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.
Kansas County
Stevens County, Kansas
Hugoton natural gas field and southwest Kansas - from the Hugoton Gas Field (the Hugoton natural gas area is one of the largest natural gas fields in the world, spanning parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas - the field has produced natural gas continuously since the 1920s and the region around Hugoton is defined by the pump jacks, compressor stations, and pipelines of one of America's most prolific energy-producing landscapes) to Stevens County's irrigated agriculture (Ogallala Aquifer irrigation enables corn, wheat, and sorghum production across the otherwise arid southwest Kansas high plains, sustaining farming communities alongside the energy industry).
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.
Office: Stevens County Emergency Services – 426 S. Jackson, Hugoton, KS 67951 | (620) 544-2052; Director Rodney Kelling. Volunteer department.
Sheriff: Stevens County Sheriff’s Office – 510 S. Monroe Street, Hugoton, KS 67951 | (620) 544-4386 | Fax (620) 544-2656; Sheriff Ted Heaton. 10 full-time sworn officers.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-56 and K-25 serve Hugoton, the county seat, in the far southwestern corner of Kansas.
Notes: Stevens County was established August 3, 1886, named for Reconstruction-era Pennsylvania politician Thaddeus Stevens. Hugoton was first named “Hugo” after novelist Victor Hugo before being renamed.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Stevens County Courthouse – Hugoton, KS.
Notes: Stevens County’s early years were marked by the genuinely violent Stevens County War, a bitter feud between rival towns Hugoton and Woodsdale over which would become the permanent county seat. Tensions escalated over several years into arrests, kidnappings, and killings, climaxing on July 25, 1888 in the Hay Meadow Massacre: a Hugoton posse led by marshal Sam Robinson ambushed and killed Woodsdale’s Sheriff John Cross and three of his men in a remote hay meadow near Wild Horse Lake, just south of the Kansas border in what was then “No Man’s Land” (present-day Oklahoma Panhandle). Robinson fled and was never brought to trial for the killings; the Kansas governor deployed state militia to the county to restore order, and Hugoton was ultimately confirmed as the permanent county seat. Decades later, Stevens County’s fortunes turned dramatically upward with the 1927 discovery of natural gas, which developed into the Hugoton Natural Gas Area – part of the broader Hugoton-Panhandle field, one of the largest natural gas fields ever found in North America – transforming Hugoton into a genuine energy-industry hub that still shapes the local economy today.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Stevens County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via stevenscoks.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Stevens County Library (Hugoton) – confirm current address/phone via stevenscoks.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Historical markers and local museums recounting the Stevens County War are the county’s primary heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, well-documented history of the Hay Meadow Massacre and the Hugoton Natural Gas Area’s role in one of North America’s largest gas fields are among the most distinctive frontier and energy histories covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Stevens County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via stevenscoks.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Hugoton Animal Shelter – Mailing: PO Box 788, Hugoton, KS 67951 | via City of Hugoton, (620) 544-4386 or 402 W. 11th Street. Licensed by the Kansas Department of Agriculture; works to reunite lost animals with owners and adopt out unclaimed animals.
City of Moscow also maintains a licensed animal facility for the Moscow area of Stevens County.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Stevens County Landfill & Noxious Weed – confirm current contact via stevenscoks.org.
NOTES: Stevens County is the fifth county in the fifteenth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, well-documented history of the Hay Meadow Massacre and the Hugoton Natural Gas Area’s role in one of North America’s largest gas fields are among the most distinctive frontier and energy histories covered anywhere 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 Stevens County
Stevens County is southwest Kansas’s world’s largest natural gas field and irrigated agriculture county – Hugoton’s position at the heart of the massive Hugoton gas field and the Ogallala-irrigated farming operations define a county whose dual energy and agricultural economy sustains one of southwest Kansas’s more remote border communities near Oklahoma.
Hugoton (the county seat, population ~3,300) is Stevens County’s governmental and commercial hub, a southwest Kansas energy and agriculture town on US 56 near the Oklahoma border.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Stevens County Appraiser at 200 E. 6th Street, Hugoton, KS 67951, phone 620-544-2401.
Courts & Legal
Stevens County District Court at 200 E. 6th Street, Hugoton, KS 67951, phone 620-544-2541, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
200 E. 6th St., Hugoton, KS 67951
(620) 544-2541
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
200 E. 6th St., Hugoton, KS 67951
(620) 544-2771
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
200 E. 6th St., Hugoton, KS 67951
(620) 544-2541
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Stevens County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The natural gas production heritage of Hugoton is a significant local historical topic.
Local societies
No dedicated Stevens 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
Stevens County District Court, 26th Judicial District 200 East 6th Street, Hugoton, KS 67951 (620) 544-2484
Stevens County is in southwestern Kansas, seated in Hugoton, historically a major natural gas production area.
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 Stevens 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
200 E. 6th St., Hugoton, KS 67951
(620) 544-4220
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
200 E. 6th St., Hugoton, KS 67951
(620) 544-2541
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
200 E. 6th St., Hugoton, KS 67951
(620) 544-2541
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Stevens County Community Health Department – 505 S. Polk, Hugoton, KS | (620) 544-7177. Stevens County Hospital – 1006 S. Jackson, Hugoton, KS | (620) 544-8511.
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: Hugoton
Population: 5,400
Area: 727 sq mi
Established: 1873
Tier: 4
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Stevens County residents.
