Kiowa County, Kansas: History
=== 19th century ===
In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, then in 1861 Kansas became the 34th U.S. state. In 1867, Kiowa County was established and named after the Kiowa tribe. In 1875, the county's land was given to a nearby county, but in 1886, Kiowa County was reestablished and organized.
The Santa Fe Railroad was built into the county around the time it was organized. The Greensburg Well, one of the largest hand-dug wells in the world, was built in 1887-1888. It has been a popular tourist attraction since 1939. The well is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The first oil well in Kiowa County was drilled in 1917.
Mabel Chase ran for county sheriff after her husband's time in the office was term-limited and became the state's first female elected sheriff. Her husband provided her the family's armored 1926 Hudson Super Six, and she was the first sheriff in Kansas to be supplied with a Thompson submachine gun. Chase conducted raids on local stills.
On the evening of May 4, 2007, Greensburg was devastated by a massive EF5 tornado. It killed 11 people, injured 63 others, and destroyed 95% of the community.
The Kiowa County Courthouse was renovated with new windows and roof after the 2007 tornado damaged it. Originally, construction of the building started in 1920.
Throughout the night of May 18, 2025, Kiowa County was once hit again by storms. A family of large tornadoes, five of them rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, struck rural homes and farmsteads across the county. A tornado emergency was prompted for the second time in Greensburg's history from one of the tornadoes.