Motley is a city in Morrison and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 680 at the 2020 census. The main part of Motley is located within Morrison County; only a minor part of the city extends into Cass County.
The Cass County portion of Motley is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Motley was laid out in 1874. A post office has been in operation at Motley since 1873.
In 1881, the Northern Pacific Railway built a passenger station on the east side of 2nd Street (between Front Street and Main Street) and built a freight depot on the west side of 2nd Street. A spur line ran south from the mainline along 4th Avenue to a planing mill that was located on the bank of the Long Prairie River (just south of Cemetery Road). The spur line was removed by 1920.
Geography
Motley occupies the northwest corner of Morrison County, with a small portion extending east into Cass County. The city is bordered to the south by Motley Township in Morrison County, to the east and north by May Township in Cass County, and to the west by Villard Township in Todd County.
U.S. Highway 10 and Minnesota State Highways 64 and 210 are three of the main routes in the city. US 10 leads southeast to Little Falls, the Morrison county seat, and west-northwest to Wadena. Highway 210 leads east to Brainerd; it departs westward from the city with US 10, but splits off to lead west to Hewitt. Highway 64 leads north from Motley to Akeley.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Motley has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.21%, are water. of 2010, there were 671 people, 305 households, and 167 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 338 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.5% White, 0.1% African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.6% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.3% of the population.
There were 305 households, of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.7% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.2% were non-families. 38.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.90.
The median age in the city was 41.1 years. 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.7% were from 25 to 44; 25.1% were from 45 to 64; and 21.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.
2000 census
As of the census