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Office: Stanton County Emergency Management – PO Box 338, 900 W. Road 10, Johnson City, KS 67855; Coordinator Vaughn Lorenson, who also chairs the county’s Local Emergency Planning Committee. Outdoor warning sirens tested daily at noon (warn people outdoors, not indoors).
Sheriff: Stanton County Sheriff’s Office – 208 N. Chestnut Street, Johnson City, KS 67855 | Mailing: PO Box 520 | (620) 492-6866; Sheriff Clayton Kester.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-160 and K-27 serve Johnson City, the county seat, in the far southwestern corner of Kansas along the Colorado border.
Notes: Stanton County was organized in 1887, named for Edwin Stanton, Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War. Johnson City, founded in 1885 and incorporated in 1888, was named for A.S. Johnson.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Stanton County Courthouse – Johnson City, KS.
Notes: Stanton County sits partially within the historic Hugoton and Panoma Gas Fields, part of the vast Hugoton-Panhandle natural gas complex that stretches across southwestern Kansas, the Oklahoma Panhandle, and the Texas Panhandle. Natural gas was discovered in the region in the 1920s, and the field industrialized through the following decades; the broader Hugoton field is genuinely notable as one of the largest natural gas fields ever discovered in North America and, owing to a landmark 1905 University of Kansas discovery that helium could be extracted from Kansas natural gas, has long been recognized as one of the world’s largest sources of helium. The 1930s Dust Bowl also struck Stanton County hard, bringing severe dust storms and related health effects to residents already navigating the challenges of Great Plains farming.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Stanton County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via stantoncountyks.com.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Johnson City Public Library (Johnson City) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Stanton County Museum (Johnson City) is the county’s primary heritage attraction.
Notes: The genuine connection to the Hugoton Gas Field – one of North America’s largest natural gas deposits and a major world source of helium – is a distinctive piece of Kansas energy history covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Stanton County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via stantoncountyks.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
City of Johnson City Animal Services – dedicated to animal welfare and public safety for city/county residents; contact via City of Johnson City, johnsoncityks.com, or the Police Department, (620) 492-6866 (shared with Sheriff’s non-emergency line).
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Stanton County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via stantoncountyks.com.
NOTES: Stanton County is the fourth county in the fifteenth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine connection to the Hugoton Gas Field – one of North America’s largest natural gas deposits and a major world source of helium – is a distinctive piece of Kansas energy history 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 Stanton County County
Stanton County is far-southwest Kansas’s Ogallala Aquifer irrigated farming and Cimarron Grassland county – the center-pivot irrigation that transformed shortgrass prairie into productive cropland and the neighboring national grassland that preserves what existed before define a remote tri-state corner community where Johnson City serves the county’s sparse agricultural families.
Johnson City (the county seat, population ~1,200) is Stanton County’s governmental hub on US 160, a far-southwest Kansas community near Colorado and Oklahoma whose irrigated farming economy and courthouse anchor its identity.
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Stanton County Appraiser at 201 N. Main Street, Johnson City, KS 67855, phone 620-492-2194. KS assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Stanton County District Court at 201 N. Main Street, Johnson City, KS 67855, phone 620-492-2180, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
201 N. Main, Johnson City, KS 67855
(620) 492-2180
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
201 N. Main, Johnson City, KS 67855
(620) 492-2400
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
201 N. Main, Johnson City, KS 67855
(620) 492-2180
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Stanton County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Stanton 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
Stanton County District Court, 26th Judicial District 201 North Main Street, P.O. Box 913, Johnson, KS 67855 (620) 492-2180
Stanton County was founded 1887, named for Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Its seat, Johnson City, 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 Stanton 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
201 N. Main, Johnson City, KS 67855
(620) 492-6255
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
201 N. Main, Johnson City, KS 67855
(620) 492-2180
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
201 N. Main, Johnson City, KS 67855
(620) 492-2180
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Stanton County Health Dept
(620) 492-6201
KS DCF — Southwest Region
(620) 624-3406
KS Medicaid (KanCare)
(800) 792-4884
Stanton County Hospital
stantonhospital.com (Johnson City — quality critical access hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Stanton County Health Department – confirm current contact via stantoncountyks.com.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Johnson City
Population: 2,100
Area: 679 sq mi
Established: 1887
Public Records
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