Frederick

History

Frederick was incorporated in 1909. It was a shipping point at the junction of the Missouri Pacific and the St. Louis & San Francisco railroads. A post office was opened in Frederick (also spelled historically Frederic) in 1887, and remained in operation until being discontinued in 1954. In July 2015, Government officials report considering un-incorporating the city. As of August 2015, for the first time in nearly 130 years, the city doesn't have a city council and no one ran for mayor in April 2015. The future of Frederick is uncertain because Rice County doesn't have the power to unincorporate the city. According to state law, residents must bring a petition to the city council, then a special election will be called for a vote, but since there is no city council, then it is impossible. In November 2016, the community voted on whether to dissolve Frederick. Election workers at the Eureka Township voting location accidentally gave the wrong ballots to township residents who didn't actually live in Frederick. Twenty people voted, 13 voting to keep the community alive, but currently, only nine people live in Frederick. The mistake was caught more than a week after the vote was certified, which was, therefore, after the five-day window to contest a vote, thus Kansas law locked the outcome: Frederick is still a city. In November 2017, another ballot issue was voted on whether to dissolve the city. The vote was 2-2.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  86
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  84
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  65
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  48
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  46
• Hen Harrier

  Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  38
• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  37
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  36