Dawson County, Montana

Dawson County
County
Dawson County Courthouse in Glendive
Location within the U.S. state of Montana
Montana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 47°16′N104°54′W / 47.27°N 104.9°W / 47.27; -104.9
Country	United States
State	Montana
Founded	January 15, 1869
Seat	Glendive
Largest city	Glendive
Area
• Total	2,383 sq mi (6,170 km2)
• Land	2,372 sq mi (6,140 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2020)
• Total	8,940
• Estimate  (2022)	8,830
• Density	3.8/sq mi (1.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	www.dawsoncountymontana.org
Montana county number 16

Dawson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,940. ^[1] Its county seat is Glendive. ^[2]

History

Dawson County was the tenth county organized in Montana Territory. It was created January 15, 1869, four and a half years after Montana Territory was organized. Before the formation of Dawson county, the area was the northern half of the original Big Horn County. Dawson takes its name from Major Andrew Dawson, ^[3] manager of the Fort Benton Trading Post for the American Fur Company from 1856 to 1864. ^[4]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,383 square miles (6,170 km²), of which 2,372 square miles (6,140 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (0.5%) is water. ^[5]

Dawson County is located in the extreme eastern portion of Montana, about fifteen to twenty miles west of the Dakota line. ^[6]

Dawson County contains part of Montana's badlands. Makoshika State Park is an example of that area's unusual rock formations. Dawson County's principal water sources are the Yellowstone River, which bisects its southeastern section, and the Redwater River in its northwest corner. Numerous creeks are tributary to these streams, furnishing abundant and accessible facilities watering livestock and for small irrigation enterprises and water conservation projects. In the upper bench lands, artesian well irrigation has received considerable attention.

The largest Triceratops skull ever found was discovered in 1992 and excavated in 2003 in Dawson County, Montana, in the famous Hell Creek Formation. It is a 65-million-year-old male Triceratops skull, 9.2 feet long, 5.2 feet high and 4.6 feet wide and weighing over 600 kg. It has been dubbed 'Dragon King' and is understood to be the most expensive skull to ever trade privately. ^{[7] [8]}

Parts of Dawson County were taken to form Valley County in 1893, Richland County and part of Wibaux County in 1914, part of Prairie County in 1915, and Garfield County and part of McCone County in 1919. ^[6]

Major highways

• Interstate 94
• U.S. Highway 10 (Former)
• Montana Highway 16
• Montana Highway 200
• Montana Highway 200 (Alternate)
• Montana Highway 254

In 1920, Dawson County was traversed by the National Parks Highway or Red Trail, the Black Trail, the Green Trail and the Blue Trail, all of which passed through Glendive. ^[6]

Transit

• Jefferson Lines

Adjacent counties

• Richland County - north
• Wibaux County - east
• Prairie County - south
• McCone County - west

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	2,056		—
1900	2,443		18.8%
1910	12,725		420.9%
1920	9,239		−27.4%
1930	9,881		6.9%
1940	8,618		−12.8%
1950	9,092		5.5%
1960	12,314		35.4%
1970	11,269		−8.5%
1980	11,805		4.8%
1990	9,505		−19.5%
2000	9,059		−4.7%
2010	8,966		−1.0%
2020	8,940		−0.3%
2022 (est.)	8,830	[9]	−1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [10] 1790–1960, [11] 1900–1990, [12] 1990–2000, [13] 2010–2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 8,940 people living in the county.^{[ citation needed ]}

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 8,966 people, 3,749 households, and 2,429 families living in the county. The population density was 3.8 inhabitants per square mile (1.5/km²). There were 4,233 housing units at an average density of 1.8 per square mile (0.69/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.7% white, 1.7% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 46.6% were German, 16.3% were Norwegian, 15.5% were Irish, 8.2% were English, and 6.5% were American.

Of the 3,749 households, 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.2% were non-families, and 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 43.5 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,752 and the median income for a family was $63,982. Males had a median income of $45,222 versus $30,993 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,602. About 7.4% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Dawson County, Montana ^[14]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	3,627	78.20%	894	19.28%	117	2.52%
2020	3,758	77.89%	962	19.94%	105	2.18%
2016	3,320	75.30%	787	17.85%	302	6.85%
2012	3,029	68.48%	1,219	27.56%	175	3.96%
2008	2,639	59.38%	1,593	35.85%	212	4.77%
2004	2,884	64.32%	1,494	33.32%	106	2.36%
2000	2,723	63.76%	1,364	31.94%	184	4.31%
1996	1,890	40.45%	1,903	40.72%	880	18.83%
1992	1,679	34.62%	1,785	36.80%	1,386	28.58%
1988	2,658	54.40%	2,120	43.39%	108	2.21%
1984	3,468	65.26%	1,776	33.42%	70	1.32%
1980	3,045	59.50%	1,543	30.15%	530	10.36%
1976	2,639	53.21%	2,201	44.38%	120	2.42%
1972	3,207	63.96%	1,685	33.61%	122	2.43%
1968	2,650	58.01%	1,695	37.11%	223	4.88%
1964	1,938	41.79%	2,691	58.03%	8	0.17%
1960	2,460	53.69%	2,108	46.01%	14	0.31%
1956	2,463	56.08%	1,929	43.92%	0	0.00%
1952	2,396	65.50%	1,247	34.09%	15	0.41%
1948	1,555	51.54%	1,397	46.30%	65	2.15%
1944	1,549	52.92%	1,362	46.53%	16	0.55%
1940	1,612	47.52%	1,765	52.03%	15	0.44%
1936	1,221	35.81%	2,169	63.61%	20	0.59%
1932	1,470	42.52%	1,929	55.80%	58	1.68%
1928	2,207	67.16%	1,065	32.41%	14	0.43%
1924	1,326	50.63%	346	13.21%	947	36.16%
1920	1,784	63.92%	875	31.35%	132	4.73%
1916	2,105	41.06%	2,835	55.30%	187	3.65%
1912	678	24.37%	719	25.84%	1,385	49.78%
1908	927	63.67%	439	30.15%	90	6.18%
1904	769	77.44%	189	19.03%	35	3.52%

Economy

Dawson County is known for its dryland grain, coal mines and gas and oil wells. ^[15] There are 522 current farms and ranches, and 296 commercial businesses. ^[16]

Lying in the heart of the western third of the Fort Union region, Dawson County is plentifully supplied with lignite coal. Local natural gas has supplied Glendive since at least 1920. Excellent clays for pottery and brick-making are also found in the county. ^[6]

From early days, Dawson County was known as a splendid stock county, because of the native cover of a heavy and nutritious grass. Unlike some other parts of the state, the livestock industry did not die out. In the early 20th century, the county was known for pure-bred stock raising, dairying, and the production of hogs and poultry.

While there is some broken land around the Sheep Bluffs, in the northwestern part of the county, and east of the Yellowstone, smooth prairies and rolling land predominated in the county, making conditions excellent for farming purposes. The dark sandy loam soil, with a heavy clay subsoil, was a big producer.

The principal crops in the early years of the 20th century were barley, oats and wheat. Sixty per cent of the land was tillable, and the remainder afforded good grazing. As of 1920, the headgates of the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, which irrigated approximately 90,000 acres, were located at Intake, in Dawson County, and further irrigation was planned. Unirrigated land was also producing excellent crops, with up to 400 bushels of potatoes in one acre of unirrigated land. In 1915, Dawson County won first and second prizes on Northwestern Dent corn at the St. Paul Corn Show, and in December of the following year, at the First National Corn Show, held at the same city, took first and second prizes and three third prizes. In 1920, it was estimated that the acreage planted in corn in Dawson County alone was as great as the corn acreage for the entire state in 1910. ^[6]

Education

Dawson Community College is located in Glendive.

Communities

1913 postcard of Glendive

City

• Glendive (county seat)

Town

• Richey

Census-designated place

• West Glendive

Unincorporated communities

* Bloomfield

• Lindsay

See also

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

Footnotes

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. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p.  101.
4. "Montana Place Names Companion". Montana Place Names From Alzada to Zortman. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
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. Stout, Tom (1921). Montana, its story and biography; a history of aboriginal and territorial Montana and three decades of statehood, under the editorial supervision of Tom Stout. Chicago IL: American Historical Society. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
7. "Yours for US$1.8m or more: 'world's biggest dinosaur' skull on sale in Hong Kong". April 25, 2015.
8. "How a $1.8 million dinosaur skull went from Montana to Hong Kong". April 23, 2015.
9. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
10. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
12. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
13. "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.
14. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
15. Merrill, Andrea; Judy Jacobson (1997). Montana almanac. Helena, Montana: Falcon Publishing. ISBN   1-56044-493-2.
16. Dawson County EDC. "Welcome" . Retrieved July 24, 2011.

Further reading

• Tom Stout (ed.), Montana, Its Story and Biography: A History of Aboriginal and Territorial Montana and Three Decades of Statehood: Volume 1. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1921.
• Our Lives, Our Times: Dawson County Family Stories. Glendive MT: Dawson County Tree Branches, 1989.

47°16′N104°54′W / 47.27°N 104.90°W / 47.27; -104.90