Lyon County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. 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 parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

. 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 Nathaniel Lyon (July 14, 1818 – August 10, 1861) was a United States Army officer who was the first Union Army, Union General officer, general to be killed in the American Civil War. He is noted for his actions in Missouri in 1861, at the beginn ...

, an

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

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

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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 policies.J ...

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 ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water.

Lakes

Source: * Clear Lake * Cottonwood 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 19 (MN 19) is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from South Dakota Highway 30 at the South Dakota state line near Ivanhoe, Minnesota, Ivanhoe and continues east to its eastern terminus at its Intersection (road) ...

Minnesota State Highway 23 Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a state highway that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1. This route, signed east–west, runs roug ...

* Minnesota State Highway 68 * Minnesota State Highway 91

Airports

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

Adjacent counties

* Yellow Medicine County - north * Redwood County - east * Murray County - south * Pipestone County - southwest * Lincoln County - west

Protected areas

Source: * 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

2020 Census

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: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 10,298 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.58%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.49%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

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

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

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

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 33.9% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 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 recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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.

Communities

Cities

* Balaton * Cottonwood *

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

* Garvin *

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

* Lynd *

(county seat) * Minneota * Russell *

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

* Tracy

Unincorporated communities

* Amiret * Burchard *

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

* 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 2024).

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