Murray County, Minnesota

Murray County, Minnesota
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	May 23, 1857 [1]
Named for	William Pitt Murray, who served in various positions within government.
Seat	Slayton
Largest city	Slayton
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	719.52 sq mi (1,864 km²) 704.43 sq mi (1,824 km²) 15.09 sq mi (39 km²), 2.10%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	8,725 13/sq mi (5/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.murray-countymn.com

Murray County is a county located in the state of Minnesota, United States. The population was 8,725 at the 2010 census.^[1] Its county seat is Slayton^[2].

History

During the 1880s there was a "war" to decide whether Currie or Slayton would be the county seat.^[3]
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

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 719.52 square miles (1,863.5 km²), of which 704.43 square miles (1,824.5 km²) (or 97.90%) is land and 15.09 square miles (39.1 km²) (or 2.10%) is water.^[4] The Mississippi-Missouri watershed divide runs through the western part of the county, near Chandler, along what is locally known as Buffalo Ridge.

Lakes

• Bloody Lake: in Shetek Township
• Buffalo Lake: the extreme western edge of the lake is in Murray Township; most of the lake is in Dovray Township
• Corabelle Lake: in Iona Township
• Current Lake: western half is in Ellsborough Township; eastern half is in Skandia Township
• Fox Lake: in Shetek Township
• Fulda First Lake: in Bondin Township
• Iron Lake: in Skandia Township
• Julia Lake: mostly in Dovray Township; a small part of the lake extends eastward into Cottonwood County
• Lake Louisa: in Des Moines River Township
• Lake Maria: in Lake Sarah Township
• Lake Sarah: in Lake Sarah Township
• Lake Shetek: the northwest part is in Lake Sarah Township; the northeast part is in Shetek Township; the southeast part is in Murray Township; the southwest part is in Mason Township;
• Lake Wilson: in Leeds Township
• Lime Lake: in Lime Lake Township, formerly known as Lizzard Lake and Lake St. Rose^[5]
• Long Lake: southern tip extends into Lake Sarah Township; mostly in Lyon County
• North Badger Lake: in Iona Township
• Round Lake: in Shetek Township
• Smith Lake: in Murray Township
• South Badger Lake: in Iona Township
• Summit Lake: in Leeds Township
• Talcot Lake: small part of the western part of the lake is in Belfast Township; it is mostly in Cottonwood County

Major highways

U.S. Highway 59 Minnesota State Highway 30 Minnesota State Highway 62 Minnesota State Highway 91

Minnesota State Highway 267

Adjacent counties

• Lyon County (north)
• Redwood County (northeast)
• Cottonwood County (east)
• Nobles County (south)
• Rock County (southwest)
• Pipestone County (west)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	29		—
1870	209		620.7%
1880	3,604		1,624.4%
1890	6,692		85.7%
1900	11,911		78.0%
1910	11,755		−1.3%
1920	13,631		16.0%
1930	13,902		2.0%
1940	15,060		8.3%
1950	14,801		−1.7%
1960	14,743		−0.4%
1970	12,508		−15.2%
1980	11,507		−8.0%
1990	9,660		−16.1%
2000	9,165		−5.1%
2010	8,725		−4.8%
U.S. Decennial Census

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data.

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 9,165 people, 3,722 households, and 2,601 families residing in the county. The population density was 13 people per square mile (5/km²). There were 4,357 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.34% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. 1.47% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 47.3% were of German, 12.9% Norwegian, 12.5% Dutch and 5.1% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.

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 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.

In the county the population was spread out with 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 for the county was $17,936. About 6.30% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Cities	Unincorporated communities	Townships
Avoca Chandler Currie Dovray Fulda Hadley Iona Lake Wilson Slayton The Lakes (CDP)	Lime Creek Wirock	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 Shetek Township Skandia Township Slayton Township

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Murray County, Minnesota

References

1. ^ "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST05&prodType=table. Retrieved 25 April 2011. 
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ Early W. Murray Co. MN Hist., pages 76-77, retrieved August 3, 2007
4. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
5. ^ Murray County Minnesota - Lime Lake, retrieved August 3, 2007
6. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Murray County government's website

Coordinates: 44°01′N 95°46′W / 44.02°N 95.76°W / 44.02; -95.76