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Office: Wallace County Emergency Management – coordinated through the Sheriff’s Office, Sharon Springs, KS; the Sheriff also serves in an emergency management role. CodeRED mobile alert system available for emergency notifications.
Sheriff: Wallace County Sheriff’s Office – 313 N. Main Street, Sharon Springs, KS 67758 | Mailing: PO Box 37 | (785) 852-4288; Sheriff Marshall Unruh. 2 officers; specialized search and rescue and tactical operations capability. Jail capacity 24 inmates. Hours: 24/7.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Wallace County observes Mountain Time.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-40 and K-27 serve Sharon Springs, the county seat, in far western Kansas along the Colorado border.
Notes: Wallace County was established in 1868, named for Union Brigadier General W.H.L. Wallace, mortally wounded at the Battle of Shiloh. Wallace County is the second-least populous county in Kansas. Sharon Springs was incorporated in 1890, named for Sharon Springs, New York.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Wallace County Courthouse – 313 N. Main Street, Sharon Springs, KS.
Notes: Wallace County is genuinely home to Mount Sunflower, the highest natural point in Kansas at 4,039 feet. The county also contains the site of Fort Wallace, a U.S. Army post established to protect the Butterfield Overland Despatch and Smoky Hill Trail during the era of conflict with Plains tribes; with troop strength never exceeding 350 men but more documented engagements than any other Western fort, it earned the nickname the “Fightin’est Fort in the West.” Legendary frontier figures stationed at or associated with Fort Wallace included General George Armstrong Custer (who fought his first battle against Native Americans nearby), scout and showman Buffalo Bill Cody, lawman Wild Bill Hickok, and George Forsyth. The post surgeon, Dr. Theophilus Turner, was also a noted fossil collector whose finds contributed to the scientific understanding of the region’s prehistory. Though the fort itself was decommissioned in 1882 and its buildings scavenged by settlers, the nearby town of Wallace preserves this history at the Fort Wallace Museum, established by the Fort Wallace Memorial Association in 1925 to save the deteriorating original fort cemetery; the museum grounds include a relocated 19th-century railroad depot and other historic structures, and a section of the museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Wallace County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via wallacecountyks.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Sharon Springs Public Library – 414 N. Main Street, Sharon Springs, KS 67758 | (785) 852-4685. Hours: Mon-Fri 9 AM-6 PM.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Mount Sunflower (highest point in Kansas) and the Fort Wallace Museum are the county’s premier natural and heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, storied Old West history of Fort Wallace – connected to Custer, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok – and the county’s status as home to the highest point in Kansas are among the most notable frontier and geographic facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Wallace County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via wallacecountyks.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Wallace County animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Residents should contact the Wallace County Sheriff’s Office, (785) 852-4288, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Wallace County Conservation District – PO Box 608, Sharon Springs, KS.
NOTES: Wallace County is the fourth county in the seventeenth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, storied Old West history of Fort Wallace – connected to Custer, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok – and the county’s status as home to the highest point in Kansas are among the most notable frontier and geographic facts 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 Wallace County County
Wallace County is one of Kansas’s least populous and most remote counties – the Arikaree Breaks canyon country near Colorado and the vast shortgrass prairie ranching landscape define a far-western Kansas community where Sharon Springs serves fewer than 1,400 residents near the Colorado border.
Sharon Springs (the county seat, population ~700) is Wallace County’s governmental hub on US 40, a far-western Kansas ranching community near Colorado whose Arikaree Breaks setting, shortgrass prairie ranching, and courthouse anchor its identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Wallace County Appraiser at 313 Main Street, Sharon Springs, KS 67758, phone 785-852-4282. KS assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Wallace County District Court at 313 Main Street, Sharon Springs, KS 67758, phone 785-852-4282, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
313 Main St., Sharon Springs, KS 67758
(785) 852-4282
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
313 Main St., Sharon Springs, KS 67758
(785) 852-4282
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
313 Main St., Sharon Springs, KS 67758
(785) 852-4282
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Wallace County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Wallace 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
Wallace County District Court, 15th Judicial District P.O. Box 8, Sharon Springs, KS 67758 (785) 852-4289 Wallace County is in far western Kansas on the Colorado border, seated in Sharon Springs.
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 Wallace 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
313 Main St., Sharon Springs, KS 67758
(785) 852-4442
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
313 Main St., Sharon Springs, KS 67758
(785) 852-4282
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
313 Main St., Sharon Springs, KS 67758
(785) 852-4282
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Wallace County Health Dept
(785) 852-4282
KS DCF — Northwest Region
(785) 626-3254
KS Medicaid (KanCare)
(800) 792-4884
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Wallace County Community Care Center (skilled nursing/assisted living) – 608 N. Kennedy, Sharon Springs, KS | (785) 852-4244.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Sharon Springs
Population: 1,500
Area: 914 sq mi
Established: 1888
Public Records
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