US Land Life

Kansas

Buying Land in Smith County, Kansas

Smith County, seat Smith Center, holds a genuinely unique piece of American geography: the calculated geographic center of the contiguous 48 states sits on private cropland about 2.6 miles northwest of Lebanon, with a public monument and park built nearby in 1941 after the landowner declined to have it placed in his own field. On land-use governance, this pass turned up a real, published zoning ordinance for the city of Smith Center but no confirmed county-wide zoning ordinance or planning department for unincorporated Smith County -- a genuine gap we're disclosing rather than guessing at. What is confirmed: Smith County sits outside all five of Kansas's Groundwater Management Districts.

County-Wide Zoning: A Genuine Research Gap, Not a Confirmed Answer

Could not confirm

We found a real, published zoning ordinance for the city of Smith Center itself (available on the city's own site), plus a city Zoning Board and Building & Fence Permit process -- but we could not confirm a separate, county-wide zoning ordinance, a dedicated Smith County Planning and Zoning department, or a named zoning administrator covering unincorporated Smith County in this research pass. That is a real gap, not a confirmed absence of county zoning -- rural north-central Kansas counties vary widely on whether they've adopted county-wide zoning under K.S.A. Chapter 19, Article 29, and Smith County's own current site structure did not surface a planning department page during this research. Call the Smith County Clerk's office directly and ask specifically whether the unincorporated area is zoned, and if so, what a specific parcel's designation allows, before assuming either way.

Outside Every Kansas Groundwater Management District

Generally favorable

Smith County sits outside all five of Kansas's Groundwater Management Districts. It is well east of GMD1 (western Kansas) and GMD4 (Sherman, Thomas, and Sheridan Counties in full, plus portions of several other northwest counties), well north of GMD5 (Big Bend, covering parts of Barton, Edwards, Kiowa, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Rice, and Stafford Counties), and outside GMD2 (Equus Beds) and GMD3 (southwest Kansas) entirely -- confirmed by checking each district's own published county coverage. That means groundwater rights in Smith County are administered directly by the Kansas Division of Water Resources under the standard statewide prior-appropriation framework, without an added layer of regional well-spacing or allocation rules from a locally elected GMD board.

The Geographic Center of the Lower 48 States Is a Real, Land-Specific Story

Could not confirm

Smith County holds the calculated geographic center of the contiguous United States -- the point where a uniform-thickness cutout of the 48 states would balance on a pin, first calculated by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1918 and refined since. That exact point sits roughly 2.6 miles northwest of the city of Lebanon, on private cropland. When the location was formally identified, the landowner at the time, John L. Grieb, did not want a monument placed in his working field, so the Hub Club, a local civic group, purchased a separate quarter-acre parcel about 750 yards away at the nearest road intersection and built the public Geographical Center Park there in 1941, complete with a shelter house and stone monument. It's a genuinely distinct piece of Smith County's land-use history -- the famous marker most visitors see is not actually standing on the calculated center point, and the center itself remains ordinary private agricultural land.

Zoning: confirmed for the city of Smith Center, a genuine gap for the unincorporated county

We want to be direct about a limitation here rather than guess at an answer. The city of Smith Center has its own published zoning ordinance, a Zoning Board, and a building-and-fence-permit process administered through City Hall -- that much is well documented on the city's own site. What we could not confirm in this research pass is whether Smith County itself has adopted a separate, county-wide zoning ordinance for its unincorporated area, or whether it maintains a dedicated Planning and Zoning department. Smith County's current government website did not surface a planning-department page in the sources we could reach, even though we did confirm functioning Appraiser, Register of Deeds, and Health Department pages for the county.

This pattern is common enough in rural north-central Kansas that it cannot be assumed either way -- some counties in this part of the state have adopted comprehensive county-wide zoning, others have left the unincorporated area unzoned while their cities zone independently. Given that real uncertainty, treat any assumption about zoning on an unincorporated Smith County parcel as unverified until you call the Smith County Clerk's office directly and ask specifically whether the county has adopted zoning outside its cities, and if so, what a specific parcel's designation permits. If your parcel sits inside Smith Center's city limits, the city's own zoning ordinance and Zoning Board -- not any county process -- would govern it.

Water and geography: outside every GMD, and home to the nation's balance point

On groundwater, Smith County's position is clean: it falls outside the boundaries of all five Kansas Groundwater Management Districts. GMD4 (Northwest Kansas) covers Sherman, Thomas, and Sheridan Counties in full and portions of several others well to the west; GMD5 (Big Bend) covers parts of Barton, Edwards, Kiowa, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Rice, and Stafford Counties well to the south; GMD1, GMD2, and GMD3 sit in western and south-central Kansas respectively. Smith County, in north-central Kansas, does not appear on any of these districts' own published coverage lists. That means groundwater rights here are administered directly by the Kansas Division of Water Resources under the state's standard prior-appropriation framework, rather than through a regional GMD board's added well-spacing and allocation rules -- a genuinely simpler regulatory picture than a buyer would face further west or south in the state.

What makes Smith County distinctive on the land side is a well-documented piece of American geographic history. The U.S. Geological Survey first calculated the balance point of the contiguous 48 states in 1918, using the classic method of balancing a cardboard cutout of the map on a pin -- and that calculated point falls in Smith County, about 2.6 miles northwest of the city of Lebanon. When the site was identified, the landowner at the time, John L. Grieb, understandably did not want a permanent monument placed in the middle of his cultivated field. So local civic group the Hub Club instead purchased a separate quarter-acre tract roughly 750 yards to the southeast, at the nearest public road intersection, and built the Geographical Center Park there, unveiling a stone monument on June 29, 1941, along with a shelter house, picnic tables, and a visitor registration book. The practical land-use point for a buyer: the famous marker most visitors see is not standing on the calculated center itself, which remains ordinary private agricultural cropland to this day -- a small but genuine illustration of how a landmark's public identity and its actual underlying parcel can be two different things.

Who to Call Before Buying Land in Smith County

We could not confirm a Smith County Planning and Zoning department, a named zoning administrator, or a phone number specific to county-wide zoning or building-permit questions for unincorporated Smith County -- this is a genuine gap in this research pass, not a confirmed absence of zoning. For zoning status on a specific unincorporated parcel, start with the Smith County Clerk's office and ask to be routed appropriately; for a parcel inside the city of Smith Center, contact City Hall directly, since the city maintains its own separate zoning ordinance and Zoning Board. We also could not confirm direct emails for the Appraiser, Register of Deeds, or Health Department beyond their listed phone numbers, nor a dedicated county GIS/parcel-mapping office or webpage.

Assessor / Property Tax

Smith County Appraiser

Assessed value and property tax questions for a specific parcel.

Phone: (785) 282-5100Official website →

Recorder / Clerk / Land Records

Smith County Register of Deeds

Recorded deed, easement, and plat history for a specific parcel.

Phone: (785) 282-5160Official website →

Environmental Health

Smith County Health Department

Environmental sanitation services, including on-site well and wastewater/septic inspection, via the department sanitarian.

Phone: (785) 282-6656Official website →

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Sources

  1. The Geographical Center of the Lower 48 United States, at Lebanon, Kansas — The Center for Land Use Interpretation (accessed 2026-09)
  2. GEOGRAPHICAL CENTER - LEBANON, KANSAS — Penry Family (geographical centers reference site) (accessed 2026-09)
  3. 8 Wonders of Kansas Geography: Geographic Center of the United States, near Lebanon — Kansas Sampler Foundation (accessed 2026-09)
  4. Lebanon, Kansas — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
  5. Zoning Ordinance (City of Smith Center) — City of Smith Center, Kansas (accessed 2026-09)
  6. Building & Fence Permits | Smith Center Kansas — City of Smith Center, Kansas (accessed 2026-09)
  7. Smith County, Kansas - Appraiser — Smith County, Kansas Government (accessed 2026-09)
  8. Smith County, Kansas - Register of Deeds — Smith County, Kansas Government (accessed 2026-09)
  9. Smith County, Kansas - Health Department — Smith County, Kansas Government (accessed 2026-09)
  10. G.M.D. No. 5 — Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources (accessed 2026-09)
  11. G.M.D. No. 4 — Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources (accessed 2026-09)
  12. Smith County, Kansas — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)

Last reviewed 2026-09