[4] For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans.

The name is non-native, but is derived from the now-extinct Native Erie language, spoken near the Great Lakes.

In 1802, Spain returned most of the land to France, but keeping title to about 7,500 square miles.

In 1803, most of the land for modern day Kansas was acquired by the United States from France as part of the 828,000 square mile Louisiana Purchase for 2.83 cents per acre.

There were 2,169 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1.2/km2).

29.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Although the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, Chautauqua County remained a prohibition, or "dry", county, until 2008, when a county wide ballot measure was approved to allow individual liquor sales with a 30 percent food requirement.