Fergus County, Montana

Fergus County
County
Fergus County Courthouse in Lewistown
Location within the U.S. state of Montana
Montana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 47°16′N109°13′W / 47.26°N 109.22°W / 47.26; -109.22
Country	United States
State	Montana
Founded	1885
Named for	James Fergus
Seat	Lewistown
Largest city	Lewistown
Area
• Total	4,350 sq mi (11,300 km2)
• Land	4,340 sq mi (11,200 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	11,446
• Estimate  (2022)	11,663
• Density	2.6/sq mi (1.0/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.co.fergus.mt.us
Montana county number 08

Fergus County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,446. ^[1] Its county seat is Lewistown. ^[2] The county was founded in 1885 and named for James Fergus, a Montana politician who was instrumental in creating the county. ^{[3] [4]}

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,350 square miles (11,300 km²), of which 4,340 square miles (11,200 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (0.2%) is water. ^[5]

Adjacent counties

• Chouteau County – northwest
• Blaine County – north
• Phillips County – northeast
• Petroleum County – east
• Musselshell County – southeast
• Golden Valley County – south
• Wheatland County – southwest
• Judith Basin County – west

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 87
• U.S. Highway 191
• Montana Highway 3
• Montana Highway 80
• Montana Highway 81
• Montana Highway 200

National protected areas

• Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Lewis and Clark National Forest (part)
• Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument (part)

Military Installations

• LGM-30 Minuteman silos D-01 thru D-11 of the 10th Missile Squadron, 341st Missile Wing, 20th Air Force, assigned to Malmstrom AFB, Montana

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	3,514		—
1900	6,937		97.4%
1910	17,385		150.6%
1920	28,344		63.0%
1930	16,531		−41.7%
1940	14,040		−15.1%
1950	14,015		−0.2%
1960	14,018		0.0%
1970	12,611		−10.0%
1980	13,076		3.7%
1990	12,083		−7.6%
2000	11,893		−1.6%
2010	11,586		−2.6%
2020	11,446		−1.2%
2022 (est.)	11,663	[6]	1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census [7] 1790–1960 [8] 1900–1990 [9] 1990–2000 [10] 2010–2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the census, of 2020, there were 11,446 people living in the county.^{[ citation needed ]}

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 11,586 people, 5,099 households, and 3,202 families living in the county. The population density was 2.7 inhabitants per square mile (1.0/km²). There were 5,836 housing units at an average density of 1.3 per square mile (0.50/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 1.2% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 30.8% were German, 15.9% were English, 14.7% were Norwegian, 12.8% were Irish, and 4.2% were American.

Of the 5,099 households, 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.2% were non-families, and 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age was 47.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,607 and the median income for a family was $48,623. Males had a median income of $35,110 versus $21,225 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,295. About 12.5% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Fergus County, Montana ^{[11] [12]}

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	4,869	74.83%	1,496	22.99%	142	2.18%
2016	4,269	73.10%	1,202	20.58%	369	6.32%
2012	4,257	70.12%	1,640	27.01%	174	2.87%
2008	4,108	65.92%	1,933	31.02%	191	3.06%
2004	4,425	72.22%	1,582	25.82%	120	1.96%
2000	4,353	72.62%	1,352	22.56%	289	4.82%
1996	3,671	59.27%	1,866	30.13%	657	10.61%
1992	2,736	42.16%	1,615	24.88%	2,139	32.96%
1988	3,948	64.55%	2,052	33.55%	116	1.90%
1984	4,585	70.99%	1,804	27.93%	70	1.08%
1980	4,455	65.02%	1,840	26.85%	557	8.13%
1976	3,556	57.73%	2,470	40.10%	134	2.18%
1972	4,082	67.48%	1,652	27.31%	315	5.21%
1968	3,367	55.59%	2,070	34.18%	620	10.24%
1964	2,980	47.35%	3,300	52.44%	13	0.21%
1960	3,294	52.24%	2,999	47.56%	13	0.21%
1956	3,771	57.77%	2,757	42.23%	0	0.00%
1952	4,402	65.79%	2,271	33.94%	18	0.27%
1948	2,411	42.66%	3,059	54.12%	182	3.22%
1944	2,229	41.11%	3,164	58.35%	29	0.53%
1940	2,706	40.88%	3,873	58.51%	40	0.60%
1936	1,821	27.00%	4,675	69.31%	249	3.69%
1932	2,400	33.63%	4,470	62.64%	266	3.73%
1928	4,109	60.09%	2,667	39.00%	62	0.91%
1924	2,942	38.50%	1,580	20.68%	3,120	40.83%
1920	5,858	60.22%	3,371	34.66%	498	5.12%
1916	3,290	34.91%	5,749	61.00%	385	4.09%
1912	745	20.34%	1,393	38.03%	1,525	41.63%
1908	1,529	52.43%	1,112	38.13%	275	9.43%
1904	1,599	63.23%	780	30.84%	150	5.93%
1900	1,228	56.93%	913	42.33%	16	0.74%
1896	725	46.41%	834	53.39%	3	0.19%
1892	766	55.59%	560	40.64%	52	3.77%

Communities

City

• Lewistown (county seat)

Towns

• Denton
• Grass Range
• Moore
• Winifred

Unincorporated communities

• Amherst
• Buffalo
• Christina
• Eddies Corner ^[13]
• Forest Grove
• Garneill
• Giltedge ^[14]
• Hanover ^[15]
• Heath
• Hoosac
• Maiden ^[16]
• Moore ^[17]
• Piper ^[18]
• Roy ^[19]
• Straw ^[20]
• Valentine ^[21]
• Ware ^[22]

Former communities

Moulton

Census-designated places

• Ayers Ranch Colony
• Brooks
• Coffee Creek
• Danvers
• Deerfield Colony
• Fords Creek Colony
• Hilger
• King Ranch Colony
• Lewistown Heights
• Roy
• Spring Creek Colony
• Warm Spring Creek

Notable people

• Roy E. Ayers, member of the United States House of Representatives and 11th Governor of Montana; served as the attorney of the county from 1905 to 1909. ^[23]
• Carl W. Riddick, House of Representatives from the Second District of Montana, served as County Assessor of Fergus County. ^[24]

See also

• List of lakes in Fergus County, Montana
• List of mountains in Fergus County, Montana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fergus County, Montana

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Fergus County - Home". www.co.fergus.mt.us. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p.  125.
5. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
6. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
9. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
10. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
11. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
12. The leading "other" candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 1,104 votes, while Socialist candidate Eugene Debs received 421 votes.
13. Eddies Corner, Fergus County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
14. Giltedge, Fergus County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
15. Hanover, Fergus County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
16. Maiden, Fergus County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
17. Moore, Fergus County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
18. Piper, Fergus County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
19. Roy, Fergus County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
20. Straw, Fergus County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
21. Valentine, Fergus County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
22. Ware, Fergus County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
23. "Montana Governor Roy Elmer Ayers". National Governors Association. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
24. "RIDDICK, Carl Wood, (1872–1960)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 14, 2012.

47°16′N109°13′W / 47.26°N 109.22°W / 47.26; -109.22