The county was named after James Lane, a leader of the Jayhawker abolitionist movement and served as one of the first U.S. senators from Kansas.

[4] 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.

Lane County has been strongly Republican throughout its history, only voting for Democratic candidates five times in presidential elections from 1888 to the present.

The most recent of those wins came in 1964 when Lyndon B. Johnson won it amongst his national landslide.

[14] † means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.