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TOOLE COUNTY. 



Toole county is another of the newer and smaller counties of the state. It is 

 situated along the northern border, next to the Canadian boundary. It was created 

 out of parts of Teton and Hill counties in 1914. 



Farming and stcckraising are the chief industries, and are in the initial stages 

 of development. All farming is by non-irrigated methods, wheat, oats, barley and 

 flax are the principal crops, flax producing well on the new land. There is a good 

 deal of wild hay cut for winter fodder for the stock and some alfalfa is raised. 

 Stock graze out during a large part of the milder winters. Cattle and sheep are 

 run in many places in large herds, while the newer settlers all have small herds of 

 cattle, sheep and horses. The nearness of the Flathead reservation and the Glacier 

 National Park, which are across Teton county to the west, make it possible to secure 

 feed for stock there. 



There are ranches along the creeks and stockraising is secondary in importance 

 only to farming. Formerly the county was used almost exclusively as a grazing 

 area. 



The Marias river forms a portion of the southern boundary of the county and 

 flows through the southeastern portion. The eastern part is watered by several 

 creeks, the largest of which is Willow. 



Recently, there has been considerabled work done in an effort to develop the 

 large oil deposits which are believed to lie beneath the Sweetgrass hills in the 

 northern part of Toole county. Strong flows of gas have been encountered, but thus 

 far the oil development has not reached a commercial scale. 



Natural gas has been encountered while drilling for oil in certain sections of 

 the county hut it has not been found in sufficient quantity to be valuable com- 

 mercially. That sinking to greater depth will bring in gas wells seems certain 

 for the pressure becomes more pronounced as drilling continues. 



Shelby, the county seat and principal town, is a railroad junction point and is 

 the trading center for a large and productive territory. Sweetgrass, in the northern 

 part of the county, is a port of entry from the Dominion of Canada. Galata and 

 Devon, in the eastern part of the county, are good farming towns, both growing 

 rapidly. 



Toole county is just at the edge of the Rocky Mountains, in the foothills, and 

 so is adjacent to some of the linest scenery on the continent. Glacier Park is 

 easily reached from any part of the county. The towns find the tourist traffic of 

 value, for many automobilists make the Toole county towns stopping points on their 

 way to the park. Any of the residents of the county can easily find opportunity to 

 camp and fish in the park during a part of the summer, while the nearness to the 

 mountain ranges makes hunting big game possible during the hunting season. 



The population of Toole county is estimated at about 7,000 people. The popula- 

 tion of Shelby, the county seat, is about 800. 



The schools of the county are good, with a fully accredited high school at 

 Shelby, to which any of the pupils in the county may come free of tuition. Many 

 of the rural schools have summer terms instead of winter sessions. There are 

 wagons to haul the pupils in to some of the town schools. 



Land area — Toole county is in the Great Falls and Havre land districts, and 

 embraces an area of 1.949 square miles. It has 89.292 acres of surveyed land 

 and 4,160 acres unsurveyed, all subject to homestead entry. It also has 110,622 acres 

 of state land which can be purchased. 



Both of the past years have been rather dry in Toole county as far as 

 crop production goes. In 1917 the drought that hit the state was particularly 

 hard, cutting down the yield of all grains a great deal. Livestock did fairly 

 well, however, and dairy products brought in a good income to most of the 

 farmers. In 1918 the drought has continued, making it necessary for the 

 state to extend aid to some of the homesteaders. This is an abnormal condi- 

 tion, as nothing like two years of drought has been known in the county before. 

 The people of the county are optimistic, however, and are staying on the job to 

 plant a big crop next year. 



The assessed valuation of the county in 1918 is $6,762,324 including railroad 

 property. 



