The Maxwell Wildlife Refuge in McPherson County, Kansas consists of 2,574 acres (1,042 ha) of mostly mixed grass prairie.

In 1859 an immigrant from Scotland, John Gault Maxwell (born 1825), settled in McPherson County.

He helped to preserve the prairie and a remnant of the bison rapidly being extirpated from the Great Plains.

A portion of the land was set aside for the construction of the McPherson County Fishing Lake.

[1] The refuge sits at the southern edge of the Smoky Hills in the headwaters of Gypsum Creek at an elevation of about 1,500 feet (460 m).