Fergus County, Montana

Fergus County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,446.^[1] Its county seat is Lewistown.^[2] The county was founded in 1885 and named for James Fergus, a Montana politician who was instrumental in creating the county.^[3][4]

Fergus County
County
Fergus County Courthouse in Lewistown
Location within the U.S. state of Montana
Montana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 47°16′N 109°13′W
Country	United States
State	Montana
Founded	1885
Named after	James Fergus
Seat	Lewistown
Largest city	Lewistown
Area
• Total	4,350 sq mi (11,300 km2)
• Land	4,340 sq mi (11,200 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	11,446
• Estimate  (2022)	11,663
• Density	2.6/sq mi (1.0/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district	2nd
Website	fergusmt.gov
Montana county number 08

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,350 square miles (11,300 km²), of which 4,340 square miles (11,200 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[5]

Adjacent counties

• Chouteau County – northwest
• Blaine County – north
• Phillips County – northeast
• Petroleum County – east
• Musselshell County – southeast
• Golden Valley County – south
• Wheatland County – southwest
• Judith Basin County – west

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 87
• U.S. Highway 191
• Montana Highway 3
• Montana Highway 80
• Montana Highway 81
• Montana Highway 200

National protected areas

• Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (part)
• Lewis and Clark National Forest (part)
• Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument (part)

Military Installations

• LGM-30 Minuteman silos D-01 thru D-11 of the 10th Missile Squadron, 341st Missile Wing, 20th Air Force, assigned to Malmstrom AFB, Montana

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1890	3,514		—
1900	6,937		97.4%
1910	17,385		150.6%
1920	28,344		63.0%
1930	16,531		−41.7%
1940	14,040		−15.1%
1950	14,015		−0.2%
1960	14,018		0.0%
1970	12,611		−10.0%
1980	13,076		3.7%
1990	12,083		−7.6%
2000	11,893		−1.6%
2010	11,586		−2.6%
2020	11,446		−1.2%
2022 (est.)	11,663	[6]	1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[7] 1790–1960[8] 1900–1990[9] 1990–2000[10] 2010–2020[1]

2020 census

As of the census, of 2020, there were 11,446 people living in the county.^{[citation needed]}

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 11,586 people, 5,099 households, and 3,202 families living in the county. The population density was 2.7 inhabitants per square mile (1.0/km²). There were 5,836 housing units at an average density of 1.3 per square mile (0.50/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% white, 1.2% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 30.8% were German, 15.9% were English, 14.7% were Norwegian, 12.8% were Irish, and 4.2% were American.

Of the 5,099 households, 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 37.2% were non-families, and 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age was 47.8 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,607 and the median income for a family was $48,623. Males had a median income of $35,110 versus $21,225 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,295. About 12.5% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Since the 1964 election, the Republican candidate has been selected in every election.

United States presidential election results for Fergus County, Montana^[11][12]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	4,965	73.97%	1,522	22.68%	225	3.35%
2020	4,869	74.83%	1,496	22.99%	142	2.18%
2016	4,269	73.10%	1,202	20.58%	369	6.32%
2012	4,257	70.12%	1,640	27.01%	174	2.87%
2008	4,108	65.92%	1,933	31.02%	191	3.06%
2004	4,425	72.22%	1,582	25.82%	120	1.96%
2000	4,353	72.62%	1,352	22.56%	289	4.82%
1996	3,671	59.27%	1,866	30.13%	657	10.61%
1992	2,736	42.16%	1,615	24.88%	2,139	32.96%
1988	3,948	64.55%	2,052	33.55%	116	1.90%
1984	4,585	70.99%	1,804	27.93%	70	1.08%
1980	4,455	65.02%	1,840	26.85%	557	8.13%
1976	3,556	57.73%	2,470	40.10%	134	2.18%
1972	4,082	67.48%	1,652	27.31%	315	5.21%
1968	3,367	55.59%	2,070	34.18%	620	10.24%
1964	2,980	47.35%	3,300	52.44%	13	0.21%
1960	3,294	52.24%	2,999	47.56%	13	0.21%
1956	3,771	57.77%	2,757	42.23%	0	0.00%
1952	4,402	65.79%	2,271	33.94%	18	0.27%
1948	2,411	42.66%	3,059	54.12%	182	3.22%
1944	2,229	41.11%	3,164	58.35%	29	0.53%
1940	2,706	40.88%	3,873	58.51%	40	0.60%
1936	1,821	27.00%	4,675	69.31%	249	3.69%
1932	2,400	33.63%	4,470	62.64%	266	3.73%
1928	4,109	60.09%	2,667	39.00%	62	0.91%
1924	2,942	38.50%	1,580	20.68%	3,120	40.83%
1920	5,858	60.22%	3,371	34.66%	498	5.12%
1916	3,290	34.91%	5,749	61.00%	385	4.09%
1912	745	20.34%	1,393	38.03%	1,525	41.63%
1908	1,529	52.43%	1,112	38.13%	275	9.43%
1904	1,599	63.23%	780	30.84%	150	5.93%
1900	1,228	56.93%	913	42.33%	16	0.74%
1896	725	46.41%	834	53.39%	3	0.19%
1892	766	55.59%	560	40.64%	52	3.77%

Communities

City

• Lewistown (county seat)

Towns

• Denton
• Grass Range
• Moore
• Winifred

Unincorporated communities

• Amherst
• Buffalo
• Christina
• Eddies Corner^[13]
• Fergus
• Forest Grove
• Garneill
• Giltedge^[14]
• Hanover^[15]
• Heath
• Hoosac
• Maiden^[16]
• Moore^[17]
• Piper^[18]
• Roy^[19]
• Straw^[20]
• Valentine^[21]
• Ware^[22]

Former communities

Moulton

Census-designated places

• Ayers Ranch Colony
• Brooks
• Coffee Creek
• Danvers
• Deerfield Colony
• Fords Creek Colony
• Hilger
• King Ranch Colony
• Lewistown Heights
• Roy
• Spring Creek Colony
• Warm Spring Creek

Notable people

• Roy E. Ayers, member of the United States House of Representatives and 11th Governor of Montana; served as the attorney of the county from 1905 to 1909.^[23]
• Carl W. Riddick, House of Representatives from the Second District of Montana, served as County Assessor of Fergus County.^[24]

See also

• List of lakes in Fergus County, Montana
• List of mountains in Fergus County, Montana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Fergus County, Montana