Counties
Montana has 56 counties, each rich in its own characters, places, and stories of local history. The Montana Historical Society Research Center has placed many county history books online. For geographical information and an interactive map of county boundary changes throughout Montana's history visit the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries' Montana page.
The History of County Creation
Montana is both a Latin and Spanish word for a mountainous region, a name first applied to the region in 1864. At this time, Sidney Edgerton, the chief justice of the Idaho territorial Supreme Court, persuaded congressman and chair of the House Committee on Territories James M. Ashley (Republican-Ohio) to carry forward a bill creating a new territory, which Ashley called "Montana." The bill was successful and President Abraham Lincoln signed it into law on May 26, 1864 (Malone, Roeder, and Lang, p. 95-96). Upon his appointment as territorial governor, Sidney Edgerton returned to Montana and designated Bannack as the temporary capital of the new territory. Edgerton presided over the first legislature which on Feb. 2, 1865 created the territory’s nine original counties (Malone, Roeder, and Lang, p. 100).
Nine Original Counties (1865)
|
Creation Date
|
County
|
County Seat
|
Plate #
|
|
02 February 1865
|
Beaverhead
|
Dillon
|
18
|
|
02 February 1865
|
Big Horn (Custer)*
|
*
|
|
|
02 February 1865
|
Chouteau
|
Fort Benton
|
19
|
|
02 February 1865
|
Deer Lodge
|
Anaconda
|
30
|
|
02 February 1865
|
Gallatin
|
Bozeman
|
6
|
|
02 February 1865
|
Jefferson
|
Boulder
|
51
|
|
02 February 1865
|
Edgerton (Lewis and Clark)**
|
Helena
|
5
|
|
02 February 1865
|
Madison
|
Virginia City
|
25
|
|
02 February 1865
|
Missoula
|
Missoula
|
4
|
*Although created as one of Montana’s nine original counties, the first territorial legislature administratively attached Big Horn County to Gallatin County. The legislature changed the name of Big Horn County to Custer in Feb. 1877 following the June 1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn. Big Horn County experienced a re-birth of sorts when in 1913 during Montana’s county splitting heyday the name was reused for a new county.
**The territorial legislature changed the name of Edgerton County to Lewis and Clarke County in 1867, fixing the spelling of "Clarke" at a later date.
Territorial Counties (1866-1888)
|
Creation Date
|
County
|
County Seat
|
Plate #
|
|
26 March 1866
|
Meagher
|
White Sulphur Springs
|
47
|
|
15 January 1869
|
Dawson
|
Glendive
|
16
|
|
16 February 1877
|
Custer (just a name change; see Big Horn above)
|
Miles City
|
14
|
|
16 February 1881
|
Silver Bow
|
Butte
|
1
|
|
16 February 1883
|
Yellowstone
|
Billings
|
3
|
|
12 March 1885
|
Fergus
|
Lewistown
|
8
|
|
23 February 1887
|
Park
|
Livingston
|
49
|
|
12 September 1887
|
Cascade
|
Great Falls
|
2
|
Early Statehood Counties (1889-1909)
|
Creation Date
|
County
|
County Seat
|
Plate #
|
|
06 February 1893
|
Flathead
|
Kalispell
|
7
|
|
06 February 1893
|
Valley
|
Glasgow
|
20
|
|
07 February 1893
|
Teton
|
Choteau
|
31
|
|
16 February 1893
|
Ravalli
|
Hamilton
|
13
|
|
02 March 1893
|
Granite
|
Philipsburg
|
46
|
|
04 March 1895
|
Carbon
|
Red Lodge
|
10
|
|
05 March 1895
|
Sweet Grass
|
Big Timber
|
40
|
|
01 March 1897
|
Broadwater
|
Townsend
|
43 |
|
31 January 1901
|
Powell
|
Deer Lodge
|
28
|
|
11 February 1901
|
Rosebud
|
Forsyth
|
29
|
|
07 February 1905
|
Sanders
|
Thompson Falls
|
35
|
|
09 March 1909
|
Lincoln
|
Libby
|
56
|
Homestead Boom Counties (1910-1925)
|
Creation Date
|
County
|
County Seat
|
Plate #
|
|
11 February 1911
|
Musselshell
|
Roundup
|
23
|
|
28 February 1912
|
Hill
|
Havre
|
12
|
|
02 March 1912
|
Blaine
|
Chinook
|
24
|
|
13 January 1913
|
Big Horn
|
Hardin
|
22
|
|
24 March 1913
|
Stillwater
|
Columbus
|
32
|
|
27 March 1913
|
Sheridan
|
Plentywood
|
34
|
|
09 December 1913
|
Fallon
|
Baker
|
39
|
|
07 May 1914
|
Toole
|
Shelby
|
21
|
|
03 June 1914
|
Richland
|
Sidney
|
27
|
|
07 August 1914
|
Mineral
|
Superior
|
54
|
|
17 August 1914
|
Wibaux
|
Wibaux
|
52
|
|
05 February 1915
|
Phillips
|
Malta
|
11
|
|
05 February 1915
|
Prairie
|
Terry
|
45
|
|
22 February 1917
|
Carter
|
Ekalaka
|
42
|
|
01 April 1917
|
Wheatland
|
Harlowton
|
44
|
|
07 February 1919
|
Garfield
|
Jordan
|
50
|
|
07 February 1919
|
Treasure
|
Hysham
|
33
|
|
12 February 1919
|
McCone
|
Circle
|
41
|
|
17 February 1919
|
Glacier
|
Cut Bank
|
38
|
|
17 February 1919
|
Pondera
|
Conrad
|
26
|
|
18 February 1919
|
Roosevelt
|
Wolf Point
|
17
|
|
07 March1919
|
Powder River
|
Broadus
|
9
|
|
11 February 1920
|
Liberty
|
Chester
|
48
|
|
08 March 1920
|
Golden Valley
|
Ryegate
|
53
|
|
01 June 1920
|
Daniels
|
Scobey
|
37
|
|
10 December 1920
|
Judith Basin
|
Stanford
|
36
|
|
10 August 1923
|
Lake
|
Polson
|
15
|
|
22 February 1925
|
Petroleum
|
Winnett
|
55
|
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