Highland, KS

Highland was laid out in 1857 with an educational purpose, and that idea still shapes the Doniphan County city. Highland Community College grew from the town’s early Presbyterian academy plans and is recognized as the oldest college in Kansas. Its campus gives Highland a role that reaches beyond its size, with college events, foundation programs, and student life adding a regular institutional calendar to a city where the 2020 census counted 903 residents.

The surrounding landscape keeps the town connected to outdoor and rural life. Fishing, hunting, and boating opportunities lie within five miles, while local government provides the practical services of a small county city. Doniphan West Junior-Senior High School has also been part of Highland’s school pattern since 2009, placing secondary education and the college in the same local picture. Highland works as an education center set amid northeast Kansas recreation and farm country, with the college campus and nearby water shaping how the town relates to the surrounding county.