Barber County (county code BA) is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Kansas. In 2010, 4,861 people lived there. The county seat is Medicine Lodge. Medicine Lodge is also the biggest city in Barber County. Barber County was named after Thomas W. Barber (born 22 February 1814), an abolitionist martyr who was killed in Douglas County 6 December 1855, during the Wakarusa War.