.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Sheridan County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via sheridancountyks.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Hoxie Public Library (Hoxie) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Cottonwood Ranch State Historic Site and the Mickey Museum (with an authentic one-room schoolhouse on the grounds, operated by the Sheridan County Historical Society) are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, well-documented story of an English sheep-ranching family on the Kansas high plains is among the most distinctive settlement histories covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Sheridan County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via sheridancountyks.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Sheridan County animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Residents should contact the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office, (785) 675-3481, or the Hoxie Police Department, (785) 675-3291, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Sheridan County Landfill / Household Hazardous Waste / Recycling – confirm current contact via sheridancountyks.gov.
NOTES: Sheridan County is the sixth and final county in the fourteenth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, well-documented story of an English sheep-ranching family on the Kansas high plains is among the most distinctive settlement histories covered anywhere in this project. ⚠️ Animal services could not be confirmed and are 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 Sheridan County County
Sheridan County is northwest Kansas’s Sappa Creek and shortgrass prairie wheat county – the creek whose Cheyenne name and Indian Wars history connect the county to the final chapter of the plains conflicts and the flat wheat and cattle farming landscape define a remote community where Hoxie serves the county’s agricultural families near Nebraska.
Hoxie (the county seat, population ~1,200) is Sheridan County’s governmental hub on US 83, a northwest Kansas agricultural community whose Sappa Creek history, wheat economy, and courthouse anchor its identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Sheridan County Appraiser at 925 9th Street, Hoxie, KS 67740, phone 785-675-3221. KS assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Sheridan County District Court at 925 9th Street, Hoxie, KS 67740, phone 785-675-3451, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
925 9th St., Hoxie, KS 67740
(785) 675-3451
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
925 9th St., Hoxie, KS 67740
(785) 675-3641
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
925 9th St., Hoxie, KS 67740
(785) 675-3451
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Sheridan County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Sheridan 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
Sheridan County District Court, 15th Judicial District 925 9th Street, P.O. Box 753, Hoxie, KS 67740 (785) 675-3451
Sheridan County was founded 1873, named for Union general Philip Sheridan. Its seat, Hoxie, is also 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 Sheridan 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
925 9th St., Hoxie, KS 67740
(785) 675-3271
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
925 9th St., Hoxie, KS 67740
(785) 675-3451
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
925 9th St., Hoxie, KS 67740
(785) 675-3451
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Sheridan County Public Health – confirm current contact via sheridancountyks.gov.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Hoxie
Population: 2,500
Area: 898 sq mi
Established: 1873
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Sheridan County County residents.
