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Office: Woodson County Emergency Management – 105 W. Rutledge Street, Yates Center, KS 66783; Director John Atkin.
Sheriff: Woodson County Sheriff’s Office – 105 W. Rutledge Street, Yates Center, KS 66783 | (620) 625-8640 | Fax (620) 625-8672; Sheriff Jacob Morrison. Dispatch offers text-to-911 and NexGen 911 mapping technology.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-54 and US-75 serve Yates Center, the county seat, in southeastern Kansas.
Notes: Woodson County was established by the territorial legislature in 1855, named for Daniel Woodson, a territorial secretary. The county seat moved several times between Neosho Falls, Kalida, and Defiance before settling permanently at Yates Center in 1876.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Woodson County Courthouse – Courthouse Square, Yates Center, KS (built 1899-1900, Late Victorian style, designed by prolific Kansas courthouse architect George P. Washburn; National Register of Historic Places since 1985, part of the Yates Center Courthouse Square Historic District with over 30 contributing downtown buildings).
Notes: Yates Center holds a genuinely unique distinction in Kansas history: it is the only town in the state ever selected as a county seat before it had a single house or resident within its boundaries. Founded in August 1875, the town was named for Abner Yates, the original townsite owner, who donated an entire block around the planned courthouse, land for churches, a city park, and a lot each for the first two children born in the new town.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Woodson County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via woodsoncounty.net.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Yates Center Public Library (Yates Center) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Yates Center Courthouse Square Historic District, Woodson County Historical Museum (208 W. Mary Street, Yates Center), Toronto Lake, and Woodson State Fishing Lake are the county’s premier heritage and outdoor attractions.
Notes: The genuine, one-of-a-kind story of Yates Center being chosen as a county seat before it had any residents is among the most distinctive founding stories covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Woodson County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via woodsoncounty.net.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Yates Center Animal Shelter (City of Yates Center) – 117 E. Rutledge, Yates Center, KS 66783 | (620) 625-2118 | Email: [email protected]. Contact City Hall to arrange a shelter visit.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Woodson County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via woodsoncounty.net.
NOTES: Woodson County is a supplemental county completed after the main Kansas Round 3 batches, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, one-of-a-kind story of Yates Center being chosen as a county seat before it had any residents is among the most distinctive founding stories 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 Woodson County County
Woodson County is southeast Kansas’s Verdigris River and Flint Hills-to-Osage Plains transition county – the river bottomland and the ecological transition from tallgrass prairie to eastern timber define a small community where Yates Center serves the surrounding cattle and farming families in the southeast Kansas interior.
Yates Center (the county seat, population ~1,300) is Woodson County’s governmental hub on US 54, a southeast Kansas agricultural community whose Verdigris River access, Woodson Lake fishing, and cattle economy anchor its identity.
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Woodson County Appraiser at 105 W. Rutledge Street, Yates Center, KS 66783, phone 620-625-8620. KS assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Woodson County District Court at 105 W. Rutledge Street, Yates Center, KS 66783, phone 620-625-8605, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
105 W. Butler, Yates Center, KS 66783
(620) 625-8605
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
105 W. Butler, Yates Center, KS 66783
(620) 625-8604
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
105 W. Butler, Yates Center, KS 66783
(620) 625-8605
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Woodson County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1899-1900 Woodson County Courthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Woodson 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
Woodson County District Court, 31st Judicial District 105 West Rutledge Street, P.O. Box 228, Yates Center, KS 66783 (620) 625-8610
Woodson County was established by the territorial legislature in 1857, named for Daniel Woodson. Its county seat moved several times (Neosho Falls, Kalida, Defiance) before settling in Yates Center in 1876. The 1899-1900 Woodson County Courthouse (Late Victorian, National Register of Historic Places) sits on Courthouse Square.
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 Woodson 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
105 W. Butler, Yates Center, KS 66783
(620) 625-2343
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
105 W. Butler, Yates Center, KS 66783
(620) 625-8605
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
105 W. Butler, Yates Center, KS 66783
(620) 625-8605
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Woodson County Health Dept
(620) 625-8580
KS DCF — Southeast Region
(620) 331-0900
KS Medicaid (KanCare)
(800) 792-4884
Toronto State Hospital area
(no hospital in county — nearest: Chanute or Iola)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Woodson County Health Department – confirm current contact via woodsoncounty.net.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Yates Center
Population: 3,200
Area: 499 sq mi
Established: 1855
Public Records
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