Powder River County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,694. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Broadus.

History

Powder River County's area was probably first entered by Europeans when French trappers worked its streams in the early 1800s. In 1865 the federal government sent soldiers ( Powder River Expedition) to the

Powder River country The Powder River Country is the Powder River Basin area of the Great Plains in northeastern Wyoming, United States. The area is loosely defined as that between the Bighorn Mountains and the Black Hills, in the upper drainage areas of the Powde ...

to combat Native Americans from the

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

Lakota Sioux The Lakota (; or ) are a Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux (from ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western Dakota (). Their current lands are in N ...

, and

Arapaho The Arapaho ( ; , ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho bands formed t ...

tribes. September 1865 saw several skirmishes ( Powder River Battles) near present-day Broadus. On March 17, 1876, the Battle of Powder River occurred in the south-central part of the county, about southwest of Broadus. Powderville was the area's first established settlement; it began operating on November 1, 1878, as the Powder River Telegraph Station on a line connecting

Fort Keogh Fort Keogh is a former United States Army post located at the western edge of modern Miles City, Montana, Miles City, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is situated on the south bank of the Yellowstone River, at the mouth of the Tongue River (Mont ...

Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as the county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had its ...

. On April 5, 1879, the Mizpah Creek Incidents began near the Powderville telegraph station. Custer County was organized in early 1877, consisting of most of SE Montana Territory. In February 1900, the Broadus Post Office opened. In October 1918 the first edition of the area's first newspaper appeared. On March 17, 1919, Powder River County was formed from southern Custer County. In a 1920 election, Broadus was chosen as the county seat.

Geography

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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.02%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 212 * Montana Highway 59

Transit

Powder River County Transit provides demand-response services throughout the county.

Adjacent counties

* Custer County - north * Carter County - east *

Crook County, Wyoming Crook County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 7,181, making it the third-least populous county in Wyoming. Its county seat and la ...

- southeast * Campbell County, Wyoming - south *

Sheridan County, Wyoming Sheridan County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 30,921. The county seat is Sheridan. Its northern boundary abuts the Montana state border. Sheridan County comprises the Sherid ...

- southwest * Big Horn County - west * Rosebud County - northwest

National protected area

* Custer National Forest (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 1,694 people living in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 1,743 people, 755 households, and 505 families in the county. The population density was . There were 1,022 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.0% white, 1.5% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% black or African American, 1.1% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 34.6% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 31.0% were American, 15.1% were English, 14.0% were Irish, and 8.6% were Norwegian. Of the 755 households, 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.1% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.1% were non-families, and 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.76. The median age was 49.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $37,685 and the median income for a family was $50,156. Males had a median income of $27,721 versus $26,250 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,543. About 11.6% of families and 14.1% 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 15.7% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Powder River County is heavily Republican; it has voted Republican in every presidential election since 1940.

Communities

Town

* Broadus (county seat)

Census-designated place

* Biddle

Unincorporated communities

* Bay Horse * Belle Creek * Cameron Crossing * Coalwood * Elkhorn Crossing * Epsie * Moorhead *

Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

* Powderville * Sayle * Sonnette * Willow Crossing''Willow Crossing MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 4, 2019)
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Notable people

* Jess Lockwood, 2017 and 2019 PBR World champion * Lee Randall, Republican member of the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...

(2009–2017) * Ronnie Rossen, World Champion PRCA Bull rider (1961, 1966) * Jason Evans, six-time National Steer Roping Finals qualifier * Steve Held, professional actor, rancher, and Democratic candidate for

Montana's 2nd congressional district Montana's second congressional district is a congressional district in the United States House of Representatives that was apportioned after the 2020 United States census. The first candidates ran in the 2022 United States House of Representati ...

in the 2024 U.S. House of Representatives election in Montana

References

{{Coord, 45.38, -105.64, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MT_source:UScensus1990 1919 establishments in Montana Populated places established in 1919