Murray

Formed May 23, 1857 (49^th county)

Murray County (8,175), Slayton (2,015)

A red brick Modern building was erected in 1974.  The site is at 28^th Street and Broadway.  The architects are Stegner, Hendrickson, McNutt and Sullivan.  United States Highway 59 is nine blocks to the east of the courthouse.  Veteran memorials are on the complex grounds.  There was an 1892 classier building also in Slayton.  Currie was the county seat until 1887.  A County Administration building was added in 1982.  Murray County was formed on May 23, 1857 from Brown County as the 49^th county.  The county is named for local politician William Pitt Murray.  The county seat is named for settler Charles Slayton. 

Murray 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 Murray, Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, and Watonwan counties (judicial.) The county is in the southwest part of the state.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is northeast and Sioux Falls, South Dakota is southwest of the county.  The county center is 5.3 miles Northwest of Slayton nearer Hadley.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lyon, Redwood, Cottonwood, Nobles, Rock, and Pipestone counties. 

The area of the county is 704.4 square miles.  It is 42 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 75 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 11.6 persons per square mile making it 69 out of 87 in the state.  Murray County has 55.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 59 travels north to south through the county from Lyon County to Nobles County.  The county is a rectangle.  Slayton is slightly south of the center of the county.  Slayton is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 24.7% of the county population.