Eighty million years ago, Gove County was part of an ancient inland sea known as the Western Interior Seaway.

Many students still visit the Castle Rock Badlands today to explore fossils.

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

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.

[4][5] In 2020, USA Today profiled Gove County during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and called it the "deadliest place in America" due to it having the highest death rate from COVID-19 compared to any other county in the nation: 1 out of every 132 people.

29.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

In 2020, Gove County had 2,600 residents, and the median age was about 50, a decade older than the national average.