Marshall County (standard abbreviation: MS) is a

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

located 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 sover ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 10,038. The largest city and

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 st ...

is Marysville.

History

The

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

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 Spring. In 1849 Francis James Marshall, from

Weston, Missouri Weston is a town in Platte County, Missouri within the United States. The population was 1,641 at the 2010 census. History The Lewis and Clark Expedition stopped at "Bear Medison" island, near the location of today's city hall. Weston was the ol ...

, 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 both the surface of the 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, altho ...

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 United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Pawnee County,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

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

(northwest)

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

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 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 12 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 4,999 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.14%

White White is the 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0.23%

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 have o ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.36% Native American, 0.19%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, 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 the original p ...

, 0.26% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.80% from two or more races. 0.76% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

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 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, 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 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 $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 t ...

, including 9.60% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Marshall County is a strongly Republican county. The county has not been carried by a Democratic candidate in a presidential election since 1932, & has only failed to back the Republican candidate in two other elections from 1888 on. The closest Democrats have came 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 United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...

only won it by 98 votes in the midst of a national landslide by

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

& 1992 when

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

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 The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas. Background The Kansas Territory was created in 1854. The largest issue by far in territorial Kansas was whether slavery was to be permitted or prohibited; aside from the m ...

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 Marysville USD 364 is a public unified school district headquartered in Marysville, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Marysville, Beattie, Oketo, Bremen, Herkimer, Home, Marietta, and nearby rural areas. Sch ...

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 Prairie Hills USD 113 is a public unified school district headquartered in Sabetha, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Sabetha, Axtell, Bern, Goff, Morrill, Summerfield, Wetmore, Berwick, and nearby rural areas ...

Communities

Cities

* Axtell * Beattie * Blue Rapids * Frankfort * Marysville * Oketo * Summerfield *

Vermillion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It is v ...

* Waterville

Census-designated place

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

Other unincorporated communities

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

* Cottage Hill * Herkimer * Lillis *

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

* St. Bridget * Vliets * Winifred

Ghost towns

* Barrett * Bigelow * Irving * Lone Elm * Hull * Mina * Schroyer

Townships

Marshall County is divided into twenty-five

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

. 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 Frank Wayenberg (August 27, 1898 – April 16, 1975) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for one season. He pitched in two games for the Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in C ...

(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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

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

Don Songer Donald C. Songer (January 31, 1899 – October 3, 1962) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played four seasons in the major leagues, from until , for the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional Am ...

(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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

from 1924 to 1927 and the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in 1927.