On September 17, 1887, Governor John A. Martin, by proclamation, declared the organization of Logan County, Kansas and appointed officers to hold office until the election and qualification of legally elected officers took place. Population of the county at the time was 3,112. Valuation, not including railroad and exemptions, was $447,534 of which sum real estate amounted to $123,505.
There were ten townships in the county:
- Augustine
- Elkader
- Lees
- Logansport
- McAllaster
- Monument
- Russell Springs
- Western
- Winona
- Oakley
Paxton was made later by taking land from two of the townships. There was only one city-Oakley, which had been incorporated at this time on October 15, 1887. In 1888 there were 37 school districts in the county.
County Seat
Later an election was held for the purpose of locating the county seat permanently at which there were 1,022 votes cast. Russell Springs received a majority by eighteen votes over all other cities and was declared the county seat. Russell Springs became a thriving community, a new courthouse was built and in 1890 the commissioners accepted a gift of one hundred trees for the courthouse grounds.
Russell Springs continued to be the county seat until 1963 at which time it was moved to Oakley. This move came after thirty three months of heated battles with the Kansas Supreme Court upholding the District Court's decision to accept the election results in which only three votes were the deciding factor. On August 13, 1963, all records were moved to Oakley. A new courthouse was completed on West Second Street in 1965. The building in Russell Springs became the Butterfield Trail Museum.