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Kansas County
Wilson County, Kansas
Neodesha's first commercial oil well and the Verdigris River valley - from Neodesha's distinction as the site of the first commercial oil well west of the Mississippi River (the Neodesha oil well, drilled in 1892 by Standard Oil, was the first commercially productive oil well in the western United States - the discovery launched the Kansas oil industry and established Neodesha as a significant refining center for decades) to the Verdigris River valley's southeastern Kansas agricultural landscape and the Big Hill Lake recreation area.
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Office: Wilson County Emergency Management – 421 N. 7th, Fredonia, KS 66736. Wilson County 911 Dispatch – 925 Pierce Street, Fredonia, KS 66736 | (620) 378-2369; Director Bambi Rimel. County enrolled in the Genasys weather alert and warning program.
Sheriff: Wilson County Sheriff’s Office – 925 Pierce Street, Fredonia, KS 66736 | (620) 378-3622; Sheriff Harold Kuhn.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-400 and US-75 serve Fredonia, the county seat, in southeastern Kansas.
Notes: Wilson County was created in 1855 within the Osage Reserve; first white settlers arrived in 1857. Named for Colonel Hiero T. Wilson, a prominent Fort Scott sutler and postmaster. The county seat was contested through eight elections between 1869 and 1873 before Fredonia prevailed.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Wilson County Courthouse – 615 Madison Street, Fredonia, KS (built 1968-69, Modern style, retains the clock from the original 1885 courthouse).
Notes: The city of Neodesha, in Wilson County, is a genuinely significant site in American energy history: it’s where the Norman No. 1 well struck oil on November 28, 1892, becoming the first commercially productive oil well in the Mid-Continent Oil Field – a region spanning Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas that became America’s leading oil-producing region through the late 1930s. Drilled by William Mills on land leased from local blacksmith T.J. Norman (for whom the well was named), the discovery drew in investors John Guffey and James Galey before being acquired by the Forest Oil Company, a Standard Oil subsidiary, which opened a refinery at Neodesha in 1897. The Norman No. 1 site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1977 and is preserved today at Neodesha’s Norman No. 1 Museum, with a reconstructed wooden drilling rig.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Wilson County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via wilsoncountykansas.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Fredonia Public Library (Fredonia) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Norman No. 1 Museum in Neodesha is the county’s premier and most nationally significant heritage attraction.
Notes: The genuine, National Historic Landmark status of the Norman No. 1 well as the birthplace of the Mid-Continent Oil Field is among the most historically significant industrial sites covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Wilson County Appraiser’s Office / Parcel Search – confirm current contact via wilsoncountykansas.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Wilson County Sheriff’s Office Animal Enforcement – sheltering, adoptions, low-cost spay/neuter, TNVR, and community outreach; contact via the Sheriff’s Office, (620) 378-3622.
City of Fredonia Animal Pound – animal control and licensing via Fredonia City Hall; adoptable animals listed through Fredonia Pound Pals. $20 impoundment fee plus $3/day care; adoption fees $35 (fixed) or $55 (unfixed, refunded upon proof of spay/neuter).
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Wilson County Landfill – confirm current contact via wilsoncountykansas.org.
NOTES: Wilson County is a supplemental county completed after the main Kansas Round 3 batches, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, National Historic Landmark status of the Norman No. 1 well as the birthplace of the Mid-Continent Oil Field is among the most historically significant industrial sites 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 Wilson County
Wilson County is southeastern Kansas’s first western oil well county – Neodesha’s 1892 Standard Oil discovery was the first commercial oil well west of the Mississippi River, launching the Kansas petroleum industry.
Neodesha (population ~2,300) preserves the site of the historic 1892 oil discovery – the Norman No. 1 well that Standard Oil drilled launched an industry that would transform the Kansas economy. The Neodesha Oil Museum documents this pioneering petroleum history.
Fredonia (the county seat, population ~2,300) serves the county’s governmental needs along the Verdigris River, and Big Hill Lake provides regional recreation.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Wilson County Appraiser at 615 Madison Street, Suite 103, Fredonia, KS 66736, phone 620-378-4030. KS residential assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Wilson County District Court at 615 Madison Street, Fredonia, KS 66736, phone 620-378-4030, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
615 Madison St., Fredonia, KS 66736
(620) 378-2186
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
615 Madison St., Fredonia, KS 66736
(620) 378-3145
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
615 Madison St., Fredonia, KS 66736
(620) 378-2186
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Wilson County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Wilson 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
Wilson County District Court, 31st Judicial District 615 Madison Street, Room 214/241, P.O. Box 246, Fredonia, KS 66736 (620) 378-4533
Wilson County was founded August 25, 1855, named for Hiero T. Wilson, a settler and postmaster of Fort Scott. Fredonia has been the county seat since 1873, following eight elections over a county-seat dispute from 1869-1873.
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 Wilson 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
615 Madison St., Fredonia, KS 66736
(620) 378-2128
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
615 Madison St., Fredonia, KS 66736
(620) 378-2186
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
615 Madison St., Fredonia, KS 66736
(620) 378-2186
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Wilson County Health Dept
(620) 378-2671
KS DCF — Southeast Region
(620) 331-0900
KS Medicaid (KanCare)
(800) 792-4884
Wilson Medical Center (Neodesha)
wilsonmedical.org (quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Wilson County Health Department – confirm current contact via wilsoncountykansas.org.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Fredonia
Population: 8,600
Area: 573 sq mi
Established: 1855
Tier: 3
Public Records
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