Lyon

Formed March 6, 1868 (71^st county)

Lyon County (25,268), Marshall (13,626)

The Modern red brick facility, originally built in 1892 in Victorian Romanesque style, is on Main Street at 6^th Street.  Main Street is United States Highway 59 in the town.  The courthouse was enlarged in 1939, 1975, and 2016 and significantly remodeled in 1995 to its present Modern style.  Fred Thayer was the original courthouse architect.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds.  The county was founded on March 6, 1868 from Redwood County as the 71^st county.  Lynd was the original county seat until 1873 when Marshall became the seat.  The county is named for Civil War hero General Nathaniel Lyon.  The county seat is named for United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall. 

Lyon County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer, an auditor, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Nineteen District Court Judges serve Lyon, Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lincoln, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, and Watonwan counties (judicial.) Lyon County is in the southwest part of the state.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is northeast of the county.  The county center is 7.6 miles Southwest of Marshall nearer Lynd.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Yellow Medicine, Redwood, Murray, Pipestone, and Lincoln counties. 

The area of the county is 714.2 square miles.  It is 37 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 41 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 35.4 persons per square mile making it 36 out of 87 in the state.  Lyon County has 80.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 14 travels east to west through the county from Redwood County to Lincoln County.  United States Highway 59 passes north to south from Yellow Medicine County to Murray County.  The county is a rectangle.  Marshall is north and east of center in the county.  Marshall is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 53.9% of the county population.  This county is in the Marshall Micropolitan Statistical Area.