Highwood is an unincorporated community and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Chouteau County Chouteau County is a county located in the North-Central region of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,895. Its county seat is Fort Benton. The county was established in 1865 as one of the original nine coun ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, United States. The population was 165 at the 2020 Dicennial Census.

History

Highwood first had a post office in 1881, which closed and reopened a few times until 1886, since which it has remained open continuously. The community took its name from nearby Highwood Creek. The valley was popularized in the 1962 movie '' Shoot Out at Big Sag'', starring Walter Brennan.

Geography

Highwood is located in southwestern Chouteau County. It is in the valley of the northwest flowing Highwood Creek, a tributary of the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

, and Big Sag Creek. It is east of Great Falls and just northwest of the

Highwood Mountains The Highwood Mountains are an island range (sub-range of the Rockies entirely surrounded by prairie) which cover approximately 4,659 km2 (1,799 sq mi) of the Central Montana Alkalic Province in north central Montana in the U.S. They are in ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , all land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Highwood has a

warm-summer humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 189 people, 66 households, and 50 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 73 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.35%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.53%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.53% Asian, and 1.59% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.53% of the population. There were 66 households, out of which 45.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.36. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 31.7% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $44,375, and the median income for a family was $44,375. Males had a median income of $24,375 versus $22,857 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $14,457. About 11.5% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.7% of those under the age of eighteen and 10.7% of those 65 or over.

Education

Highwood Public Schools educates students from kindergarten through 12th grade. They are known as the Highwood Mountaineers. Highwood High School is a Class C school (fewer than 119 students) which helps determine athletic competitions. Enrollment for the 2022-2023 school year was at 117 students.

References

External links

Travel Montana Highwood webpage
{{authority control Census-designated places in Chouteau County, Montana Census-designated places in Montana