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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Lakin, Kansas

city in Kansas, United States

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 25, 2026
Entity authorityQ1004691 ↗
Source-derived summary

Lakin is a city in and the county seat of Kearny County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,205. It is located along US 50/US 400.

History

In spring 1873, John O'Loughlin, community founder, set up a trading post next to the newly completed Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The community was named by the AT&SF for David Long Lakin, former treasurer of the AT&SF. Lakin was designated county seat in 1888. A post office has been in operation in Lakin since March 1874.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.98 square miles (2.54 km2), all land.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Lakin has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Lakin was 115 °F (46.1 °C) on August 7 and August 9, 1896, while the coldest temperature recorded was −23 °F (−30.6 °C) on January 12, 1942.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 2,205 people, 796 households, and 555 families in Lakin.

Editorial summary

“Lakin, Kansas” enters the record as city in Kansas, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Lakin, Kansas and city can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2020, 1873, 1888, 1874—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Lakin, Kansas and city.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Lakin, Kansas” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Lakin, Kansas and city provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1004691. Authority coordinates are 37.940, -101.259. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1873, 1888 and 1874.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Lakin, Kansas”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Lakin, Kansas primary sources, Lakin, Kansas archive and Lakin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Lakin, Kansas”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Lakin, Kansas” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.