[2] The county was formed on March 20, 1873, and named after William Seward, a politician and Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.

For millennia, the Great Plains of North America were inhabited by nomadic Native Americans.

The township was divided into two voting precincts - one headquartered at Sunset City and the other at Fargo Springs.

[3] Rivalry between Fargo Springs and Springfield became so intense both towns sent armed bodies of men to the other to prevent their voters from reaching the polls, causing a disputed election in 1885.

The Liberal, KS Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Seward County.

[14] In 2016, Hillary Clinton became the first Democrat to break 30% in Seward County since Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Following amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 1986, the county remained a prohibition, or "dry", county until 1996, when voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement.

The city of Liberal is considered governmentally independent and is excluded from the census figures for the townships.