Raynesford is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Judith Basin County Judith Basin County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,023. Its county seat is the town of Stanford. History Judith Basin County was formed of area taken from western Fergus and eastern Casca ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, United States. Its elevation is 4,042 feet (1,232 m), and it is located at (47.2699643, -110.7299417). The community includes a community center, a catholic church, a

fire department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

, and a post office. The post office was established under the name of "Spion Kop" on March 31, 1906; its name was changed to Raynesford exactly three years later.

U.S. Route 87 U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for 1,998 miles (3,215 km) from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north-south roa ...

runs along the southern side of town. Montana Highway 217's southern terminus intersects Stanford. Big Otter Creek flows through town. Nearby

Sluice Boxes State Park Sluice Boxes State Park is a public recreation area in the Little Belt Mountains of Montana, United States, located south of Belt on the Kings Hill Scenic Byway. The state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub ...

provides rugged recreation. It is a former mining area located along the Belt Creek Canyon.

Demographics

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Raynesford has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Media

The ''Judith Basin Press'' is the local newspaper. It is published weekly.

References

Unincorporated communities in Judith Basin County, Montana Unincorporated communities in Montana Populated places established in 1902 {{JudithBasinCountyMT-geo-stub