Did you ever wonder how a town or county in Montana got its name? Montana is both a Latin and Spanish word for a mountainous region, a name first applied to the region in 1864. At this time, Judge Sidney Edgerton persuaded Congressman James M. Ashley to carry forward a bill creating a new territory called Montana. The bill was successful and President Abraham Lincoln signed it into law on May 26, 1864. On November 8, 1889 Montana became the forty-first state in the Union and remains the fourth largest state at over 147,000 square miles.
Listed below are the names of all fifty-six counties and their county seats in Montana along with a brief narrative on the who, what, why, and how Montanans named their state. The county number appears on most Montana license plates as such each county number appears next to its respective county. Follow the link to a map depicting Montana counties and the year they were established http://ceic.mt.gov/graphics/Data_Maps/Counties_Created.pdf courtesy of the Montana Department of Commerce's Census and Economic Information Center.
Beaverhead County (#18)
Beaverhead County was established as one of the original counties on February 2, 1865, by the Montana Territorial Legislature. The Legislature named the county for Beaverhead Rock. In 1911 a portion of Madison County was annexed, making the county one of the largest in the state. Originally the county seat was Bannack, but later Dillon became the county seat. The county's origins are linked to mining and ranching.
Dillon, Beaverhead County, MT
The seat of Beaverhead County was named for Sidney Dillon, president of the Union Pacific Railroad. Dillon was created when a small syndicate purchased Richard Deacon's 480 acre ranch for $10,500 in 1880. Deacon had brought railway construction to a halt by refusing to allow the tracks to be laid across his property. Montana State Normal College, listed on the National Register, opened for classes here in 1896.
Big Horn County (#22)
Big Horn County was one of the original counties established by the Montana Territorial Legislature in February 1865. Its boundaries were defined as all of the territory not included in any of the other counties, encompassing the entire eastern third of the territory. For administrative purposes it was attached to Gallatin County, since there were no large towns in the region. Over the years portions of the county formed about 20 new counties. From 1889 to 1913 Big Horn County ceased to exist. Modern Big Horn County was established in 1913. It consists primarily of the Crow Indian Reservation. The county seat is Hardin.
Hardin, Big Horn County, MT
The Lincoln Land Company laid out the town of Hardin in 1907. C.H. Morrall, president of the company, after his good friend, Wyoming cattleman, Samuel B. Hardin. Situated on the fringes of the Crow Indian Reservation, the town incorporated in 1911. The Crow name for Hardin is Chichu'che or Hard, the Crow translation of the English. Hardin includes National Register-listed Commercial and Residential districts. In 1927 Thomas Campbell of Hardin operated the nation's largest wheat farm at 95,000 acres and pioneered the use of industrial machinery in farming.
Blaine County (#24)
The creation of Blaine County was first proposed in the Legislature in 1893. The proponents selected the name Blaine in honor of James G. Blaine, presidential candidate in 1884, who had just recently died. The county was proposed two more times before it finally succeeded in 1912. The location of the county seat was a topic of intense controversy. Chinook, in the extreme western part of the county, was selected as the county seat largely due to pressure from B. D. Phillips, who three years later got the eastern half of the county removed to form Phillips County.
Chinook, Blaine County, MT
Chinook, the seat of Blaine County, is located west of the confluence of Lodge Creek and the Milk River, along Montana's Hi Line and about 30 miles south of the Saskatchewan border. The town was founded by Thomas O'Hanlon of County Clare, Ireland, who arrived at the old Fort Belknap Agency in 1871, working as a post trader and later postmaster. In November 1889 O'Hanlon opened the first store in Chinook. Because inhabitants were often surprised at the abrupt change of temperature when Montana's famous warm winds or "chinooks" blew through, M'Ginnis suggested naming the community Chinook in October 1889. Chinook has two 1920s gas stations listed on the National Register: Dave's Texaco at 237 Pennsylvania Street and Young Brothers Chevrolet Garage, 201 Pennsylvania Street.
Broadwater County (#43)
As a result of intense political effort by Archibald E. Spriggs, legislator from Meagher County, Broadwater County was established in 1897 from portions of Jefferson and Meagher counties. Sen. Thomas Carter proposed that the new county be named in honor of Charles A. Broadwater, who had located his Diamond R freighting company corrals at Bedford, had built the Montana Central Railroad, and had built the Broadwater Hotel in Helena.
Townsend, Broadwater County, MT
Townsend, the seat of Broadwater County is a railroad town. The Northern Pacific Railway Company created the town in 1883 when it completed its transcontinental line. Not only did the company plot the town, it also supplied the name. Company officials named the new town after the wife of former Northern Pacific President Charles B. Wright. The railroad was not the only industry contributing to the health of the community—farmers, ranchers, and the timber industry kept the town alive through the drought of the 1920s and the depression of the 1930s.
Carbon County (#10)
Carbon County was created in 1895 out of portions of Park and Yellowstone counties. It was named for the abundance of coal at Red Lodge and Bearcreek. In addition to coal, Carbon County also has oil reserves. Because of its proximity to the northeast entrance to Yellowstone Park, it is now a popular tourist destination. Red Lodge is the county seat.
Red Lodge, Carbon County, MT
Red Lodge, the seat of Carbon County (so named for its rich and numerous coal deposits), was established as a coal mining community to fuel the Northern Pacific Railroad locomotives after 1883. The name derives from the Red Lodge clan of the Crow Indians who inhabited the valley at the time of white settlement. In 1888 the Northern Pacific built a branch line from Laurel to serve the new coal mines and growing community. The first coal mine was run by J.M. Fox, a friend of the President Villard of the Northern Pacific, and by 1903 the town boasted a population of 3000. By the 1930s it had become famous as a stopping place along the Red Lodge-Cooke City highway. Red Lodge has two districts listed on the National Register, the Hi Bug and the Red Lodge Commercial District.
Carter County (#42)
Carter County was separated from Fallon County in 1917 and named in honor of U.S. Senator Thomas H. Carter, who had died in 1911. The county is in the extreme southeast corner of Montana and is predominantly prairie. Ekalaka is the county seat.
Ekalaka, Carter County, MT
Named for the Ogallala bride of David Russell, Ijkalaka, the town started in 1885 with the establishment of Russell's store/saloon. Ekalaka became the county seat of Carter County when it was created in 1917. One of the many local stories about Ekalaka relates that when local cowboy Fred King spotted Claude Carter constructing a log building and inquired about it, Carter blandly replied he was “making a ‘deadfall to catch cowboys.’ ” A short time later King passed back through the area and noted that the “deadfall” seemed to be working very well.
Cascade County (#2)
Cascade County was formed from the southwest corner of Chouteau County in 1887, when the arrival of the railroad guaranteed that the Great Falls area would prosper. It was named for the falls and rapids on the Missouri River at Great Falls. The county is one of the largest in the state in terms of population. In addition to the Missouri River, two other rivers, the Smith and the Sun, traverse the county. Great Falls is the county seat. Historically, the economy has been dominated by copper smelting, refining, and fabrication, as well as agricultural and the U.S. Air Force.
Great Falls, Cascade County, MT
Paris Gibson recognized the potential of a town near the Great Falls of the Missouri and with the assistance of his friend, railway magnate James J. Hill, acquired title to the land east and south of the river for a town site, which he platted and named Great Falls in 1884. Hill quickly promised to construct a railroad line to the new city, which arrived in 1887. When Great Falls incorporated in 1888, Paris Gibson became the first mayor. National Register-listed districts in Great Falls include the Northside Residential Historic District and the Railroad Historic District. The Charles M. Russell House and Studio and the Great Falls Portage are National Historic Landmarks.
Chouteau County (#19)
Chouteau County was one of the original counties, formally established by the territorial legislature in February 1865. It was named for Pierre and Charles Chouteau, fur traders from St. Louis, who were influential in the establishment of Fort Benton as the shipping point for Montana furs. The original county encompassed most of north central Montana. Briefly the county acquired the northern portion of Deer Lodge County, but later lost territory to many new counties. Fort Benton is the county seat, which was the historic terminus of Missouri steamboat traffic.
Fort Benton, Chouteau County, MT
Major Alexander Culbertson of the American Fur Company established a trading post on the banks of the upper Missouri River in 1846, naming it for US Senator Thomas Hart Benton, the company’s congressional ally. As the demand for buffalo hides replaced beaver pelts and the gold rush began, a settlement outside the post walls catered to a new kind of traffic. Throughout the 1860s, Fort Benton’s mile-long levee docked fifty steamboats a season bringing prospectors, traders, and merchandise to this northwest gateway and carried buffalo hides, bullion, and passengers back to “the States.” Fort Benton’s merchant princes sent traders laden with rifles and whiskey into Canada to lure Indian peoples away from trade with the Hudson's Bay Company. The lawlessness that resulted brought the newly created North West Mounted Police into present-day Alberta and Saskatchewan. As the Mounties worked to curtail the whiskey and gun trade, they brought the same Fort Benton companies back to western Canada to supply all their needs. Convoys of freight wagons carried tons of food, supplies, mail, and treaty rations to Canada and returned with buffalo bones and hides, furs, wolf pelts, and coal. Fort Benton’s glory was mighty but short-lived. The railroad replaced the steamboats in the 1880s, trade trails became a thing of the past, and the ambitions of the town once called the “Chicago of the Plains” faded. Fort Benton, a National Historic Landmark, is the southernmost point of the Old Forts Trail. National Register listings at this important site include Fort Benton Historic District, the Fort Benton Bridge, I. C. Baker House, Chouteau County Courthouse, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and the fully-restored Grand Union Hotel. Fort Benton attractions include museums and the restored fort.
Custer County (#14)
Custer County was established in 1877 and was named in honor of George Armstrong Custer of Little Big Horn Battle fame. It was one of two counties formed out of the former Big Horn County. The county encompassed the area of the battlefield and all the way to the eastern boundary of the territory. Over the years the county lost land to five new counties. Currently Custer County surrounds its county seat Miles City on both sides of the Yellowstone River.
Miles City, Custer County, MT
The seat of Custer county was originally called Milestown, and derives its name from General Nelson Miles who camped here at the mouth of the Tongue River on the Yellowstone in 1876 after a campaign of "rounding up hostile Indians." General Miles established the Tongue River Cantonment here that year, which very soon grew into Fort Keogh. The campsite was soon a stopping point for cowboys driving cattle from Texas. In 1877 the town boasted 200 residents, a number that doubled by 1879 and reached 2,600 by 1882, a year after the Northern Pacific Railroad came through in 1881. The arrival of the railway solidified Miles City's future as a leading cattle shipping point and the Miles City Montana Stockgrowers Association was formed in 1884. Since then Miles City has been a trade, service, and social center for Eastern Montana ranchers and governmental hub of eastern Montana. The first Ursuline convent in the Rocky Mountains opened in Miles City on January 18, 1884. The nuns came at the invitation of Father Lindesmith, nearby Fort Keogh chaplain. The convent is listed in the National Register as are three historic districts: Miles City Carriage House, East Main Street, and Main Street.
Daniels County (#37)
Daniels County was founded in 1920 from portions of Sheridan and Valley counties. It was named for Mansfield Daniels, a local rancher. Daniels, in turn, selected the county seat's name Scobey, for his good friend Major Charles Richardson Anderson Scobey.
Scobey, Daniels County, MT
The seat of Daniels County, Scobey is named for Major Charles Richardson Anderson Scobey. Scobey was a cattleman in the Glendive area in 1883, a territorial legislator, and an Indian Agent at Fort Peck and Poplar. The town of Scobey is on the old Woody Mountain Trail used by Sioux , including Chief Sitting Bull, as they moved back and forth across the Canadian border. In 1900 local rancher Mansfield Daniels (for whom the county was named in 1920) asked Major Scobey to help secure a post office for the new settlement, which Daniels then named Scobey. The Great Northern Railway insisted that the town should be in its present site on the other side of the Poplar River about a mile and half further west, so in the summer of 1913 most of the residents moved to the new spot. The town was incorporated in 1916. Scobey is the county seat of Daniels County. Its false-fronted wooden courthouse, built originally at the turn of the century as the Commercial Hotel, is listed in the National Register.
Dawson County (#16)
Dawson County was formed in 1869 from the northern half of the original Big Horn County. The county was named for Major Andrew Dawson who managed the Fort Benton trading post for the American Fur Company from 1856 to 1864. The legislature chose Fort Peck as the official county seat, but attached the county to Chouteau County for legislative representation. Over the years Dawson County lost territory to form all of the counties of northeast Montana. Glendive, a major station along the Northern Pacific railroad, is the modern county seat.
Glendive, Dawson County, MT
Located near the confluence of Glendive Creek and the Yellowstone River, the area showed up on the 1867 Northern Pacific survey as a keep point on the proposed transcontinental route. The Yellowstone Land and Colonization Company platted the community in 1880 and the first train arrived in the new town of Glendive (named after the creek) on July 5, 1881. The town in its early days served as a shipping point for buffalo hides and bones east with cattle arriving to stock the growing ranches. The Montana Territorial government created Dawson County in 1869 naming it after Andrew Dawson of the American Fur Company. The county, however, remained unorganized forcing residents to travel to Fort Peck to conduct county business. The community of Glendive began lobbying for the county seat and in 1882 the county officially organized with Glendive as the seat of government. The Merrill Avenue Historic District, Glendive's commercial area, is listed in the National Register.
Deer Lodge County (#30)
The name of Deer Lodge County comes from the Native American name for the area, "It Soo-Ke- En- Car-Ne", the lodge of the whitetail deer. The 1865 legislature established the boundaries as a narrow north-south strip west of the Continental Divide from the Canadian border to the northern border of Beaverhead County. Silver Bow was named county seat. In a series of complicated boundary changes, Deer Lodge County lost territory to Lewis and Clark, Flathead, Powell, Granite, and Silver Bow counties. Anaconda is the current county seat, the historic center of copper smelting for the Anaconda Copper Mining Co.
Anaconda, Deer Lodge County, MT
Anaconda is the child of Montana Copper King Marcus Daly. Daly told a friend in 1883, “’Do you see where that cow is grazing? The main street of our town will run north and south in a direct line from here to where that cow is standing.’” Daly financed the construction of the giant smelter on Warm Springs Creek for ore coming from the mines in Butte and built the city of Anaconda—named for Daly's Anaconda copper mine—in 1883 to provide housing and services for smelter workers and their families. Anaconda is the seat of government for Deer Lodge County. Anaconda has five districts listed in the National Register: Commercial, Goosetown, Old Works, West Side and the Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway Historic Districts.
Fallon County (#39)
Fallon County, like the town of the same name, was named for Benjamin O'Fallon, an employee of the Missouri Fur Company, and U. S. Indian Agent for the Upper Missouri. The county was carved out of Custer County in 1913, and, in turn, contributed territory to Wibaux, Prairie, and Carter counties. The county is largely wheat farming country. Baker is the county seat.
Baker, Fallon County, MT
Originally named Lorraine, Baker was named for A.G. Baker, an engineer on the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway. The railway created Baker Lake to supply water to locomotives, and established the future seat of Fallon County on its shore. In 1912 oil and natural gas deposits were discovered near Baker and commercial gas wells are still numerous in the area. By 1920 Baker had more than 1,000 residents, and the population rose slowly but steadily until 1970 when it peaked at a little over 2500 citizens. The population has been slowing dwindling ever since.
Fergus County (#8)
Fergus County was created out of a portion of Meagher County by the Montana legislature on March 12, 1885, but the law did not go into effect until December 1886, to allow the two counties time to adjust their finances and officials. The county was named for early settler James Fergus, who was also a Councilman in the legislature. Lewistown became the county seat of the new county. No major boundary adjustments were made until the 1920s when Petroleum and Judith Basin Counties were created out of the east and west parts of Fergus County.
Lewistown, Fergus County, MT
In 1879, a group of Métis -- people of French and Chippewa-Cree descent -- homesteaded in this area, near the army’s Camp Lewis. Many street names memorialize these settlers, who included Francis A. Janeaux and Paul Morase. But open range cattle ranching, nearby gold discoveries, and the growth of the sheep industry quickly made Lewistown a regional supply center. Lewistown is at the geographical center of Montana. Fergus county was created in 1885 with Lewistown as its county seat. The district reflects the maturing of the town as a governmental and business center. C.E. Bell, one of the Montana Capitol’s architects, designed the 1904 jail. The elegant stone Carnegie library was built in 1907. The Lewistown Art Center is housed in what was once the Charles Lehman Bunkhouse. A number of Croatian builders and stonemasons settled in Lewistown. They left a tangible legacy in the stone buildings that grace Lewistown's streets. A group of these buildings have been listed on the National Register. Also listed in Lewistown are the Central Business, Courthouse, Judith Place, and Silk Stocking Historic Districts.
Flathead County (#7)
The 1893 Montana legislature created Flathead County out of the northern portion of Missoula County. Kalispell is the county seat. A small piece of Deer Lodge County was added in 1903. The county was presumably named for Flathead Lake, since the entire lake was originally included in Flathead County. Later, in 1923 most of the portion of the county containing the lake became Lake County. Traditionally, wood products dominated the county economy.
Kalispell, Flathead County, MT
As the tracks of the Great Northern Railway inched westward from St. Paul to Seattle, Flathead Valley towns vied for designation as the railway's division point. In the spring of 1891, however, railroad officials purchased land from the Reverend George Fisher and other early residents, founding a new settlement. The new town of Kalispell was platted in "T-town" form with Main Street perpendicular to one side of the proposed tracks. Some who doubted that the railroad would ever touch the new settlement dubbed it "Collapsetown" and "Wait a Spell," but even so, lots sold for as much as $1,250. Construction boomed on Main Street with typical first generation wooden frame buildings, while many businesses were moved on log rollers four miles across the prairie from once-thriving Demersville. On New Year's Day of 1892, the tracks officially reached Kalispell. Banners proclaimed "Kalispell and St. Paul United by Steel," and "beer and whiskey were as free as the fresh air." Although the railroad moved its division point to Whitefish in 1904, Kalispell continued to prosper. Designated the county seat in 1893 and later bolstered by the homesteading era, the lumber industry and tourism, Kalispell became an important trade, financial and service center. It was named for the Pend d' Oreille Tribe, the Kalispels, who are linguistically related to the Salish people . Kalispell has numerous independent properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places and three districts: Main Street Commercial, Courthouse, and the East Side.
Gallatin County (#6)
Gallatin County was named for the river and mountain range of the same name after Albert Gallatin, Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of Treasury. It was one of the original counties approved by the territorial legislature in February 1865. The history of its boundaries is one of the most complicated of all the counties. Over the years it gained and lost territory with all its neighbors. Bozeman is the county seat. Agriculture and Montana State University dominate the county's economy.
Bozeman, Gallatin County, MT
Leading wagon trains to the booming gold camps of Bannack and Virginia City, miner-turned-guide John Bozeman recognized the agricultural potential of the Gallatin Valley. At his direction in 1864, William Beall and Daniel Rouse laid out a town site. The new town of Bozeman soon became a crucial supply center for nearby Fort Ellis and for those heading further west. When designation of Yellowstone Park brought a promise of renown to the region in 1872, Bozeman already boasted a telegraph line, a newspaper, a bank and a school. The first major building boom along Main Street occurred when the tracks of the Northern Pacific Railroad reached Bozeman in 1883. Town incorporation soon followed. A decade later electric street lights, streetcars and the grand Romanesque-inspired Bozeman Hotel urbanized the streetscape. Bozeman prospered as a regional commercial center. Despite earthquake damage in 1925 and brightly lit modern storefronts that draw attention away from some vintage upper stories, Main Street's buildings chronicle Bozeman's emergence as the undisputed economic and cultural center of the rich Gallatin Valley. Bozeman includes ten districts listed in the National Register of Historic Places and numerous independently listed homes and buildings. With the 2000 Census Gallatin County ranked as one of Montana's fastest growing counties, with large numbers of out-of-state immigrants attracted to Bozeman.
Garfield County(#50)
Named for the 20th President of the United States, James Abram Garfield, Garfield County was created in 1919 with the town of Jordan as its seat of government. One of the least populated places in the United States, Garfield county has approximately 0.4 residents per square mile.
Jordan, County, MT
Arthur J. Jordan began homesteading along Big Dry Creek in 1896. The entrepreneurial spirit struck Jordan a few years later when he realized that if he purchased extra supplies he could sell them to area ranchers and homesteaders. The town started in 1899 but Jordan claimed that it did not get its name from him. According to local legend, Jordan named the town after his good friend W.B. Jordan of Miles City. With the creation of Garfield County in 1919, the town of Jordan squared off against Cohagen, Sand Springs, and West Edwards in the election to determine the county seat. An acrimonious newspaper campaign began between the Jordan Times, the Edwards Journal, and the Sand Springs Star. When the election finally occurred Jordan edged out the other contenders. As of 1986, the Garfield County High School in Jordan still had a dormitory for those students who lived too far out in the county to return home at night.
Glacier County (#38)
Created in 1919 from Teton County, Glacier County received its name because it borders the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park, which had been established in 1910. The bulk of the Blackfoot Indian Reservation is located within the boundaries of the county, and its county seat is Cut Bank.
Cut Bank, Glacier County, MT
The town of Cut Bank began in 1891 with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway. The town takes its name from the Cut Bank River one of the main tributaries of the Marias River. The railroad used the town as a division point constructing the Great Northern Hotel to provide room and board for their employees. Many of the new arrivals to Cut Bank were Japanese and Chinese railroad workers some of who began businesses in the new town. The area underwent a significant change in 1909 as the large cattle herds began closing out and by 1912 homesteaders had fenced and were farming most of the tillable land. Initially located in Teton County, Cut Bank became the county seat for the newly created Glacier County in 1919.
Golden Valley County (#53)
Golden Valley County received its name because of its abundant streams and fertile soil. Advocates of the area thought the name Golden Valley would draw more homesteaders. Established in October 1920, the county took over the northern part of Sweet Grass County and the western part of Musselshell County. Ryegate is the county seat.
Ryegate, Golden Valley County, MT
Named by a railroader for its picturesque setting in a field of grain, the Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul Railway established Ryegate in 1908 as a depot and station stop. Within three years, the town boasted a full range of services including a bank, a hotel, a mercantile, a bakery, a barber, a livery, a physician and a church. In 1920 when local citizens petitioned the legislature to create Golden Valley County, Ryegate became the county seat.
Granite County (#46)
Granite County, formed in 1893 from a portion of Deer Lodge County, was named for the predominant rock in the surrounding mountains, rich in gold and silver ore. The name has also been applied to Granite Mountain, the town of Granite, and the Granite Mountain Mining Company. The county seat is Philipsburg.
Philipsburg, Granite County, MT
Philipsburg, an historic mining town on Flint Creek and the seat of Granite County, was named for mine engineer Philip Deidesheimer, the inventor of square-set timbering first employed in the Nevada Comstock, who platted the townsite in 1867. The town was the focus for the development of rich gold and silver mines, and was subject to the boom and bust cycles of the mining economy. The town was reported dead in 1869 but revived a little with the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1887. It boomed again in the 1890s and soon the newly merged Granite-Bimetallic Mining Companies were producing silver in large quantities again, until the silver crash in 1893 caused by the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. During WWI manganese deposits proved the source of yet another boom. And so the cycle continued. Like many Montana mining towns, Philipsburg was home to a number of ethnic groups including Swedes, Italians, Serbs, and Chinese. The Philipsburg Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1986, includes the commercial area and other structures.
Hill County (#12)
Hill County was formed in 1912 out of part of Chouteau County. It was named for Great Northern Railway founder, James J. Hill, in recognition of the role the railroad had played in the development of north central Montana. The county seat is located at Havre, home of historic Fort Assinniboine.
Havre, Hill County, MT
Pronounced "HAV-er," the town was first known as Bull Hook Bottoms or Bull Hook Siding when the Great Northern Railway first located the site in September 1887. Bull Hook Siding was incorporated as a town in 1892, but soon after local citizens got together and renamed the community in 1894 for Le Havre, France, the ancestral home of local teamster Gus Descelles. Havre became the county seat of Hill County, named for James J. Hill, owner and founder of the Great Northern Railway, in 1912. Havre's Residential Historic District is listed on the National Register and features homes whose owners' fortunes were made providing supplies and services to soldiers at nearby Fort Assinniboine, homesteaders, and Great Northern Railway employees.
Jefferson County (#51)
Created on February 2, 1865, Jefferson County is one of Montana’s original counties. It was named for the Jefferson River, which was, in turn, named by Lewis and Clark for President Thomas Jefferson. Originally the county seat was Jefferson City. In 1869 the county seat was moved to Radersburg, and in 1883 was moved again, to its current location of Boulder.
Boulder, Jefferson County, MT
Originally called Boulder Valley, the town started as a stage station on the Fort Benton to Virginia City route in the 1860s. The town of Boulder developed in 1862 as prospectors rushed from Gold Creek to the Boulder River. The Boulder Town Company incorporated three years after the first buildings were constructed. Residents chose the name because of all the boulders scattered across the valley. They shortened the name to Boulder in 1897. The town prospered with the development of mining and agriculture in the valley. The community received a further economic boost with the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1888.
Judith Basin County (#36)
Judith Basin County was formed in 1920 from portions of Cascade and Fergus counties. It was named for the Judith river which flows through it. The Judith River, in turn, had been named by William Clark for his future wife Julia (Judith) Hancock. The county is best known for its Yogo sapphires. Stanford is the county seat.
Stanford, Judith Basin County, MT
The old town of Stanford began with the establishment of a trading post by T.C. Power in 1875 about three miles from its present location. In the early days residents could only reach Lewistown or Great Falls by stage. There are three stories as to how Stanford acquired its name. The first is the Bower Brothers in 1880 named the town after their native town Stanfordville, New York and simply abbreviated the name. The second is the when the town applied for a post office, which the people wanted named "Antelope Butte Springs," the Postmaster General declared the name too long, he then proceeded to name it Stanford in recognition of Senator Stanford of California. The third story states the town takes its name from a Great Falls man, Major James T. Stanford. As often occurred with the arrival of the railroad survey crew, the new line missed Stanford by about 3 miles so after 28 years the town picked up and moved in 1908 with the construction of the Great Northern Railway’s Billings and Northern Line.
Lake County (#15)
Lake County was one of the last counties in Montana to be established. It was formed in 1923 out of portions of Missoula and Flathead counties. It was named for the fact that Flathead Lake lies mostly in the county. The county is famous for its cherry orchards. About half of the Flathead Indian Reservation is in Lake County. The county seat is Polson.
Polson, Lake County, MT
The community of Polson sets nestled at the foot of Flathead Lake. The Salish named the place Pied e’ lai (Foot of the Lake). The town later took the last name of pioneer rancher David Polson in 1898, although it had other predecessor names—Eneas and Lamberts Landing. The town did not incorporate until 1910 but activity began as early as 1864 when Baptiste Eneas built and operated a ferry across the Flathead River where it exited the lake. Henry Lambert opened a trading post and general store nearby in 1881, which was known as Lambert’s Landing for a while. The town operated as an important shipping point on Flathead Lake. With the allotment of the Flathead Indian Reservation and its opening to white settlement, the community boomed with the sudden influx of homesteaders in 1910. With the creation of Lake County in 1923, Polson vied with Ronan for the coveted county seat and won.
Lewis and Clark County (#5)
Edgerton County was one of the original counties, established by the territorial legislature in 1865. Silver City was named the county seat. However leaders of the growing town of Helena wanted the county seat. The dispute was settled in 1865 when Wilbur Fisk Sanders rode to Silver City, stole the county records, and rode back to Helena with the records in his saddle bags. The county seat has been in Helena ever since. In December 1867 the legislature renamed the county for the explorers Lewis and Clark. Reputedly, the change came about because southern members of the legislature were unhappy with the affiliation of the former governor Edgerton with the national Radical Republican faction.
Helena, Lewis and Clark County, MT
The town's main street, Last Chance Gulch , memorializes Helena's chaotic beginning as a gold camp in 1864. Within a year of the placer gold discovery, a boomtown flourished, with homes and businesses in tents and log cabins. Helena, named for a town of the same name in Scott County, Minnesota, survived after the placer gold played out because pioneer entrepreneurs invested in homes and businesses. The territorial capital moved to Helena from Virginia City in 1875, and the town received one of the nation's five U.S. Assay Offices--acknowledgment of the area's extensive wealth in gold. The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883 and Helena's election as state capital in 1894, confirmed the town's survival. The Lewis and Clark County Courthouse survives as Montana's only standing territorial period capitol, and as the first state capitol from 1889 to 1902. Downtown buildings, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, offer a variety of architectural styles despite loss of some to fires, earthquakes and urban renewal. The panic of 1893 and end of guaranteed federal silver purchases slowed Helena's early momentum, but the gold camp that survived grew gradually as a business and government center. In addition to the downtown area, National Register listings in Helena include the South-Central, Rodney Street, House of the Good Shepherd, West Main Street, and Railroad Depot historic districts as well as many independent homes, buildings, and several cemeteries.
Liberty County (#48)
Liberty County was formed in 1920 out of portions of Chouteau and Hill counties. The formation of the county was due in part to the dissatisfaction of Chester residents in losing out to Havre as county seat for Hill county. There is no official explanation of the name, but it can be assumed to be an expression of patriotism, during the post-World War I period. Chester is the county seat., and the county economy is dominated by agriculture.
Chester, Liberty County, MT
The first telegraph operator for the Great Northern Railway assigned to the new station on the Montana Hi-line named the town of Chester after his hometown in Pennsylvania. Chester applied for and received a post office in 1895. The Great Northern began construction in 1891 of a 50,000-gallon water tank and windmill, and a section house. The railroad added the coal dock in 1900. The town officially incorporated in 1910. By 1912 Chester eclipsed both Havre and Shelby in size and boasted it was the largest town west of Minot, ND. With the creation of Liberty County in 1920 from part of Hill and Chouteau Counties, Chester won out over Joplin for the coveted county seat. The First Episcopal Church and the First State Bank of Chester are listed on the National Register.
Lincoln County (#56)
Lincoln County was created in 1909 out of Flathead County, when Libby and Eureka residents petitioned the legislature. The new county was named for President Abraham Lincoln. It may also have been named for Abe Lincoln Mountain southwest of Yaak. After a spirited election, Libby defeated Eureka in the election for county seat. Wood products has historically dominated the county economy.
Libby, Lincoln County, MT
John S. Fisher led a group of miners through the Kootenai River country in the early 1860s prospecting for gold. As they panned for “color” in the streams and rivers of Northwest Montana, they named many of the Kootenai’s tributaries. One small stream was dubbed Libby Creek by Stephen Allen after his daughter Elizabeth “Libby” Allen. Miners flocked to Libby Creek in 1867 as word of a promising placer strike spread and the mining camp of Libbysville was established. Miners deserted Libbysville by the 1870s and the camp did not experience a revival until 1885. Six years later B.F. Howard and several other miners received word that the Great Northern Railway was going to construct its transcontinental rail line along the Kootenai River. As a result they moved downstream from Libbysville and established a town site near the confluence of Libby Creek and the Kootenai River. The new town shortened its name to Libby and it quickly replaced Libbysville in 1892.
Madison County (#25)
Madison County takes its name from the Madison River, which the Lewis and Clark Expedition named after Secretary of State James Madison in 1805. With the formation of Montana Territory, the territorial legislature incorporated Madison County into Montana on May 26, 1864. Virginia City became and remains the county seat. Madison County remained unchanged until 1911, when the state legislature took part of it and gave it to Beaverhead County. Madison County encompasses Madison Valley, Ruby Valley, Tobacco Root Range, Gravelly Range, and covers 3,541 square miles of territory.
Virginia City, Madison County, MT
Prospectors found placer gold along a streambed choked with alder tree in the spring of 1863. Thousands came from every corner of the world to try their luck, make a buck, and garner a piece of the far-famed treasure. Confederate sympathizers named the townsite Varina after the wife of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, but Union supporter Dr. G. G. Bissell changed the name to Virginia when he filed the official townsite documents. A brief but turbulent period of lawlessness and vigilante justice ended with the creation of Montana Territory in spring, 1864. Virginia City quickly rose to territorial capital (1865-1875), but the glory faded when placer gold played out. People moved on. Bypassed on the railroad route, Virginia City struggled. Gold dredging operations from the 1890s to the 1940s saved the town from abandonment. Then, Great Falls legislator Charles Bovey and his wife, Sue, began buying the dilapidated gold-rush era buildings in the 1940s. Virginia City became one of the first preservation efforts in the West and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961. It is still the Madison County seat.
In 1997, the State of Montana purchased the Bovey properties; these mix with privately owned homes and businesses. While the gold rush era false fronts and territorial period landmarks reflect the optimism of early residents, Virginia City’s many historic layers tell a broader story, providing a unique window to the past.
McCone County (#41)
The Montana State Legislature officially created McCone County on April 1, 1919, but had actually approved it two months earlier. At first legislators debated on what to call the new county some advocating Redwater after the Redwater River. However, one of the committee members of the Legislature noted that, “… it would help a lot in Senate if the name remained McCone. Several Senators told me they would vote for it just to honor the old man.” The committee decided to keep the name McCone in honor of Montana pioneer Senator George McCone of Dawson County. The residents of McCone County went to the polls on October 21, 1919 awarding the county seat to Circle by a narrow margin.
Circle, McCone County, MT
Circle takes its name from the brand of the Mabry Cattle Corporation, a basic circle. The Mabry Cattle Corporation arrived in central Montana and established its headquarters, the Circle Ranch, on the Redwater River in 1884. The company eventually moved from Circle, but the town continued to expand with the arrival of Peter Rorvik, considered the founder of Circle, in 1905. He opened a store and post office to accommodate area farmers and the town received an added boost with the arrival of homesteaders after 1909. The town moved in 1914 when the Great Northern platted a new location along their branch line. Although homesteaders began abandoning the area after 1919, Circle continued. With the discovery of oil in the 1950s business once again picked up for a short time.
Meagher County (#47)
The territorial legislature created Meagher County in 1867 naming it after territorial secretary and acting Governor General Thomas Francis Meagher. He announced the formation of the county in Diamond City which became the first county seat before losing out to White Sulphur Springs in 1880. During his tenure as territorial secretary, Meagher served as acting governor in the absence of Sidney Edgerton. He disappeared off a docked steamboat at the Fort Benton levy in 1867; rumors abound regarding his disappearance ranging from foul play to accidental drowning. Over the next several decades the legislature donated portions of Meagher County to Gallatin, Fergus, Cascade, Sweet Grass, Yellowstone, Broadwater, Lewis and Clark, and Wheatland Counties.
White Sulphur Springs, Meagher County, MT
Originally called Brewers Springs, after James Scott Brewer, discoverer of the thermal springs in 1866, White Sulphur Springs takes its name from the white deposits embedded around the sulphur springs. The Native Americans knew of the springs long before the arrival of Brewer calling them “wampum waters” or “medicine waters” for their healing powers. Since they viewed the springs as sacred, the area served as a safe zone from inter-tribal warfare. The Native Americans would immerse themselves in the water to relieve sore or stiff muscles and they often would bring their sick or injured horses to the springs to heal them. Henry Brainerd, postmaster of Brewers Springs in 1876, ordered the name changed to White Sulphur Springs, after Brewer sold the property to Dr. William Parberry, who laid out the town site a year later. White Sulphur Springs became part of Meagher County in 1874 and took over the county seat from Diamond City in 1880. Lumber made up a large part of the town’s industry starting in the 1950s and lasting through the 1970s. In 1983, the town’s lumber mills shut down and the town suffered a recession. Due to the lack of jobs, the town experienced an exodus and struggled to stay afloat. In the early 1990s, the town perked up again as tourism picked up. White Sulphur Springs is located near the Smith River Canyon, which is very popular for fishing.
Mineral County (#54)
As the fires of 1910 cooled, the residents of Missoula County who lived in the area of the western part of the county fumed over the expenditure of county monies for roads and schools as well as the sense of abandonment they felt during and after the fires of 1910. Four years later, concerned citizens established the New County Club of Superior and Iron Mountain putting together a petition for the state legislature to create Mineral County. The Montana legislature approved the petition creating Mineral County in 1914 with Superior as the county seat. Orville G. Willet suggested the name Mineral County since most of those involved in the petition for the new county owned mining claims. Willet became the first state senator for the new county serving in the 14th and 15th legislative sessions (1915 and 1917). Unbeknownst to Willet, he contracted leprosy while serving in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. Shortly after his marriage to Elsie Clinton in 1917, the disease manifested itself. They spent the next six years under quarantine on their farm near Alberton, MT where they remained until 1923 when they moved to the leprosarium at Carville, LA. Orville died there five years later.
Superior, Mineral County, MT
Originally known as Superior City, Superior received its name from a former resident of Superior, Wisconsin. Residents started settling near Cedar Creek in 1869 and a fledgling town emerged in 1870. The town established a post office in 1871 under postmaster Silas R Smith. Four years later, the post office moved to the A.P. Johnston Ranch and in 1889, the government had the post office moved again west to the area near Flat Creek, which became the permanent location of Superior. Missoula County, the Iron Mountain Mine, and subscriptions paid for construction of a bridge across the Clark Fork River to facilitate transportation of ore from local mines. In 1908, the Superior Hotel became the first place in the United States where Gideons placed their bibles. Six years later Superior became the county seat of newly created Mineral County. Logging and mining continued to shape Superior’s history well into the late twentieth century.
Missoula County (#4)
Created in 1860 as part of Washington Territory, Missoula County became part of Idaho Territory in 1863 for two years before it took up permanent residence in Montana. As one of the original counties of Montana, Missoula County shares its name with the city of Missoula, which is also the county seat. Several versions exist regarding the origins of the name Missoula with definitions ranging from “horrible (Issoul)” to “by or near the place of fear or ambush (Im-i-sul-e-etikee)” and “sparkling or chilly waters (Ne-missoola-takoo)” or “river of awe.”
Missoula, Missoula County, MT
C. P. Higgins and Frank Worden established a trading post on the newly finished Mullan Road in 1860. Named Hellgate, it was the first seat of Missoula County. Worden and Higgins began construction of a flour and sawmill in 1865 where Rattlesnake Creek enters the Missoula River (Clark Fork) and the settlement moved to Missoula Mills. In 1866 it became the seat of Missoula County and evolved to regional commercial and transportation center, and by 1877 Fort Missoula was constructed to oversee Indian movements in western Montana. Although the origins of the name are disputed, most sources say that the name Missoula goes back to 1812 when explorer David Thompson sketched an extraordinary map of the valley, naming it "Ne-missoola-takoo." Later shortened to Missoula, it incorporates the Salish word for “chilly waters.” Missoula includes many properties listed independently on the National Register and six historic districts: University of Montana, University Area, Southside, Northside Railroad, Lower Rattlesnake, and East Pine Street.
Musselshell County (#23)
The Montana legislature created Musselshell County in 1911 from Fergus and Yellowstone Counties, with Roundup as the county seat. Residents named the county after the Musselshell River which runs through the area. The Hidatsa had told the Lewis and Clark Expedition that they would encounter the Mahtush-ahzhah which they translated as “Muscelshell.”
Roundup, Musselshell County, MT
The present site of Roundup was the location of the annual open range cattle roundup by the area's ranches during the 1880s. Old Roundup was established in 1882 by buffalo hunter, James McMillan and his wife at the confluence of Half Breed Creek and the Musselshell River. In 1907 the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railway reached Roundup, and the rich coal fields in the vicinity were developed to supply the railroad with power. The new town of Roundup was established a short distance north of the old town. Native son Tony Boyle rose to the presidency of the United Mine Workers.
Park County (#49)
The Montana Legislature created Park County in 1887. The county received its name from its proximity to Yellowstone National Park. It encompassed parts of Gallatin, Carbon, and Sweet Grass Counties. The Crow Indians inhabited the area and until the Lewis & Clark expedition, no white man had entered the area. The Northern Pacific Railroad built tracks through the Park County area beginning in 1881, arriving in Livingston on Jan. 15, 1883. Three months after the creation of Park County, Livingston became the county seat.
Livingston, Park County, MT
Livingston takes its name from Johnston Livingston, a large stockholder and director of the Northern Pacific Railroad from 1875 to 1881 and from 1884 to 1887. The town of Livingston grew out of a trading post called Benson's Landing, three miles downstream. With the arrival of railroad contractors for the Northern Pacific in July 1882, the trading post became known as Clark City, named for Herman Clark, a contractor on the Northern Pacific Railroad. The railroad officially reached the area on November 22, 1882 and moved the entire town to its present location a month later, renaming it Livingston. In 1887, Livingston became the county seat of the newly created Park County and in the 1890s, Livingston welcomed several manufacturing businesses into the area including sawmills and cigar factories. Throughout its history, the Northern Pacific Railway remained the town's largest employer, constructing the largest Northern Pacific shops west of the Mississippi. Livingston includes four historic districts listed on the National Register: Commercial, East Side Residential, West Side Residential, and B Street.
Petroleum County (#55)
The Montana legislature created Petroleum County in 1925 from Fergus County with Winnett as the county seat. The county owes its name to the petroleum produced from the Cat Creek oil field discovered in 1920. It also has the distinction of being the last county formed in the state. With 493 residents as of the 2000 census it remains Montana’s least populated county.
Winnett, Petroleum County, MT
Winnett was named for Walter John Winnett, who founded his ranch in the area in 1879. During the homestead boom of the 1910s Winnett grew rapidly, with many businesses including a bank, a hotel, a newspaper, and other enterprises. However, drought and depression destroyed much of this prosperity. The oil boom of the early 1920s again caused the town to grow and it became the county seat of the newly established Petroleum County.
Phillips County (#11)
The Montana legislature created Phillips County in 1915 from Blaine and Valley Counties with Malta as the county seat. It takes its name from former Choteau County senator Benjamin D. Phillips, who operated a sheep ranch and several mines in the Little Rockies. Phillips used his political influence to ensure that the new county encompassed a large part of the southwestern Little Rocky Mountains, which contained his mining properties. Phillips County encompasses 6565 square miles making it one of Montana’s largest counties.
Malta, Phillips County, MT
Known first as Siding 54 when it was created in 1887, like so many other Hi-Line towns, Malta was named for the Mediterranean Island by Great Northern Railway officials in 1888. The open area around Malta attracted many cattlemen and some of the largest cattle companies in Montana including the Bloom Cattle Company, the Coburn Circle C, and the N Bar N. One of Malta’s most exciting moments occurred on July 3, 1901 when the Kid Curry gang robbed the Great Northern Railway near Malta and got away with nearly $40,000. When the surrounding area was opened for homesteading in the 1910s, Malta boomed and by 1915 when Phillips County was created, Malta became its permanent seat. During the Great Depression, Malta was the base for the Milk River Resettlement Project, begun in 1934. It relocated poor, dryland farmers to farms in the irrigable Milk River Valley. The Civilian Conservation Corps also established a camp at Malta. Today, Malta remains a cattle town that offers many attractions to tourists including the Bowdoin Wildlife Refuge, which is only six miles from Malta.
Pondera County (#26)
The Montana legislature created Pondera County in 1919 from Chouteau and Teton Counties with Conrad as the county seat. Local lore suggests that Pondera is either the phonetic spelling of the French word “Pend d’Oreille” meaning hanging earring or “pain d’or” meaning golden bread for the color of the native grasses in the area. Wheat production remains the main industry for the county.
Conrad, Pondera County, MT
Conrad was named for W.G. Conrad, owner of the Conrad Investment Company which developed much of the land in the area, but in the 1890s was a Piegan trading post at the intersection of the Great Falls-Lethbridge Railroad and the Fort Benton road. M.S. Darling platted the townsite in 1902, adjacent to the railroad and west of the earlier settlement of Pondera. In 1903 all the buildings in Pondera were moved to the new town, which was incorporated in 1908. That same year W.G. Conrad sold all of his holdings in the Pondera valley to Cargill & Withef Co. The town expanded during the early homestead era, but declined during the drought years of the late 1910s. With the discovery of oil in the 1920s the town again prospered. It was named the county seat of the newly established Pondera County in 1919. Conrad is now the market town for the area's wheat farmers.
Powder River County (#9)
The Montana legislature created Powder River County in 1919 from the southern part of Custer County with Broadus as the county seat. The county takes its name from the Powder River which flows diagonally across the county. During World War One American doughboys from Powder River used “Powder River – let ‘er buck” as their battle cry. Local lore suggests the phrase originated during a Texas roundup when one enthusiastic cowboy after being warned about a nasty bronc stated, “I’m from Powder River – let ‘er buck!” The county covers 3,337 square miles comprised of badlands, flat lands, and dense forests.
Broadus, Powder River County, MT
Broadus was named for the Broaddus family who settled in the Powder River area in 1885. The change in spelling came about as a result of a clerical error by the Post Office Dept. The original location of the town was on the Troutman family ranch. In the early years it was little more than a post office and general store until 1920 when it was selected as the county seat of Powder County. Broadus boomed during the late 1960s with the opening of the Bell Creek Oil Field. Oil and gas continue to be important to the local economy.
Powell County (#28)
The Montana legislature created Powell County in 1901 from part of Deer Lodge County with the community of Deer Lodge (the former county seat of Deer Lodge County) as the county seat. The county takes its name from Mount Powell in the Flint Creek Range. The peak is named for John W. Powell early day pioneer and the first Euro-American to ascend the mountain. The county boasts the first recorded gold strike in what became Montana on Gold Creek.
Deer Lodge, Powell County, MT
The area around Deer Lodge has a long history of use by Native American tribes, French Canadian fur trappers, and others. The local Indians called the site It Soo-Ke En Car-Ne or “Lodge of the White-Tailed Deer, ” the trappers translated that as "La Loge du Chevreuils" and English speaking settlers translated the French as Deer Lodge. The area had previously been known as Spanish Fork, Cottonwood, La Barge City, and Idaho City. When Montana Territory was formed out of portions of Idaho Territory, the Deer Lodge Town Company hired cartographer W.W. DeLacey to plat out the new town under its present name. Deer Lodge is the home of the Montana State Prison, and county seat of Powell County. The historic Montana Territorial and State Prison, in use until 1972, is a now a museum and listed in the National Register.
Prairie County (#45)
The Montana legislature created Prairie County in 1915 from Custer, Dawson and Fallon Counties with Terry as the county seat. It received its name from A.W. Morrill of Mildred, who won a contest to select the new county’s name; the name reflects the landscape of the region. On June 19, 1938, a westbound Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul Railway train derailed after a rainstorm washed out the Custer Creek Bridge near Saugus. Forty-seven people died and another seventy-five injured in the horrific crash that people soon labeled as Prairie County’s greatest tragedy.
Terry, Prairie County, MT
Terry was originally called Joubert’s Landing for the man who provided wood fuel for riverboats. The first real settler, J W Montague, arrived in 1877 and built a supply point for freighters from Bismarck to Miles City. When the Northern Pacific Railroad arrived in 1881, the town was named for General Alfred H Terry, the commander of the six-year military operation against the Sioux Indians. In 1886, a fire ravaged Terry, burning a large part of the town. Terry at one point was the largest stock shipping point in the Northwest. It also had a large wool warehouse. For many years the Terry Bridge provided access to the opposite side of the Yellowstone River. The town ceased using the bridge in 1959 and on February 15, 1971, the bridge was heavily damaged by ice floes on the river. It also is home to the Prairie County Museum
Ravalli County (#13)
The Montana legislature created Ravalli County in 1893 from Missoula County. Residents chose to name the county after Jesuit missionary Father Anthony Ravalli who arrived in the Bitterroot Valley in 1845 and took up residence at St. Mary’s Mission. The community of Stevensville served as the county seat for five years, but lost its bid for the permanent county seat to Hamilton, which Copper King Marcus Daly backed during the election of 1898; Hamilton remains the permanent county seat. The county sits on the Montana-Idaho border in the Bitterroot Valley, named for the bitterroot, Montana’s state flower. Native Americans harvested the starchy roots to supplement their diet.
Hamilton, Ravalli County, MT
At the behest of Montana Copper King Marcus Daly, James W. Hamilton platted out the town that bears his name in 1890. Located between the Bitter Root & Missoula Railroad and the Anaconda Company’s Big Mill, Hamilton laid the town out in a square. Hamilton sold his rights to Marcus Daly shortly after founding the town. Like Anaconda, Hamilton was a company town conceived by Daly but shielded from public view by the Bitter Root Development Company which owned the townsite, mill, store, hotel, and company houses. The timber industry dominated Hamilton and one year later, the Big Mill produced 35 million board feet. Daly played a major role in Hamilton winning the Ravalli County seat from Stevensville in 1898. In the 1890s, agriculture, especially apple orchards, started to become a mainstay in the Hamilton economy and continued to develop through the 1900-1910s. The other boon to Hamilton’s economy took the form of a lethal bacterium that had an 80% fatality rate for those residents of the Bitterroot Valley who contracted it. Identified by Doctor H.T. Ricketts of the U.S. Public Health Service in 1906, Ricketts concluded that ticks transmitted the disease from infected animals to humans. The search for a cure proved fatal to residents of the valley and doctors alike. Doctors R.R. Spencer and Ralph R. Parker finally created a vaccine for spotted fever. The Montana Legislature set aside funds in 1927 for the construction of a research lab and in 1928 the Rocky Mountain Laboratory was operational. The federal government purchased the lab from the state in 1931. National Register properties in Hamilton include the Southside Residential and the Commercial historic districts.
Richland County (#27)
The Montana legislature created Richland County in 1914 from Dawson County. Boosters initially put Gate forward as the name for the new county; however, they soon opted for Richland instead as a means of enticing new settlers to the region. Sidney won the contested county seat election outdistancing its closest rival, Lambert, by more than 400 votes. Richland County is the only Montana county with both the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers running through it.
Sidney, Richland County, MT
Established in 1888 with the name Eureka, when Judge Hiram Otis heard that name was already spoken for he decided to name the town after six-year old Sidney Walter, whose parents were living with the judge. The town incorporated on April 21, 1911 electing Thomas Gardner as the first mayor. The completion of the Northern Pacific branch line from Glendive to Sidney in 1912 assured Sidney’s role in the ongoing development of the valley. Construction on the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project began in 1905 with the intent to irrigate 60,000 acres in the Yellowstone Valley. The irrigation project helped make the Sidney area one of the most fertile valleys in the west and Sidney’s success in agriculture. The Holly Sugar Company set up a sugar refinery in Sidney in 1924 and used the locally grown beets to produce the sugar. Sidney's economy boomed due to the oil discoveries made in the vicinity during the 1970s.
Roosevelt County (#17)
The Montana legislature created Roosevelt County in 1919 from Sheridan County. Officials named the new county in honor of former president Theodore Roosevelt who had died in January of that year. Roosevelt had spent time in the area during his ranching days in the Dakotas in the 1880s. After several months residents of Roosevelt County finally chose Wolf Point as the county seat.
Wolf Point, Roosevelt County, MT
Located at the confluence of Wolf Creek and the Missouri River, Wolf Point began as a trading post in the 1860s. The name resulted one winter when local wolfers stacked the dead carcasses like cordwood where the steamboats docked. Farming began in the area as early as 1874. The Great Northern Railway arrived in 1887 one mile north of town. With the opening of the reservation to allotment in 1914, residents moved the town to the railroad resulting in an old town and a new town. The town incorporated in 1915. Wolf Point became the county seat of Roosevelt County (named for Theodore Roosevelt) in 1919.
Rosebud County (#29)
The Montana legislature created Rosebud County in 1901 from Custer County. The county takes its name from Rosebud Creek so named because of the abundance of wild roses growing along its banks. The county contains a portion of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation with Lame Deer serving as the seat of government for the Northern Cheyenne. Forsyth serves as the county seat.
Forsyth, Rosebud County, MT
The town was born in 1882 when the Northern Pacific Railroad purchased part of the Thomas Alexander homestead along the Yellowstone River for a townsite and division point. The railroad named the community for Colonel James Forsyth, a member of the 1875 Yellowstone Expedition, which traveled through the area. In 1901 when Rosebud County was created, Forsyth became the county seat, gaining its city charter three years later. Although Forsyth remained an NP town--the railroad employed 200 men there in 1907--the arrival of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad that year brought thousands of homesteaders to Rosebud County, which expanded Forsyth's mercantile opportunities. In 1923, Forsyth lost the roundhouse and railway shops; however, Forsyth has remained a crew change point for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and is an important transfer point for coal from the mines at Colstrip. As such, it is one of only a handful of Montana towns whose railroad heritage remains a vibrant part of its economy. Forsyth has two historic districts listed on the National Register.
Sanders County (#35)
The Montana legislature created Sanders County in 1905 from Missoula County. The original name on the petition for the new county read Paradise. However, when it went before the legislature, one civic minded individual reminded the assembly of the practice of naming new counties after the “greats” who had lived in Montana; who exemplified that greatness more than former U.S. Senator Wilbur Fisk Sanders—nephew of Sidney Edgerton Montana’s first territorial governor, prosecutor for the Vigilantes in their bid to rid Montana of the lawless element that prayed on its early pioneers—the “grand old man of Montana.” By unanimous acclaim the legislators voted for the creation of Sanders County! Thompson Falls won the coveted county seat election.
Thompson Falls, Sanders County, MT
The Sanders County seat, first went by the name of Thompson for explorer David Thompson who traded in the area in 1809. Founded in 1882, 10,000 hopeful miners wintered there in 1883 on their way to gold diggings in Idaho. The Northern Pacific came through in 1883. Thompson residents were enthusiastic, even boarding trains passing through to persuade newcomers to settle there instead of its arch rival, Belknap. The Thompson Falls Light and Power Company organized in 1910 to develop electricity for the community and promote the concept of a hydroelectric power station. The monumental project promised progress and opportunity. In 1911 the county erected two steel bridges across the Clark Fork River retiring the old cable-drawn ferry. The Thompson Falls Power Company constructed a small plant to service the community and the project itself. The name became Thompson Falls in 1912. By 1917, the plant, listed on the National Register, supplied 30,000 kilowatts of electricity to the region, crossing into Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. But after WWI no more major projects boosted the local economy, and the men "...who had championed those ideas had already left town to find that dream some other place." The power company dismantled all but a few of the project buildings leaving Thompson Falls to survive on its own. The Thompson Falls Multiple Resource Area, listed in the National Register, includes a number of homes, the county jail, several hotels, and the Northern Pacific Warehouse.
Sheridan County (#34)
Veteran county splitter Daniel McKay lobbied successfully for the creation of Sheridan County out of Dawson and Valley Counties in 1913. Residents named the county after General Philip Sheridan who served with distinction during the Civil War and retired as commanding general of the United States Army. The county borders Canada to the north and North Dakota to the east. Plentywood won the county seat election over Medicine Lake by a mere forty-two votes. During the 1920s and 1930s, Sheridan County was a hotbed of communism.
Plentywood, Sheridan County, MT
According to local legend, Plentywood Creek and the town derive their name from a serious search for firewood. According to the story, cowboys from the Diamond Ranch watched in exasperation as the chuck wagon cook attempted to start a fire using damp buffalo chips. Finally in frustration the notorious Dutch Henry stated, "if you’ll go two miles up this creek, you’ll find plenty wood." When the establishment of the town took place in 1900 it seemed logical to chose Plentywood for its name. Several years of poor crop yields, the high cost of shipping, and the collapse of the grain market precipitated in a shift in the political ideology of the county. As a result, Sheridan County became a hotbed of communist activity from approximately 1918 to 1937. As economic conditions improved county residents moved back to the center in their political leanings and in 1937 the Producers News, edited by proclaimed Communist, Charlie 'Red Flag' Taylor, closed. The Works Progress Administration undertook a tree planting campaign in Plentywood in the 1940s this clever phrase that appeared in an Associated Press article, “’At last there’s going to be plenty of wood in Plentywood, a town that’s had more sun than shade.”
Silver Bow County (#1)
The Montana legislature created Silver Bow County out of Deer Lodge County in 1881 with Butte as the county seat. The county takes its name from Silver Bow Creek and although it is the smallest in land area during Butte’s heyday it boasted the largest population in the state. Butte copper made it the richest county in the state and earned it the nickname “the richest hill on earth.” The city of Butte and county of Silver Bow consolidated in 1977.
Butte, Silver Bow County, MT
The county seat of Silver Bow County, miners named this industrial town for Big Butte, a nearby peak. Rich mineral resources which lay underground drove Butte to life. Gold and silver mining brought the population of forty men and five women in 1866 to 14,000 by 1885. However, it was Butte's copper, critical to the electrification of America, which gave Butte a 41 percent share of the world copper market and a population of 40,000 by 1910. The city's mineral wealth drew innovative mining technology, capital from the likes of Hearst and Rockefeller and at least five railroad lines. Workers came from more than 60 nations. They worked hard, often gave their lives to mining, and made a significant contribution to the nation's labor history. Miners built their homes in the shadow of the tall gallows or head frames, creating a unique landscape. Spectacular mansions, homes and commercial buildings remain to tell Butte's colorful history. Mining operations began open pit mining in the 1950s, and the infamous Berkley Pit slowly began to swallow historic neighborhoods. Mining has dwindled and today, built on the hillside amidst its own industrial lifeblood, Butte is a National Historic Landmark.
Stillwater County (#32)
The Montana legislature created Stillwater County in 1913 from Carbon, Sweet Grass, and Yellowstone Counties. The county takes its name from the Stillwater River and at one time was once part of the Crow Indian Reservation. Columbus, a former stage station on the Yellowstone Trail, serves as the county seat.
Columbus, Stillwater County, MT
Named in 1893 by the Northern Pacific Railroad, Columbus was at least the fourth name and location for this community. The earliest reference to the site comes from William Clark who entered the Stillwater River (he called it the Rosebud ) here in 1806, but the first permanent structure here was Mithoff and Kaufman's 1865 trading post known as Eagle's Nest. In 1879 the post and growing community surrounding it moved and the site became known as Sheep Dip, because the liquor distilled in the gulch north of town tasted more like sheep dip (disinfectant) than whiskey. In 1882 when the railway arrived, the community moved a little further toward the confluence and changed its name to Stillwater for the nearby river. In 1894 due to confusion with the town and post office of the same name in Minnesota, railway officials renamed the town Columbus, and it remains so today.
Sweet Grass County (#40)
The Montana legislature created Sweet Grass County in 1895 from Park, Meagher, and Yellowstone Counties. Mrs. Paul Van Cleve suggested the name sweet grass because of the abundance of it located around her home near Melville. Before the creation of the county the area was part of the Crow Indian Reservation. However, federal officials opened it to settlement in 1891. Big Timber serves as the county seat.
Big Timber, Sweet Grass County, MT
Taking its name from the cottonwood trees along the creek bank, Big Timber is the county seat of Sweet Grass County. When the Northern Pacific Railroad established a depot there in 1883, the small frontier town became a business and shipping center. On March 13, 1908, a spark from a passing locomotive set fire to the Northern Pacific stockyards. High winds carried flaming embers, starting fires in several places at once. The Livingston fire department arrived by special train to save the community from annihilation, but one-half of Big Timber’s commercial houses and one-third of its homes went up in flames. The Grand Hotel, listed in the National Register, survived.
Teton County (#31)
The Montana legislature created Teton County in 1893 from Chouteau County. The county takes its name from the Teton River and Teton Peak. Fur trade lore suggests French fur trappers and traders coined the word “teton” regarding geographic features and supposed their similarity in shape to a woman’s breast. However, Major John W. Powell in a report to the Smithsonian Institute stated that “titon” or “teton” derives from the Indian word “titan” which translates “at or on land without trees” referring to those Indian tribes living on the prairie. Choteau serves as the county seat.
Choteau, Teton County, MT
The town of Choteau was originally a trading post built by A.B. Hamilton in 1873. Six years later Hamilton and his partner I.N. Hazlett built a general mercantile store at the location. In 1883 the town of Choteau was officially platted and Hamilton named it Choteau for Pierre Chouteau, owner of the American Fur Company. In 1905 the U.S.G.S. established the spelling of the town as Choteau and the county and creeks as Chouteau. Choteau grew rapidly as a market town for the surrounding fertile ranch land. Most prominent in the early development of Choteau were brothers Joseph and Julius Hirshberg, who owned the general store and a bank. Julius also served as Choteau's first mayor.
Toole County (#21)
The Montana legislature created Toole County in 1914 from Hill and Teton Counties. The county takes its name from Joseph K. Toole who served as the first governor for the state of Montana. The county boomed with the discovery of the Kevin-Sunburst oil field in 1920. Shelby serves as the county seat. Shelby hosted the 1923 world heavyweight championship boxing match between Jack Dempsey and Tommy Gibbons.
Shelby, Toole County, MT
Shelby was named for Peter P. Shelby, general manager of the Great Northern Railway Company's Montana Central Branch, and later vice president of the GN. A railway station was established there about 1892 at the junction of the Great Northern Railway and the Great Falls and Canada Railroad. The station had a post office, and within a few years hotels, saloons, general stores, and other businesses. Shelby is probably best known for the heavyweight boxing match held between Jack Dempsey and Tommy Gibbons on the Fourth of July 1923.
Treasure County (#33)
The Montana legislature created Treasure County in 1919 from Rosebud County. The county promoters chose “Treasure” for the name as an advertising strategy to draw settlers. The first fur trading fort built in Montana occurred at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Bighorn Rivers in Treasure County—constructed by Manuel Lisa in 1807 and named Fort Raymond (Ramón) after his son although traders and trappers began referring to the post as Fort Manuel Lisa. Hysham serves as the county seat.
Hysham, Treasure County, MT
Rancher Charlie J. Hysham, owner of the Flying E Ranch, ran thousands of cattle south of the Yellowstone River to the Wyoming border, during the latter part of the nineteenth century. In 1906 the area around Hysham was ceded from the Crow Tribe and opened to settlement, expanding the demand for goods and services around the Northern Pacific Railway station, which soon grew into a merchandising center and county seat of Treasure County by 1919. Hysham was home to the longest serving state legislator in U.S. history, Dave Manning, who represented Treasure County under eleven different governors over fifty-three years. The impressive Mission-style Yucca Theatre in Hysham is listed in the National Register.
Valley County (#20)
The Montana legislature created Valley County in 1893 from Dawson County. The county takes its name from the topography of the Milk River Valley and Missouri River Valley (now subsumed by the Fort Peck Reservoir). One of Montana’s largest counties in terms of square miles, it encompasses part of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Glasgow serves as the county seat
Glasgow, Valley County, MT
Named for Glasgow, Scotland, by the Great Northern Railway, the town emerged from a railroad siding, the 45th siding west of Minot, N.D., around 1887. Both the Milk River Irrigation Project and the opening of the Fort Peck Reservation to homesteaders in 1910, encouraged a huge influx of homesteaders, assuring Glasgow's growth as a supply center for outlying farms. The construction of Fort Peck Dam in the late 1930s brought an influx of 10,000 workers and their families, invigorating the Glasgow economy during the otherwise bleak days of the Depression. The U.S. Army established an air base in Glasgow during World War II, and it grew dramatically in the mid-1950s with the establishment of a Strategic Air Command base in Glasgow, manned by 3,500 military personnel and their families by the early 1960s. Both Glasgow's U.S. Post Office and Courthouse is listed in the National Register.
Wheatland County (#44)
The Montana legislature created Wheatland County from Meagher and Sweet Grass Counties in 1917. With two railroads traversing the region, homesteaders flooded the area in the 1900s resulting in vast wheat fields dotting the landscape. As such, the county’s name reflected the area’s major agricultural industry. Harlowton serves as the county seat
Harlowton, Wheatland County, MT
Harlowton was originally established in 1881 with the name of Merino, for the sheep raised in the area. When Richard Harlow built his Montana or "Jawbone" Railroad , the town was renamed in his honor. The town was officially platted in 1900. When the Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul Railroad electrified in 1916, Harlowton was the eastern end of the 438- mile electrified line between Harlowton and Avery, Idaho. During the homesteading boom, Harlowton became the state's second largest grain shipping terminal. The drought beginning in 1919 led to a rash of foreclosures during the next couple of decades in Wheatland County. The historic Graves Hotel in Harlowton is listed in the National Register.
Wibaux County (#52)
The Montana legislature created Wibaux (pronounced WEE-boh) County in 1914 from Dawson, Fallon, and Richland Counties. The county takes its name from the community of Wibaux named for cattleman Pierre Wibaux. Only three towns appear on the Montana highway map for the Wibaux County. The town of Wibaux serves as the county seat.
Wibaux, Wibaux County, MT
The town and county of Wibaux derive their name from a French cattleman, Pierre Wibaux, who first arrived in Montana prior to the Winter of 1886-87 that decimated the vast herds of open range cattle. By the 1890s Wibaux expanded his herd to 75,000, buying up the stock of less fortunate ranchers. The station on the Northern Pacific Railroad at Wibaux, formerly known as Mingusville, became the county seat of Wibaux County upon its formation in 1914. St. Peter's Catholic Church, the Pierre Wibaux House, and the Wibaux Commercial Historic District are listed on the National Register.
Yellowstone County (#3)
The Montana legislature created Yellowstone County in 1883 from Gallatin and Custer Counties. It takes its name from the Yellowstone River called La Roche Jaune by French trappers for the yellow rock. The Crow call the river Iichiilkaashaashe (Elk River). The Yellowstone River Valley has spawned diverse agricultural opportunities—sugar beets, wheat, beans, and livestock being the principal crops. Billings serves as the county seat.
Billings, Yellowstone County, MT
Billings, Montana, founded and named for Frederick Billings, president of the Northern Pacific Railway, grew dramatically in its first couple of years from a river town named Coulson into a bustling metropolis of several thousand. Livestock shipping dominated the early economy, followed by a sugar beet plant in the 1910s, and its first oil refinery in 1923. Subsequent refineries appeared on the east edge of town and to the west of town in Laurel. Billings prospered during the oil, gas, and coal boom of the 1970s. Billings remains today the largest city in Montana. The Billings Townsite Historic District, the Preston Moss Mansion, and Boothill Cemetery are among the sites of historic import listed in the National Register.
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