Deer Lodge County, Montana

Not to be confused with Deer Lodge, Montana, a city in Powell County.

Deer Lodge County
Consolidated city-county
Deer Lodge County Courthouse
Flag
Location within the U.S. state of Montana
Montana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 46°07′14″N112°59′15″W / 46.12062°N 112.98746°W / 46.12062; -112.98746
Country	United States
State	Montana
Founded	1865
Seat	Anaconda
Largest city	Anaconda
Government
•  Chief Executive	Bill T. Everett
Area
• Total	741 sq mi (1,920 km2)
• Land	737 sq mi (1,910 km2)
• Water	4.7 sq mi (12 km2)  0.6%
Population  (2020)
• Total	9,421
• Estimate  (2022)	9,510
• Density	13/sq mi (4.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.anacondadeerlodge.mt.gov
Montana county number 30 Unigov with Anaconda, MT

Deer Lodge County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,421. ^[1] It forms a consolidated city-county government with its county seat of Anaconda. ^[2] The county was established in 1865. ^[3] It has had a city-county consolidated government since 1977. ^[4]

History

Warm Springs State Hospital

Deer Lodge was one of the original 9 Montana counties, as constituted with the establishment of the Montana Territory in 1864. ^[5] The original county included what are now Silver Bow County (separated in 1881 ^[6] ), Deer Lodge County, Granite County (separated in 1893) and Powell County (separated in 1901 ^[7] ). In 1976, the voters chose a consolidated city-county form of government in the general election, and the charter became effective January 1, 1977. ^[4]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of 741 square miles (1,920 km²), of which 737 square miles (1,910 km²) is land and 4.7 square miles (12 km²) (0.6%) is water. ^[8] It is the second-smallest county in Montana by area.

The county has a wealth of natural amenities, such as the Anaconda Mountain Range, Georgetown Lake, and the Mount Haggin wildlife management area (Montana's largest at 54,000 acres). ^[9]

Major highways

• Interstate 90
• U.S. Highway 10 (Former)
• Montana Highway 1
• Montana Highway 43
• Montana Highway 48

Adjacent counties

• Granite County - northwest
• Powell County - north
• Jefferson County - east
• Silver Bow County - southeast
• Beaverhead County - south
• Ravalli County - west

National protected areas

• Beaverhead National Forest (part)
• Deerlodge National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	4,367		—
1880	8,876		103.3%
1890	15,155		70.7%
1900	17,393		14.8%
1910	12,988		−25.3%
1920	15,323		18.0%
1930	16,293		6.3%
1940	13,627		−16.4%
1950	16,553		21.5%
1960	18,640		12.6%
1970	15,652		−16.0%
1980	12,518		−20.0%
1990	10,278		−17.9%
2000	9,417		−8.4%
2010	9,298		−1.3%
2020	9,421		1.3%
2022 (est.)	9,510	[10]	0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census [11] 1790–1960, [12] 1900–1990, [13] 1990–2000, [14] 2010–2020 [1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 9,421 people living in the county.^{[ citation needed ]}

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 9,298 people, 4,018 households, and 2,350 families living in the county. The population density was 12.6 inhabitants per square mile (4.9/km²). There were 5,122 housing units at an average density of 7.0 units per square mile (2.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.1% white, 3.1% American Indian, 0.4% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 30.2% were German, 26.2% were Irish, 9.2% were English, 8.5% were Norwegian, 5.9% were Italian, 5.2% were Swedish, and 2.6% were American.

Of the 4,018 households, 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 41.5% were non-families, and 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.73. The median age was 46.0 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,310 and the median income for a family was $51,076. Males had a median income of $32,477 versus $26,250 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,921. About 9.6% of families and 21.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.6% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Along with neighboring Silver Bow county, Anaconda-Deer Lodge has been a consolidated city-county since 1977, the only two in Montana. ^[15] The incumbent chief executive officer of Anaconda-Deer Lodge is Bill Everett, who was elected in 2017. ^[16]

Deer Lodge County is the most consistently Democratic county in Montana when it comes to presidential elections. It has not supported a Republican candidate since Calvin Coolidge in 1924. ^[17] In 2016, Hillary Clinton failed to garner a majority of the votes, becoming the first Democrat not to obtain a majority since 1924. ^[18] In 2020, the county once again gave the Democratic candidate (Joe Biden) the majority, when he won 52% of the vote. However, in 2024, Kamala Harris carried the county by only 47 votes, or less than 1%, winning a plurality of 48.79%. This was an even narrower edge than in 2016; Donald Trump's performance in this election was the best by a Republican in the county since 1956. In gubernatorial elections the most recent Republican to carry the county was Marc Racicot in the 1996 election. In that election the original Democratic nominee, Chet Blaylock, died and Marc Racicot carried every county. ^[19]

Deer Lodge County is currently in the 39th district of the Montana Senate along with Granite County and portions of Powell and Silver Bow counties. It has been represented by Republican Terry Vermeire since 2023, having flipped the traditionally Democratic seat by a 752 vote margin. Vermeire defeated Democrat Jesse Mullen, executive of the Mullen Newspaper Company from Deer Lodge (city) in the 2022 special election. ^[20] Jessica Wicks, Democratic incumbent appointed to fulfill Mark Sweeney's term following his May 2022 death, did not win appointment from the local Democratic Party to be their November nominee. ^[21]

In the Montana House of Representatives, most of the county is in the 77th district and has been represented by Republican John Fitzpatrick since 2023, who won an upset against incumbent Democrat Sara Novak by a margin of 47. This marks the first time since 1945 that Anaconda has been represented by a Republican in the state House of Representatives. ^[22] Part of the county is also in the 78th district, represented by Republican Gregory Frazer. ^[20]

From 2024 to 2033, Deer Lodge County will be in House District 71 (along with Walkerville) and Senate District 36 (along with Walkerville and part of Butte). These districts are expected to be more Democratic than the current districts used since 2014. ^[23]

United States presidential election results for Deer Lodge County, Montana ^[24]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,329	47.82%	2,376	48.79%	165	3.39%
2020	2,186	44.69%	2,562	52.38%	143	2.92%
2016	1,763	41.92%	2,058	48.93%	385	9.15%
2012	1,448	32.47%	2,860	64.13%	152	3.41%
2008	1,502	29.60%	3,402	67.05%	170	3.35%
2004	1,725	37.97%	2,700	59.43%	118	2.60%
2000	1,493	32.93%	2,672	58.93%	369	8.14%
1996	883	17.62%	3,331	66.49%	796	15.89%
1992	832	15.79%	3,174	60.24%	1,263	23.97%
1988	1,168	26.51%	3,185	72.29%	53	1.20%
1984	1,901	34.53%	3,539	64.29%	65	1.18%
1980	1,905	33.79%	3,077	54.58%	656	11.64%
1976	2,197	35.57%	3,859	62.48%	120	1.94%
1972	2,373	35.93%	3,979	60.25%	252	3.82%
1968	1,554	25.58%	4,208	69.28%	312	5.14%
1964	1,415	22.61%	4,835	77.25%	9	0.14%
1960	2,188	29.79%	5,149	70.11%	7	0.10%
1956	3,551	48.36%	3,792	51.64%	0	0.00%
1952	3,001	41.58%	4,162	57.67%	54	0.75%
1948	2,036	32.78%	3,862	62.17%	314	5.05%
1944	2,176	33.19%	4,347	66.31%	33	0.50%
1940	2,397	32.63%	4,916	66.93%	32	0.44%
1936	1,640	25.04%	4,813	73.49%	96	1.47%
1932	2,198	35.43%	3,893	62.75%	113	1.82%
1928	2,695	45.67%	3,184	53.96%	22	0.37%
1924	1,937	35.43%	1,611	29.47%	1,919	35.10%
1920	3,130	59.97%	1,567	30.02%	522	10.00%
1916	1,860	30.28%	4,171	67.90%	112	1.82%
1912	1,060	37.06%	1,197	41.85%	603	21.08%
1908	1,377	43.67%	1,611	51.09%	165	5.23%
1904	1,666	48.64%	1,504	43.91%	255	7.45%
1900	1,636	31.50%	3,395	65.38%	162	3.12%
1896	446	8.31%	4,916	91.55%	8	0.15%
1892	1,930	35.47%	2,152	39.55%	1,359	24.98%

Communities

City

• Anaconda

Unincorporated communities

• Galen
• Georgetown ^[25]
• Opportunity ^[26]
• Warm Springs

Note: the town of Deer Lodge is in neighboring Powell County.

Notable people

• Lucille Ball – actress and television star, most notably on I Love Lucy
• John H. Collins – classical scholar.
• Frank Cope – New York Giants offensive lineman
• Marcus Daly – founder of Anaconda, and one of the "Copper Kings" of Butte.
• Wayne Estes – college basketball star
• Raymond Hunthausen – Archbishop of Seattle
• Rob Johnson – San Diego Padres catcher
• Nancy Keenan – politician, NARAL president
• George A. Lingo – politician in the Alaska Territory
• Roger Rouse – Professional Boxer
• George Leo Thomas – Roman Catholic Bishop of Helena
• Lester Thurow – economist
• John H. Tolan – later a United States Congressman from California, was an attorney of the county from 1904 through 1906.

See also

• Atlantic Cable Quartz Lode
• List of lakes in Deer Lodge County, Montana
• List of mountains in Deer Lodge County, Montana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Deer Lodge County, Montana

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "Montana Place Names Companion". Montana Place Names From Alzada to Zortman. Montana Historical Society Research Center. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
4. "ALDC Charter" . Retrieved August 19, 2024.
5. Merrill, Andrea; Judy Jacobson (1997). Montana almanac. Helena MT: Falcon Publishing. ISBN   1-56044-493-2.
6. Where It All Began, p. 163
7. Where It All Began, pp. 165-6
8. "2010 Census GazetteerFiles". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
9. Montana Dept. of Labor and Industry (September 2010). "Demographic & Economic Information for Deer Lodge County" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 6, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
10. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
13. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
14. "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.
15. Kidwell, Kayleen (2022). "Deer Lodge County" (PDF). Montana State University.
16. "Chief Executive Officer | Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, MT". www.adlc.us. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
17. Geographie Electorale
18. The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on Montana)
19. David Leip's Election Atlas
20. "2022 General State Canvas Report Legislative (Montana)". Montana Secretary of State. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
21. Smith, Mike (June 21, 2022). "Wicks tapped to fill vacant Sweeney Senate seat; Mullen to be Democrat nominee in fall". Montana Standard.
22. "1944 Montana Legislative Assembly Elected Members" (PDF). Montana Secretary of State. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
23. "Montana Legislative Districts for Elections 2024-2032". Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission. February 23, 2023.
24. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
25. Georgetown, Deer Lodge County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)
26. Opportunity, Deer Lodge County MT Google Maps (accessed January 1, 2019)

Sources

• Powell County Museum and Arts Foundation: Historic Action Committee (1989). Powell County: Where It All Began. Powell County Museum and Arts Foundation.

External links

• Anaconda and Deer Lodge Local News

46°07′14″N112°59′15″W / 46.12062°N 112.98746°W / 46.12062; -112.98746