Murray 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 ...

. The population was 8,179 at the 2020 census. 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 ...

is Slayton.

History

In 1853 the

Minnesota Territory The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Minnesota and the w ...

legislature created Blue Earth County from unorganized Dakota Territory lands. In 1855 the legislature partitioned a portion of western Blue Earth to create Brown County. Then on May 23, 1857, a portion of Brown was partitioned off to create Murray County, although it was not organized at that time. On June 17, 1872, the county government was effected, with

Currie Currie is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edinburgh Council. It is situated be ...

, which had been founded that same year, as county seat. The county was named for William Pitt Murray (1825-1910), a prominent civic and political figure in Minnesota during its nascent era. Also in 1872 the township of Center was platted (so named for its central position in the county). This settlement grew rapidly, and its residents soon began agitating to have the county seat moved there. In 1882 the town was renamed as Slayton, and a county vote changed the county seat to Slayton effective June 1, 1889.Upham, Warren. Minnesota Geographic Names (1920), pp. 364-370 (accessed April 19, 2019)
/ref> In the history of record keeping, Minnesota has been struck by two F-5 tornadoes, and both occurred in Murray County: the Chandler-Lake Wilson Tornado (June 16, 1992) and the Tracy Tornado (June 13, 1968) that began in Murray County before crossing north into Lyon County.

Geography

The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds, with all available area devoted to agriculture.Murray County MN Google Maps (accessed April 19, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the south and east. However, its highest elevation occurs on Buffalo Ridge, a promontory extending about two miles along the crest of the Coteau des Prairies in central Chanarambie Township. The bluff rises a few hundred feet above the adjacent valleys. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water. The Mississippi-Missouri watershed divide runs through the western part of the county, near Chandler, along Buffalo Ridge. The county's highest point is on that ridge, at 1,920' ASL.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 59 *

Minnesota State Highway 30 Minnesota State Highway 30 (MN 30) is a highway in southwest and southeast Minnesota, which runs from South Dakota Highway 34 at the South Dakota state line near Airlie, west of Pipestone, and continues to its eastern terminus at its in ...

* Minnesota State Highway 62 * Minnesota State Highway 91 * Minnesota State Highway 267

Airports

* Slayton Municipal Airport (DVP) - southwest of Slayton, Minnesota

Adjacent counties

* Lyon County - north * Redwood County - northeast * Cottonwood County - east * Nobles County - south * Rock County - southwest * Pipestone County - west

Protected areas

* Badger Lake State Wildlife Management Area * Bergman State Wildlife Management Area * Big Slough State Wildlife Management Area * Buffalo Lake State Wildlife Management Area * Chandler State Wildlife Management Area * County Line State Wildlife Management Area * Current Lake State Wildlife Management Area * Great Oasis State Wildlife Management Area * Haberman State Wildlife Management Area * Hjermstad Lake State Wildlife Management Area * Irruption State Wildlife Management Area * Klinker State Wildlife Management Area * Lake Shetek State Park * Lange State Wildlife Management Area * Leeds State Wildlife Management Area * Lowville State Wildlife Management Area * Mason State Wildlife Management Area * McCord-Laible State Wildlife Management Area * Nelson State Wildlife Management Area *

Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge was established to provide a means of working with individuals, groups, private organizations, and government entities to permanently preserve a portion of the remaining remnant tracts of nort ...

* Peters State Wildlife Management Area * Phelan State Wildlife Management Area * Reinhold State Wildlife Management Area * Rupp State Wildlife Management Area * Ruthton State Wildlife Management Area * Schoeberl State Wildlife Management Area * Shetek State Wildlife Management Area * Sweetman State Wildlife Management Area * Tutt State Wildlife Management Area * Van Eck State Wildlife Management Area

Lakes

* Bear Lake (drained) * Bloody Lake * Buffalo Lake * Corabelle Lake * Current Lake * Fox Lake * Fulda First Lake * Iron Lake * Julia Lake (part) * Lake Louisa * Lake Maria * Lake Sarah * Lake Shetek * Lake Wilson * Lime Lake (formerly known as Lizzard Lake and Lake St. Rose)Murray County Minnesota - Lime Lake
, retrieved August 3, 2007 * Long Lake (part) * North Badger Lake * Round Lake * Smith Lake * South Badger Lake * Summit Lake * Talcot Lake (part)

Demographics

2020 Census

2000 census

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 9,165 people, 3,722 households, and 2,601 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 4,357 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.34%

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 ...

, 0.10%

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 ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.21% 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 ...

, 0.45% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. 1.47% 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. 47.3% 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 ...

, 12.9% Norwegian, 12.5% Dutch and 5.1% Swedish ancestry. There were 3,722 households, out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.50% 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, 4.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.94. The county population contained 25.00% under the age of 18, 5.90% from 18 to 24, 23.30% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 21.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 98.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,966, and the median income for a family was $40,893. Males had a median income of $27,101 versus $19,636 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 $17,936. About 6.30% of families and 8.30% 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 8.40% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Avoca * Chandler *

* Dovray *

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

* Hadley *

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

* Lake Wilson * Slayton (county seat)

Census-designated place

* The Lakes

Unincorporated communities

* Current Lake * Lime Creek * Lowville * Owanka * Wirock

Townships

* Belfast Township * Bondin Township * Cameron Township * Chanarambie Township * Des Moines River Township * Dovray Township * Ellsborough Township * Fenton Township * Holly Township * Iona Township * Lake Sarah Township * Leeds Township * Lime Lake Township * Lowville Township * Mason Township * Moulton Township *

Murray Township Murray Township may refer to: In Canada * Murray Township, Ontario In the United States * Murray Township, Newton County, Arkansas, in Newton County, Arkansas * Murray Township, Alameda County, California * Murray Township, Marshall County, K ...

* Shetek Township * Skandia Township * Slayton Township

Government and politics

The county matched the national outcome every year from 1964 until 2008 except 1988, when during the

farm crisis A farm crisis is an American term for a time of agricultural recession, low crop prices and low farm incomes. The Interwar farm crisis was an extended period of depressed agricultural incomes from the end of the First to the start of the Second ...

it voted for Michael Dukakis. However, like most other rural heavily white areas of the country, it has swung heavily Republican since 2016. In 60% of presidential elections since 1980, the county selected the Republican Party candidate (as of 2020).

References

External links

Murray County government's website
{{authority control Minnesota counties 1872 establishments in Minnesota Populated places established in 1872