Clark County, Kansas: History
Clark County, Kansas, was established on February 26, 1867, from the territory of the former Peketon County, and named for Charles F. Clarke, a captain in the 6th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry during the American Civil War, though the final 'e' was later dropped. As an unorganized county, it was initially attached to Ford County for judicial purposes until 1883, when it was incorporated into Ford County on account of its sparse population and prosperous cattle ranches. This inclusion displeased the settlers of Clark County, and Clark County was again detached from Ford County in March 1885, this time attached to Comanche County for judicial purposes. Clark County was finally organized in May 1885, with the county seat at Ashland.
The opening of the Mount Jesus Trail, passing near a hill in the center of the county named Mount Jesus by the Custer expedition in 1868 on its way from Fort Dodge to Fort Supply, along with the onset of Texas cattle drives through the county, marked the beginning of American settlement in Clark County. Settlement intensified with the establishment of a road ranch by John Glenn in 1874 near present-day Ashland, the beginning of weekly stagecoach service along the Mount Jesus Trail in 1875, and the opening of additional cattle ranches in 1876. Efforts to create a Benedictine colony in the late 1870s near Mount Casino were abandoned after resistance from cattlemen and an Indian raid.
Clark City hosted the first school and newspaper in the county, but both activities shifted to Ashland as the latter town grew, including by direct payments to Clark City residents to relocate. Ultimately Ashland became the county's dominant town and was officially designated the county seat in 1885 while Clark City was abandoned. Ashland remains the county seat and principal city of Clark County to this day.