The area in South Central Kansas known as Reno County was part
of the area purchased by the United States from the French in
1803. Explorers passed through Kansas between 1803 and 1861 when
Kansas became a state but settlement didn’t begin until Congress
created Kansas territory and decreed that it was no longer
Indian territory. The Kansas Legislature drew the boundaries for
Reno County in 1868. The population wasn’t sufficient to
necessitate self-government until December 1871. The first
election for county officers was held in January of 1872. Reno
County was named for Major-General Jesse Lee Reno who fought in
the Civil War and died in the line of duty at the Battle of
South Mountain in Maryland in 1862. Hutchinson is the county
seat and the largest city in the county. Hutchinson was named
after its founder, Clinton Carter Hutchinson. Mr. Hutchinson
claimed to be a Baptist preacher and he stipulated that no
alcoholic beverages could be sold or consumed on the property or
the land would forfeit back to him