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I'ltAJIHE COUNTY. 



Prairie county was Montana's baby county until the last session of the state 

 legislature created two new counties, Carter and Wheatland. It is one of the 

 smallest agricultural counties. It was formed in 1915 from parts of Custer and 

 Dawson, both of which are large counties in the eastern part of the state. 



It received its name from the noble prairies of which it is entirely composed. 

 It is a county of excellent land and for that reason is well settled and well 

 developed. In fact, it is one of the best, developed counties of eastern Montana, 

 embodying the choicest parts of both Custer and Dawson, from which it was 

 taken. Practically the entire area of the county is available for farming purposes 

 although 29,515 acres are still listed by the federal land office as available for 

 homestead entry. There is no unsurveyed land in the county. Because the county 

 is small, all parts of it are within easy access of the railroad, so the county has 

 some of the best transportation iacilities. Undoubtedly it will be but a short time 

 until every tillable acre in the county is under the plow, as the development which 

 had so well begun in this section before it was created a county has continued with 

 even more vigor since its separation. 



Prairie county is watered by the Yellowstone river, which flows through the 

 county from west to east, and by a number of smaller streams which flow into the 

 Yellowstone. While there is seme irrigation practiced in the county, it is not 

 emphasized to any extent. Very fine yields have been secured by non-irrigatd farm- 

 ing, so irrigation is not deemed necessary. 



This county, like the rest of eastern Montana was formerly the home of great 

 herds of cattle. Now, however, on every hand is seen the well cultivated and well 

 fenced farm. Acres of wheat, cats, llax, rye, barley and corn have been planted and 

 are being planted where in lormer years cattle reigned supreme. Fine dairy barns 

 and silos are being tuilt, and dairy herds of well bred cattle are being installed, 

 Cream separators and creameries are found everywhere and butter brings a good 

 price. 



Prairie county is in the heart of the "corn belt" of Montana and with Custer, 

 Rosebud, Fallon, Wibaux, Carter, Dawson and Richland make up the corn counties 

 of the state. The leng growing season and the high number of heat units of this 

 section, which is the highest in the state, enables corn to mature in good shape. 

 The heat units at Miles City, only a short distance from Terry, the county seat of 

 Prairie county, are 3,971, or nearly the same as Minneapolis, Minnesota, which has 

 4,000. This is considered sufficient for good corn growing, as has been demonstrated 

 in Prairie county. Besides the corn raised here, there are large crops of wheat, 

 oats, rye, barley and potatoes planted. Practically every kind of vegetable thrives 

 because of the length of the growing season. 



The climate is practically the same as that of Iowa and Illinois. The alti- 

 tude is approximately 2,300 feet, insuring cool nights, there are comparatively few 

 severe storms; the air is dry and one does not feel the cold of winter or the heat 

 of summer as in more humid regions. The normal rainfall is in excess of fiTteen 

 inches, more than half of which tails during the growing season and, under proper 

 cultivation, this has proved ample for all crops in this soil. 



Two railroads, both of them main lines, pass through the county. They are 

 the Northern Pacific and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul which supply excellent 

 connections and shipping facilities to eastern points. Good markets are thus made 

 convenient to any part of the county. 



Terry, the county seat and principal town, is served by both of these roads and 

 is the large distributing center for the farming country adjacent. It has had a rapid 

 growth in recent years and is today considered one of the most important eastern 

 Montana towns. It is progressive in every respect having all the conveniences of a 

 modern city. It has a four year accredited high school, churches, hotels and busi- 

 ness houses of metropolitan appearance. The town of next importance in the county 

 is Fallon, which is located near the eastern edge of the county. It serves a farming 

 community and has a large trade and a bright future. The other towns of the 

 county are smaller villages and are easy of access from most of the farming 

 communities. 



Land area — Prairie county, which is in the Miles City land district, embraces 

 an area of 1,685 square miles. It has 29,515 acres of land open to homestead entry, 

 classi.ied as unreserved and unappropriated land. It also has 59,337 acres of state 

 land that is available at a low price. 



The assessed valuation of the county in 1918 is $6, 951,120 including the rail- 

 road property. 



