Bushton, Kansas
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1894 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Farmer Township. It lies in ZIP code area 67427. The Survey maps it on the Holyrood quadrangle. 203 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,768 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresBushton fell from 279 to 203 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 279 | |
| 2020 | 203 | -76 (-27%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 13 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1894 USGS Ellsworth quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Great Bend quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Great Bend quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Great Bend quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1964 USGS Holyrood quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Russell quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
5 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Bushton between 2000 and 2017, burning about 344 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 September 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 325 acres | Quivira National Wildlife Refuge | WENDEL |
| 9 March 2016 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 2016007 |
| 11 March 2015 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 2015006 |
| 15 February 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 502215 |
| 11 February 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Ellsworth County | 2017004 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bushton in 60 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 27 hail, 20 thunderstorm wind, 7 tornado, 3 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | $225,000 | Thirty power poles were blown over due to the high winds. Numerous outbuildings and grain bins were also damaged or destroyed. |
| September 2009 | Hail | Bushton | $50,000 | A swath of large hail moved south across the western half of the county, causing extensive damage to crops, homes and vehicles. Windows were busted out of the homes, and leaves were shreaded off of the trees. The hail was so plentiful that Highway 56 became covered white with hail. This caused a propane truck to slide off the road into a ditch just east of the Barton/Rice county line, destoying the truck. |
| May 2007 | Tornado (EF1) | Bushton | $35,000 | The tornado blew power lines down along highway 4 and crossed into Ellsworth County 4.9 miles south of Holyrood. |
| September 2009 | Hail | Bushton | $25,000 | The large hail made a swath of destruction just to the east of Highway 14 in northern Rice. Hail up to two inches caused heavy damage to corn and vehicles along its path. |
| May 2007 | Tornado (EF1) | Bushton | $20,000 | The tornado some damage to sheds and downed several powerlines. The storm crossed into Rice 4.8 miles west-southwest of Bushton and dissipated 2 miles west of Bushton. |
| June 2010 | Tornado (EF1) | Bushton | $10,000 | The tornado touched down in a milo field and moved northeast knocking down a few power poles near 9th road and Avenue C. |
| November 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | $7,500 | A carport was damaged and blown over into a house. Report relayed from social media. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | $800 | Twelve inch diameter tree limbs were knocked down in and near Bushton. |
| September 2018 | Flood | Bushton | $100 | Numerous roads were closed across the county due to high water. The most significant were along the Plum Creek which came out of its banks. |
| October 2018 | Flood | Bushton | $100 | A middle school in Bushton had to be evacuated due to the driveway and parking lot becoming flooded. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | The gust was measured by a home weather station. No damage was reported, but with winds this strong, one would have to believe that there was. |
| October 2017 | Hail | Bushton | - | The storm chaser reported quarter to half dollar sized hail. |
| May 2016 | Flood | Bushton | - | A considerable number of roads were closed due to water over them. Many of them due to Cow Creek flooding. |
| December 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | No damage was reported. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | Winds were estimated around 70 mph. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | Numerous tree limbs were downed. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | Numerous tree limbs were downed and power is out in Bushton. Reports came from a trained spotter and emergency management. |
| June 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Bushton | - | Brief tornado touchdown in an open field with no damage. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | A trained spotter reported the 60 to 70 mph wind gusts. |
| September 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | A trained spotter reported the winds. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | Estimated by a storm spotter. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | Estimated by a storm spotter. |
| August 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Bushton | - | Remained in the country. |
| May 2002 | Tornado (F0) | Bushton | - | Brief touchdown in open country. |
| May 1999 | Tornado (F0) | Bushton | - | Remained over open country. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | Large tree limbs downed including some trees completely uprooted. |
| October 1994 | Hail | Bushton | - | Dime-size hail fell near Bushton, 20 miles northeast of Great Bend. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| April 2025 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| July 2018 | Heavy Rain | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| October 2017 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| April 2007 | Funnel Cloud | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| September 2001 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Flash Flood | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bushton | - | no account filed |
| May 1995 | Hail | Bushton | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Bushton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2039102 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 475533. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.





