Trego 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 ...

, and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP), in Lincoln County,

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. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 541. Trego is located 1.5 miles west of Highway 93 and serves as the gateway community to the Tobacco Valley.

History

One of the primary settlers, and most notable residents of Trego, was the Fortin Family. The patriarch of the family, Octave Fortin, was originally from Canada and moved west with his wife to Butte, Montana, gaining their US Citizenship. In 1896, Octave purchased a large tract of land in Trego, which was just east of the rail line and general store, and turned it into a working ranch, raising cattle, chickens, pigs and harvesting hay. In 1900 he constructed the family house, a white farmhouse in the center of the ranch. The original farmhouse still stands today, in its original state and location on the ranch, in the heart of Trego. The neighboring community of Fortine, about four miles north of Trego, was initially supposed to be named Trego, and the current town of Trego was to be named Fortine, after the Fortin Family. However, due to a clerical error by the Great Northern Railway, the train station names in each town were reversed, and instead of correcting the error, the railway opted to leave them as is. Trego was traditionally a logging community as well as a station on the Great Northern Railway line. The first post office was established in 1911. It was named after Anna Trego Hogeland, wife of chief engineer A. H. Hogeland. Currently, Trego is home to a popular restaurant known as The Trego Pub, a community hall, volunteer fire department, a US Post Office, and to several local artisans. Trego is also home to a local garden center and nursery, an organic produce farm, and the original Fortin ranch is still being operated as a grass-fed, grass-finished cattle ranch to this day.

Geography

Trego is in northeastern Lincoln County and occupies a large portion of the valley of Fortine Creek and surrounding countryside.

U.S. Route 93 U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south United States highway, numbered highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 in Arizona, US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the ...

runs along the northeast edge of the CDP, approximately northeast of the original railroad-station community of Trego, while the CDP extends southwest from the rail station up Fortine Creek for . US 93 leads northwest to Eureka and southeast to Whitefish. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the Trego CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.78%, are water.

Demographics

References

Census-designated places in Lincoln County, Montana Census-designated places in Montana {{LincolnCountyMT-geo-stub