Dawson County, Montana

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, manager of the Fort Benton Trading Post for the American Fur Company from 1856 to 1864.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2383 sqmi, of which 2372 sqmi is land and 11 sqmi (0.5%) is water.

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

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.

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.

Major highways

• [[Image:I-94.svg|20px]] Interstate 94
• [[Image:US 10.svg|20px]] U.S. Highway 10 (Former)
• [[Image:MT-16.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 16
• [[Image:MT-200.svg|20px]] Montana Highway 200
• [[Image:MT-200.svg|20px]] 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.

Transit

• Jefferson Lines

Adjacent counties

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

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790–1960, 1900–1990, 1990–2000, 2010–2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 8,940. Of the residents, 22.0% were under the age of 18 and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 41.3 years. For every 100 females there were 106.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 106.2 males. 74.7% of residents lived in urban areas and 25.3% lived in rural areas. The racial makeup of the county was 90.4% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 2.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 1.1% from some other race, and 5.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.2% of the population. There were 3,658 households in the county, of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 22.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 4,382 housing units, of which 16.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.5% were owner-occupied and 28.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 15.0%.

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 PD/sqmi. There were 4,233 housing units at an average density of 1.8 /sqmi. 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

Economy

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

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.

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.

Education

Dawson Community College is located in Glendive.

Communities

City

• Glendive (county seat)

Town

• Richey

Census-designated place

• Bloomfield
• Lindsay
• West Glendive

Footnotes

References

1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
3. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". Govt. Print. Off..
4. "Montana Place Names Companion". Montana Historical Society Research Center.
5. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
6. (April 25, 2015). "Yours for US$1.8m or more: 'world's biggest dinosaur' skull on sale in Hong Kong".
7. (April 23, 2015). "How a $1.8 million dinosaur skull went from Montana to Hong Kong".
8. 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". American Historical Society.
9. "County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2024". United States Census Bureau.
10. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
12. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
13. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
14. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau.
15. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau.
16. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau.
17. Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections".
18. Merrill, Andrea. (1997). "Montana almanac". Falcon Publishing.
19. Dawson County EDC. "Welcome".