Murray County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,179 at the 2020 census. Its county seat is Slayton.

History

In 1853 the Minnesota Territory 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, 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.

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. 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 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.

thumb|right|Soils of Murray County

thumb|Soils of Lake Shetek State Park area

Major highways

  • 20px U.S. Highway 59
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 30
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 62
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 91
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 267

Airports

  • Long Lake (part)
  • North Badger Lake
  • Round Lake
  • Smith Lake
  • South Badger Lake
  • Summit Lake
  • Talcot Lake (part)

Demographics

<!-- PresRow should be -->

{| class="wikitable"

|+County Board of Commissioners

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!District

!Next Election

|-

|

|Commissioner and Chairperson

|Molly Malone

|District 1

|2024

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Lori Gunnink

|District 2

|2024

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Dennis Welgraven

|District 3

|2026

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Jackie Meier

|District 4

|2027

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Dave Thiner

|District 5

|2024

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+State Legislature (2018-2020)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Bill Weber

|Republican

|District 22

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Joe Schomacker

|Republican

|District 22A

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+U.S Congress (2018-2020)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Collin Peterson

|Democrat

|7th

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Amy Klobuchar

|Democrat

|N/A

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Tina Smith

|Democrat

|N/A

|}

See also

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

References

  • Murray County government's website