Toole 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 northern portion of 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 4,971. 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 Shelby. The county was established in 1914 from parts of Hill County and Teton County and was named after Joseph Toole, the first and fourth governor of Montana. 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

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

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 (1.5%) is water. Its northern boundary is the

. A part of its southern boundary by the southwestern county corner is formed by Marias River, which flows eastward through the southern part of the county. In the eastern part are several creeks, the largest of which is Willow, which rises in the Sweet Grass Hills and follows a southerly course through the county. In the Sweet Grass Hills and elsewhere indications of oil and gas have been found.

Major highways

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...

- connects to Alberta Highway 4 at Canadian border * US 2

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected ...

Adjacent counties

* Glacier County - west * Pondera County - south * Liberty County - east * County of Warner No. 5, Alberta - north * County of Forty Mile No. 8, Alberta - northeast

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 4,971 people living in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 5,324 people, 2,015 households, and 1,246 families in the county. The population density was . There were 2,336 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.0% white, 4.5% American Indian, 0.5% black or African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 30.8% 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 ...

, 17.7% were Irish, 15.8% were English, 10.5% were Norwegian, and 3.6% were American. Of the 2,015 households, 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 38.2% were non-families, and 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 41.5 years. The median income for a household in the county was $42,949 and the median income for a family was $54,722. Males had a median income of $41,490 versus $32,582 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,464. About 11.3% of families and 15.7% 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 23.2% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Toole County voters have only selected Republican Party candidates in national elections since 1964.

Communities

City

* Shelby (county seat)

Towns

* Kevin *

Sunburst A sunburst is a design or figure commonly used in architectural ornaments and design patterns and possibly pattern books. It consists of rays or "beams" radiating out from a central disk in the manner of sunbeams. Sometimes part of a sunbur ...

Census-designated places

* Camrose Colony * Hillside Colony * Rimrock Colony * Sweet Grass

Other unincorporated communities

* Devon * Dunkirk * Ethridge * Ferdig *

Galata Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most nota ...

* Gold Butte * Kippen * Naismith * Ohio Camp * Oilmont * Virden''Virden MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 7, 2019)
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Notable people

* Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), "Father of Modern Rodeo" and Hall of Fame cowboy, artist, sculptor, actor, inventor; cowboyed in the 1920s on a ranch on Kicking Horse Creek once owned by his cousin C.M. Russell * Charles M. Russell (1864–1926), cowboy artist and sculptor; ranched on Kicking Horse Creek near the Sweetgrass Hills; honored in the Hall of Great Westerners in Oklahoma City

References

External links

Toole County Website (official site)

City of Shelby (official site)

(Shelby Area Chamber of Commerce)

''NBMC'' (24/7 Local News and Events)

Shelby Promoter (weekly newspaper)
{{Coord, 48.65, -111.69, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MT_source:UScensus1990 1914 establishments in Montana Populated places established in 1914