KLAIXE COUNTY. 



Blaine county is another of the newer counties of Montana, having been created 

 along with Hill county, by a vote of the people, in February, 1912, out of territory 

 embraced in Chouteau county. 



The Milk river, which is the source of the water supply for the county crosses 

 the county near the center from west to east. North from the river to the Canadian 

 line extends a region of rolling hills, intersected by numerous streams and coulees, 

 land that is still used chiefly for grazing purposes but which contains much good 

 farming land. South of the river the country rises to the Bear Paw mountains in 

 the western, and the little Rocky mountains in the eastern part. Flowing north from 

 these elevations are many creeks that empty into Milk River. The southern slope of 

 these hills drains into the Missouri river. 



It is in this county that a good deal of the Milk river reclamation project is 

 under way. When this project is completed, Blaine county will prove to be one 

 of the greatest grain raising and dairying counties in Montana. The irrigated lands 

 in the valley are considered to be among the most productive in the United States. 



The development of the agricultural resources of the Milk river valley has been 

 hindered by the delay in completing the Milk river reclamation project; but diffi- 

 culties having been overcome, there is the prospect that this great enterprise will 

 henceforth be carried on with commendable energy. Upon the completion of this 

 project it is expected that, as in the case of the Huntley project in Yellowstone 

 county, sugar beets will prove to be a most profitable crop and that a sufficient 

 acreage will be planted to cause the erection of a beet sugar factory at some con- 

 venient place. 



Besides the big Milk river project, there are numerous smaller streams that 

 supply water for irrigating limited areas, mostly under private or commercial 

 operation. Farming without irrigation is successfully conducted on the bench lands, 

 mainly by the dry farming method. Thousands of acres of this land has been put 

 into cultivation and the yield of grains, grasses and vegetables has been good. 

 The products of the county are, wheat, flax, oats, barley and rye. Potatoes and 

 other vegetables grow both on the irrigated and non-irrigated lands and sugar beets 

 thrive on the irrigated districts. Alfalfa is the chief tame hay crop on the irri- 

 gated lands. 



The only mineral to be found in Blaine county is coal. A good mine has been 

 developed at Chinook, the county seat, and there are mines in other parts of the 

 county that supply local needs. The coal is near the surface and can be obtained 

 very cheaply. 



Chinook, the county seat, had a population in 1910 of 780, which has since 

 increased to 1,800. It is a rich and busy little city and is one of the most attrac- 

 tive places of residence in the state. It is surrounded by a rich farming country, 

 has a coal mine at its door, modern water works, business houses whose trade 

 extends over a large territory, banks, newspapers, good hotels, a creamery, elevators, 

 many churches and good schools. Newer industries that have recently been started 

 at Chinook are a flax fibre mill and a flour mill. The erection of a sugar beet factory 

 is expected when the reclamation project is completed. Chinook is the largest town 

 in the county. 



Dodson and Harlem are two other towns of worth in the county. The former 

 has thousands of acres of land tributary to it and when the irrigation project is 

 in working order, the business of the place will be vastly greater. Harlem owns 

 its own water system, fine homes and business houses, a newspaper and is a ship- 

 ping point for a large territory. Both of these towns have good schools with high 

 schools doing accredited work. 



Blaine county is in the Havre land district. It embraces an area of 4,219 square 

 miles. There are 424,885 acres of unreserved and unappropriated public land avail- 

 able for entry under the homestead law. There are 307,129 acres of this unsurveyed. 

 There are also 170,781 acres of state land. The Fort Belknap Indian reservation is 

 almost wholly within this county but there is no prospect that it will soon be 

 opened to settlement. The population of the county in 1918 is estimated at about 

 11,000. 



The assessed valuation of the county in 1918 is $10,091,351 including railroad 

 valuation. 



