Marshall 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 ...

located in the U.S. state of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. 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 ...

and largest city is Marysville. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 10,038. The county was named after Frank J. Marshall, a state representative who operated the first ferry over the Big Blue River.

History

The Oregon Trail crosses Marshall County. The infamous Donner Reed Party rested along the banks of the Big Blue river and lost one of its members, Sarah Keyes, who is still buried at Alcove Springs (located outside of Marysville). Many documented pioneer bodies are buried surrounding Alcove Springs. In 1849 Francis James Marshall, from Weston, Missouri, came to Marshall County and established a ferry service on the Big Blue River at "Independence Crossing." A few years later Francis Marshall decided to stay on in Marshall County and make it his home. He moved his ferry business to an upper crossing now known as Marysville (the city is named after Marshall's own wife Mary). On May 30, 1879, the "Irving, Kansas Tornado" passed through Marshall County. This

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

measured F4 on the

Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...

and had a damage path wide and long. Eighteen people were killed and sixty were injured. The Marshall County Historical Society resides in the county's historic courthouse, which is now a museum and research library.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Pawnee County,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

(northeast) * Nemaha County (east) * Pottawatomie County (south) * Riley County (southwest) * Washington County (west) * Gage County,

(northwest)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 10,965 people, 4,458 households, and 3,026 families residing 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 4,999 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.14%

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 ...

, 0.23%

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 ...

, 0.36% Native American, 0.19% 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 ...

, 0.26% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 0.76% 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. There were 4,458 households, out of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.70% were married couples living together, 5.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 29.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.00% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 23.60% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 22.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,089, and the median income for a family was $39,705. Males had a median income of $28,361 versus $19,006 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 $17,090. About 6.40% of families and 9.20% 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 9.60% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Marshall County is, in common with most rural regions of the Great Plains states, a predominantly Republican county. The county has not been carried by a Democratic candidate in a presidential election since 1932, and has only failed to back the Republican candidate in two other elections from 1888 on. The closest Democrats have come to winning the county since 1932 was in 1964, when

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

only won it by 98 votes in the midst of a national landslide by Lyndon B. Johnson, and 1992 when

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

only won it by eight votes in conjunction with independent candidate Ross Perot winning a significant share of the vote.

Laws

Marshall County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.

Education

Unified school districts

* Marysville USD 364 * Vermillion USD 380 * Valley Heights USD 498 ;Historical * Axtell USD 488 (Marshall County) and Sabetha USD 441 (Nemaha County) consolidated to create Prairie Hills USD 113.

Communities

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Marshall County.

Cities

* Axtell * Beattie * Blue Rapids * Frankfort * Marysville (county seat) * Oketo * Summerfield * Vermillion * Waterville

Unincorporated communities

† means a community is designated a

Census-Designated Place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) by the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

. * Bremen† * Herkimer† *

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

† * Lillis * Marietta * Vliets

Ghost towns

* Bigelow * Irving

Townships

Marshall County is divided into twenty-five townships. The city of Marysville is considered ''governmentally independent'' and is excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size. "Plat book of Marshall County, Kansas" 1904. https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/209410

Notable people

* Frank Wayenberg (1898-1975) - pitcher for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in 1924. * Butch Nieman (1918-1993) - born in Herkimer, played outfield for the Boston Braves from 1943 to 1945. * Don Songer (1899-1962) - pitcher for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

from 1924 to 1927 and the New York Giants in 1927.