SOUTH EASTERN MONTANA 



45 



POWDER RIVER COUNTY 



i 





r~'"?gff^ jHILE stock raising will probably remain the 



leading industry mitil a railroad taps the 

 ri'gion and removes the present transporta- 

 I at ion handicap, farmers in Powder River 

 (•(lUiity are making good progress, consider- 

 ing the limitations under which they oper- 

 ate, and are laying the foundations of a 

 (li\ersified system which will influence 

 future agricultural devolopment. There 

 are large coal measures in the county, good 

 stands of timber, and the existence of a 



ISJWIJ^S^^' '^^K*^*" "^ S^''^" Jii^-'li quality of glass-making sand is re- 



"^ " Powder River county lies in south- 



eastern Montana and is about 50 miles 

 s((nare. The Montana-Wyoming boundary 

 defines its southern boundary. The northern 

 and eastern districts are largely composed 

 of rolling prairie land with pine and cedar 

 brakes. A low range of timbered mountains and the Custer National Forest 

 occupy a considerable area of the western part of the county, and this district will 

 always be best adapted to stock growing. Otter Creek runs in a northerly 

 direction near the western boundary ; Powder River flows diagonally from the 

 southwestern corner to the northeastern corner, and the Little Powder River 

 bisects the southeastern quarter of the county. The Mizpah River and Pumpkin 

 Creek rise in the county and flow north. 



This region was one of the first to be settled after eastern Montana ceased to 

 be Indian country and for many years was one of the most noted range cattle dis- 

 tricts in the west. While not conducted on the same scale as 

 Noted Stock formerly, stock gi'owing continues to be the dominant industry. 

 Region During the past 15 years many homesteaders have come in. In 



the past few years there has been a pronounced movement to 

 concentrate on crops of relatively small bulk and high value, thus partly over- 

 coming the long haul to the railroad. The acreage devoted (o alfalfa seed, pop- 

 corn and beans is increasing. Spring wheat is the chief crop, but the acreage in 

 corn for both feed and grain is rapidlj' expanding, the long, hot growing season 

 making the crop particularly adapted to the district. Vegetables and melons do 

 well, and on the river and creek bottoms alfalfa is successfully raised without 

 irrigation. The Little Powder valley is the largest producer of alfalfa seed. 



The coal resources are extensive, occupying the western three-fourths of the 

 county. Most of it is lignite bur some approaches the sub-bituminous in quality, 

 and is found in beds i-anging from 9 to 05 feet in thickness. Investigations have 

 been made with a view of tapping this field for fuel for mining in the Black 

 Hills of South Dakota. There were only two counties on the eastern side of the 

 Rocky ^Mountains whose timber cut in 1921 exceeded that of Powder River. 



Pas,senger stages operate daily between Broadus and IMiles City. Tri-weekly 

 stages are operated between Broadus and Arvada, Wyoming, on the Burlington. 

 Surveys have been made for a railroad from Belle Fourche. South Dakota, to 

 Miles City that would serve the eastern half of the county. The new north and 

 south railroad now being built from Casper, Wyoming, down the Tongue River to 

 Miles City will pass within a few miles of the western border, i-educing by more 

 than half the present distance to the railroad. 



