Sheridan 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 ...
of
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 3,539.
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
Plentywood. Its northern boundary is the
Canada–United States border
The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...
south of
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
.
History
The
Montana Legislature
The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of 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 t ...
established Sheridan County in 1913 from portions of
Dawson and
Valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
Counties. It was named for
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Philip Sheridan. In the 1920s and 1930s the county was a hotbed of
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
organizing. The
CPUSA managed to elect several town and county officials. At the
1932 presidential election the communist candidate
William Z. Foster got 576 votes (22%). International changes in communist organizing strategies, especially the move towards the
popular front, effectively ended communist presence in the area.
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 (1.7%) is water.
Major highways
*
Montana Highway 5
*
Montana Highway 16
Adjacent counties and rural municipalities
*
Rural Municipality of Happy Valley,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
– northwest
*
Rural Municipality of Surprise Valley,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
– north
*
Rural Municipality of Lake Alma,
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
– northeast
*
Daniels County – west
*
Divide County,
North Dakota
North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
– east
*
Williams County,
North Dakota
North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
– east
*
Roosevelt County – south
National protected area
*
Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 census, there were 3,539 people living in the county.
2010 census
As of the
2010 census, there were 3,384 people, 1,587 households, and 944 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 2,089 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.4% white, 1.7% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.3% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 33.8% were
Norwegian, 26.0% were
German, 12.0% were
Danish, 11.6% were
Irish, 5.5% were
Swedish, 5.3% were
English, and 5.0% were
American.
Of the 1,587 households, 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 40.5% were non-families, and 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.70. The median age was 50.3 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,578 and the median income for a family was $55,313. Males had a median income of $46,932 versus $22,107 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,537. About 6.4% of families and 14.5% 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 8.8% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Sheridan County voters have selected the Republican County candidate in 80% of the national elections since 1980.
Sheridan County had a strong
Communist Party presence in the first half of the 20th century. In the 1932 presidential election, Communist candidate
William Z. Foster received 18% of the vote in the county, his strongest performance nationwide.
Communities
City
*
Plentywood (county seat)
Towns
*
Medicine Lake
*
Outlook
*
Westby
Unincorporated communities
* Coalridge
*
Comertown
*
Dagmar
*
Raymond
Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...
*
Reserve
*
Caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...
Former towns
*
Dooley
* Archer
Census-designated places
*
Antelope
The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...
*
Homestead
*
Redstone
*
Reserve
Education
School districts include:
*
Medicine Lake K-12 Schools
*
Plentywood K-12 Schools
*
Westby K-12 Schools
See also
*
List of lakes in Sheridan County, Montana
*
List of mountains in Sheridan County, Montana
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Sheridan County, Montana
References
External links
County website
{{Coord, 48.73, -104.50, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MT_source:UScensus1990
1913 establishments in Montana
Populated places established in 1913