Welcome to Ottawa ...
The city of Ottawa is located in Franklin County<1> and is the County Seat for Franklin County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Ottawa, you might consider that their post office opened in 1864.
The origin (or the toponymy) of Ottawa: Named after the Ottawa tribe.
When the people of Ottawa refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Ottawan<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Ottawa has a population of 12,296 people<3> (see below for details).
Ottawa is 900 feet [274 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Ottawa lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Ottawa is located in the (785) area code.
The ZIP code for Ottawa: 66067<5>
Websites for Ottawa ...
Official Website: www.ottawakansas.net/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Ottawa had an population of 12,296 people. This is a decrease of 2.79% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 3.15% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Ottawa had a population of 12,649 people (or 48.66% of the total population of Franklin County). This makes Ottawa the county's most populous community.
The population of Ottawa represents 0.44% of the total population of Kansas (which has 2,853,118 people), making it the state's 28th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 12,649 people, the population of Ottawa increased 6.11% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 11,921 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Ottawa.
Communities Also Named Ottawa ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Kansas communities named Ottawa: This one is located in Franklin County and the other is located in Douglas County.
Beyond Kansas, there are 17 communities that are also named Ottawa - they are located in Illinois, Iowa (2), Kentucky, Michigan (2), Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario (3), Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ottawa.
Communities near Ottawa ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Ottawa.
- Baldwin City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baldwin City have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin City
- Baldwin City is located in Douglas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,689 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baldwin City <7>
- Osawatomie
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osawatomie
- Osawatomie is located in Miami County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,223 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osawatomie <7>
- Wellsville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellsville have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsville
- Wellsville is located in Franklin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,784 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wellsville <7>
- Edgerton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgerton have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerton
- Edgerton is located in Johnson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,773 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edgerton <7>
- Overbrook
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Overbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overbrook
- Overbrook is located in Osage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,005 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Overbrook <7>
- Pomona
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pomona have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Pomona is located in Franklin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 837 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pomona <7>
- Richmond
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Richmond is located in Franklin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 457 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <7>
- Williamsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Williamsburg is located in Franklin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamsburg <7>
- Quenemo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quenemo
- Quenemo is located in Osage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
- Quenemo has also been known as:
- Quenemo Agency
- Greeley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greeley have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greeley
- Greeley is located in Anderson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 302 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greeley <7>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Ottawa. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Ottawa.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Ottawa. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ottawa.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Ottawa. Our list includes 54 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Ottawa.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Ottawa ...
Looking for more information about Ottawa? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Ottawa, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Ottawa.
Adding Ottawa to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Ottawa in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Ottawa was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Ottawa post office opened in 1864.
We also found Ottawa in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Ottawa.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Ottawa: www.ottawakansas.net/
The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Kansas' counties, including Franklin, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Ottawa refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Ottawa may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Ottawa. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Ottawa - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Ottawa). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Ottawa or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |