Lyon County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the U.S. state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,269. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Marshall. Lyon County comprises the Marshall, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The county was established by two acts of the Minnesota state legislature, dated March 6, 1868, and March 2, 1869. The county seat was designated as Marshall. The county was named for Nathaniel Lyon, an

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

officer who served in the Dakota and Minnesota territories before being killed in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

in 1861. He had achieved the rank of general by his death. The county was much larger until an act passed on March 6, 1873, made the western 43% the new Lincoln County.

Geography

The Yellow Medicine River flows northeast through the upper portion of the county, the Redwood River flows northeast through the central part, and the Cottonwood River flows northeast through the lower part. The county's terrain consists of low rolling hills, etched by drainages and gullies.''Lyon County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 13, 2019)
/ref> It slopes to the north and east, with its highest point near its southwest corner, at 1,729' (527m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water.

Lakes

* Clear Lake * Cottonwood Lake * Dead Coon Lake * East Twin Lake * Goose Lake * Island Lake * Lady Slipper Lake * Lake Marshall * Lake of the Hill * Lake Yankton * Lone Tree Lake (part) * Long Lake (part) * McKay Lake * North Twin Lake * Rock Lake * School Grove Lake (part) * Sham Lake * South Twin Lake * Swift Lake * West Twin Lake * Wood Lake

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 14 * U.S. Highway 59 * Minnesota State Highway 19 * Minnesota State Highway 23 * Minnesota State Highway 68 *

Minnesota State Highway 91 Minnesota State Highway 91 (MN 91) is a highway in southwest Minnesota. It runs from Lyon County, Iowa, Lyon County Road L14 at the Iowa state line near Ellsworth, Minnesota, Ellsworth northward to Minnesota State Highway 23, State Highway 23 ...

Airports

* Southwest Minnesota Regional Airport (MML) * Tracy Municipal Airport (TKC)

Adjacent counties

* Yellow Medicine County - north *

Redwood County Redwood County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census the population was 15,425. Its county seat is Redwood Falls, along the Redwood River near its confluence with the Minnesota River. The Lower Sioux Indian Reserva ...

- east * Murray County - south *

Pipestone County Pipestone County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,424. Its county seat is Pipestone. History The county was formed on May 23, 1857, by act of the territorial legislature, but was not orga ...

- southwest * Lincoln County - west

Protected areas

* Camden State Park * Gadwall State Wildlife Management Area * Garvin State Park * Grandview State Wildlife Management Area * Greenhead State Wildlife Management Area * Glynn Prairie Scientific and Natural Area * Shelburne State Wildlife Management Area * Vallers State Wildlife Management Area

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 25,425 people, 9,715 households, and 6,334 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 35.6/sqmi (13.7/km²). There were 10,298 housing units at an average density of 14.4/sqmi (5.56/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.58%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 1.49%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.31% Native American, 1.67% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 1.89% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 3.97% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. 33.9% were of German, 15.5% Norwegian and 10.5% Belgian ancestry. There were 9,715 households, out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.10% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% were non-families. 27.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.09. The county population contained 26.20% under the age of 18, 13.30% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 19.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $38,996, and the median income for a family was $48,512. Males had a median income of $32,102 versus $21,445 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $18,013. About 6.30% of families and 10.10% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.00% of those under age 18 and 12.70% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

Balaton Lake Balaton is a lake in Hungary, the largest lake in Central Europe Balaton may also refer to: * 2242 Balaton, a main-belt asteroid * Balaton (car), a Hungarian microcar * Balaton (village), in Heves county, Hungary * Balaton, Minnesota, a city ...

* Cottonwood *

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

* Garvin *

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest i ...

* Lynd * Marshall (county seat) * Minneota *

Russell Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) Places Australia *Russell, Australian Capital Territory *Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation) **Ru ...

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by t ...

* Tracy

Unincorporated communities

* Amiret * Burchard * Dudley * Green Valley

Townships

* Amiret Township * Clifton Township * Coon Creek Township * Custer Township * Eidsvold Township * Fairview Township * Grandview Township * Island Lake Township * Lake Marshall Township * Lucas Township * Lynd Township * Lyons Township * Monroe Township * Nordland Township * Rock Lake Township * Shelburne Township * Sodus Township * Stanley Township * Vallers Township * Westerheim Township

Politics

Lyon County has been a traditional Republican stronghold. In only one national election since 1980 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2020).

References

External links

Lyon County government website
{{Coord, 44.41, -95.84, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minnesota counties 1868 establishments in Minnesota Populated places established in 1868