Marshall County, Minnesota

Marshall County
Marshall County
County
	K. J. Taralseth Company
	Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
	Minnesota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 48°21′N 96°23′W / 48.35°N 96.38°W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	February 25, 1879
Named for	William Rainey Marshall
Seat	Warren
Largest city	Warren
Area
• Total	1,813 sq mi (4,700 km2)
• Land	1,775 sq mi (4,600 km2)
• Water	38 sq mi (100 km2) 2.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	9,040
• Estimate (2023)	8,810
• Density	5.1/sq mi (2.0/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	7th
Website	www.co.marshall.mn.us

Marshall County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,040.^[2] Its county seat is Warren.^[3]

History

The Minnesota legislature created the county on February 25, 1879, with territory partitioned from the southern half of Kittson County, with Warren (which was first platted that same year) as the county seat. It was named for William Rainey Marshall, who served as Minnesota governor from 1866 to 1870.^[4]

Marshall County was the location of a claimed UFO incident in 1979, the Val Johnson incident.

Geography

Marshall County lies on Minnesota's border with North Dakota (across the Red River, which flows north along the county's western border). The Snake River rises in Polk County and flows north through the western part of the county to its confluence with the Red. The Tamarac River rises in Marshall County and flows west through the county's northern area to its confluence with the Red. The Middle River also rises in Marshall County and flows west through the southern part of the county, discharging into the Snake just upstream of the Snake/Red confluence. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, carved with drainages, completely devoted to agriculture where possible.^[5] The terrain slopes to the west and north, with its highest point near the midpoint of its eastern border, at 1,194 ft (364 m) ASL.^[6] The county has an area of 1,813 square miles (4,700 km²), of which 1,775 square miles (4,600 km²) is land and 38 square miles (98 km²) (2.1%) is water.^[7] Marshall is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties where savanna soils predominate. The true highpoint is in the northeast of the county and caltopo displays 1237 ft at 48.5339°N, -96.0167°W

Major highways

Airports

Stephen Municipal Airport (D41) - northeast of Stephen^[5]

Adjacent counties

Kittson County - north
Roseau County - northeast
Beltrami County - east
Pennington County - southeast
Polk County - south
Grand Forks County, North Dakota - southwest
Walsh County, North Dakota - west
Pembina County, North Dakota - northwest

Protected areas^[5]

Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge
- Agassiz Wilderness
Florian Park
Florian State Wildlife Management Area
Old Mill State Park

Lakes^[5]

Thief Lake
Webster Creek Pool

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	992		—
1890	9,130		820.4%
1900	15,698		71.9%
1910	16,338		4.1%
1920	19,443		19.0%
1930	17,003		−12.5%
1940	18,364		8.0%
1950	16,125		−12.2%
1960	14,262		−11.6%
1970	13,060		−8.4%
1980	13,027		−0.3%
1990	10,993		−15.6%
2000	10,155		−7.6%
2010	9,439		−7.1%
2020	9,040		−4.2%
2023 (est.)	8,810	^[9]	−2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census^[10] 1790-1960^[11] 1900-1990^[12] 1990-2000^[13] 2010-2020^[2]

2020 Census

Marshall County Racial Composition^[14]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	8,332	92.2%
Black or African American (NH)	12	0.13%
Native American (NH)	29	0.32%
Asian (NH)	19	0.21%
Pacific Islander (NH)	0	0%
Other/Mixed (NH)	258	2.9%
Hispanic or Latino	390	4.31%

2000 census

2022 US Census population pyramid for Marshall County, from ACS 5-year estimates

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,155 people, 4,101 households and 2,837 families in the county. The population density was 5.72 per square mile (2.21/km²). There were 4,791 housing units at an average density of 2.70 per square mile (1.04/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.22% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 1.62% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 2.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 43.2% were of Norwegian, 12.1% Polish, 11.7% German and 9.6% Swedish ancestry.

There were 4,101 households, of which 30.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.20% were married couples living together, 5.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.

The county population contained 25.40% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 103.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.10 males.

The median household income was $34,804, and the median family income was $41,908. Males had a median income of $30,051 versus $20,600 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,317. About 6.90% of families and 9.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.30% of those under age 18 and 12.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Unorganized territory

Mud Lake

Government and politics

Marshall County has voted Republican in presidential elections since 2000, except in 2008, when Barack Obama won the county by less than one percentage point.

United States presidential election results for Marshall County, Minnesota^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	3,721	72.78%	1,295	25.33%	97	1.90%
2016	3,208	66.60%	1,225	25.43%	384	7.97%
2012	2,569	54.68%	1,998	42.53%	131	2.79%
2008	2,285	48.22%	2,311	48.77%	143	3.02%
2004	3,187	57.30%	2,308	41.50%	67	1.20%
2000	2,912	56.01%	1,910	36.74%	377	7.25%
1996	2,068	40.12%	2,333	45.27%	753	14.61%
1992	2,136	36.81%	2,309	39.79%	1,358	23.40%
1988	2,752	47.36%	3,001	51.64%	58	1.00%
1984	3,433	55.31%	2,705	43.58%	69	1.11%
1980	3,638	53.70%	2,636	38.91%	501	7.39%
1976	2,605	40.14%	3,744	57.70%	140	2.16%
1972	3,264	52.73%	2,790	45.07%	136	2.20%
1968	2,367	39.74%	3,161	53.07%	428	7.19%
1964	1,893	29.17%	4,594	70.79%	3	0.05%
1960	3,006	44.36%	3,759	55.47%	12	0.18%
1956	2,519	41.93%	3,478	57.90%	10	0.17%
1952	3,516	52.22%	3,132	46.52%	85	1.26%
1948	2,090	32.12%	4,126	63.41%	291	4.47%
1944	2,029	34.60%	3,808	64.94%	27	0.46%
1940	2,441	34.70%	4,549	64.67%	44	0.63%
1936	1,904	27.79%	4,802	70.08%	146	2.13%
1932	1,866	34.16%	3,259	59.66%	338	6.19%
1928	3,738	61.58%	2,200	36.24%	132	2.17%
1924	2,100	40.03%	290	5.53%	2,856	54.44%
1920	4,738	75.41%	885	14.09%	660	10.50%
1916	1,461	44.73%	1,513	46.33%	292	8.94%
1912	331	11.30%	567	19.35%	2,032	69.35%
1908	1,648	59.99%	731	26.61%	368	13.40%
1904	1,720	76.38%	275	12.21%	257	11.41%
1900	1,457	59.66%	905	37.06%	80	3.28%
1896	1,200	48.94%	1,222	49.84%	30	1.22%
1892	526	27.90%	354	18.78%	1,005	53.32%

County Board of Commissioners^[16]
	Name	District	Next Election
Commissioner and Chairperson	Jim Duckstad	District 1	2026
Commissioner	Rolland Miller	District 2	2024
Commissioner	Larry Nybladh	District 3	2024
Commissioner	Sharon Bring	District 4	2024
Commissioner	Gary Kiesow	District 5	2026