Garfield County, Montana
| Garfield County, Montana | |
 Garfield County Courthouse in Jordan, MT
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 Location in the state of Montana |
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 Montana's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1919 |
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| Seat | Jordan |
| Largest city | Jordan |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
4,848 sq mi (12,556 km²) 4,668 sq mi (12,090 km²) 179 sq mi (464 km²), 3.70% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
1,206 0.274/sq mi (0/km²) |
| Website | www.garfieldcounty.com |
Garfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of 2010, the population was 1,206. Its county seat is Jordan.[1]
Garfield County is noteworthy as the site of the discovery and excavation of four of the world's dozen or so major specimens (as of 1994) of Tyrannosaurus rex within the county. A cast of the skull of one of these dinosaurs is on display at the Garfield County Museum.[2]
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Geography [edit]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,848 square miles (12,556.3 km2), of which 4,668 square miles (12,090.1 km2) is land and 179 square miles (463.6 km2) (3.70%) is water. Its average population density of 0.1058 inhabitants/km² (0.274/sq mi) is the third-lowest of any county outside of Alaska (behind Loving County, Texas and Esmeralda County, Nevada).
Major highways [edit]
Adjacent counties [edit]
- Phillips County, Montana - northwest
- Valley County, Montana - north
- McCone County, Montana - east
- Prairie County, Montana - east
- Custer County, Montana - southeast
- Rosebud County, Montana - south
- Petroleum County, Montana - west
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Phillips County | Valley County | |
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| Petroleum County |  |
McCone County and Prairie County | ||
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| Rosebud County | Custer County |
National protected area [edit]
Politics [edit]
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This section requires expansion. (October 2008) |
Garfield County is a solidly Republican county. It was the most Republican county in Montana in the 2012 United States presidential election.[3]
The last Democratic Presidential candidate to carry the county was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940.[4] In the last five Presidential elections no Democratic candidate has managed to receive more than 16%.[5] In the 2000 presidential election Republican George W. Bush won 87% of the vote to Democrat Al Gore's 8%. In the 2004 presidential election, Garfield County gave 90.08% of its votes to President George W. Bush, with John Kerry receiving 7.94% of the vote. In the 2008 presidential election, Senator John McCain received 82.3% with Senator Barack Obama receiving 15.1%.
Garfield County is also Republican at a local level. Democratic governor Brian Schweitzer has never received more than 38% of the county's vote and no Democratic gubernatorial candidate has carried the county in decades.[6] As part of the 15th district of the Montana Senate it is represented by Republican Jim Peterson and as part of the 30th district of the Montana House of Representatives it is represented by Republican Dave Kasten.[7]
Demographics [edit]
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1920 | 5,368 |
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| 1930 | 4,252 | −20.8% | |
| 1940 | 2,641 | −37.9% | |
| 1950 | 2,172 | −17.8% | |
| 1960 | 1,981 | −8.8% | |
| 1970 | 1,796 | −9.3% | |
| 1980 | 1,656 | −7.8% | |
| 1990 | 1,589 | −4.0% | |
| 2000 | 1,279 | −19.5% | |
| 2010 | 1,206 | −5.7% | |
As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 1,279 people, 532 households, and 366 families residing in the county. The population density was <1/km² (<1/sq mi). There were 961 housing units at an average density of <1/km² (<1/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 99.14% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, and 0.23% from two or more races. 0.39% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.9% were of German, 15.4% English, 14.4% American, 8.1% Scottish, 8.1% Irish, 6.7% Norwegian and 5.5% Scots-Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 532 households out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.30% were married couples living together, 4.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.20% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 23.30% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 19.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 106.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $25,917, and the median income for a family was $31,111. Males had a median income of $20,474 versus $14,531 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,930. About 16.70% of families and 21.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.90% of those under age 18 and 17.40% of those age 65 or over.
Communities [edit]
Town [edit]
Unincorporated communities [edit]
See also [edit]
- List of cemeteries in Garfield County, Montana
- List of lakes in Garfield County, Montana
- List of mountains in Garfield County, Montana
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Garfield County, Montana
References [edit]
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ David Quammen, "Local Bird Makes Good" (1995), collected in The Boilerplate Rhino (2000), ISBN 0-684-83728-5
- ^ Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
- ^ Geographie Electorale
- ^ The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on Montana)
- ^ David Leip US Election Atlas
- ^ Montana legislative site
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links [edit]
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