CENTRAL MONTANA 



93 



The Billiiitrs-Sholhy line of the (Jrcat Northern, used by the Biuiingtou for its 

 transroiitiiientiil trains, runs north westerly thr<)Uf,'h the heart of the agricultural 

 districts, and is paralleled l)y the Custer Battlefield highway. At Junction, near 

 the western boundary, a branch line run.s ea.st to licwistown which eventually will 

 be extended east, making an alternative transcontinental line. 



The branch line ot" the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. I'aul to Creat Falls skirts 

 the south half of the eastern border, dips east into Fergus county and then runs 

 northwesterly near the northern border. 



Stanford, the county seat, and Hob.son are the largest towns. Other towns are 

 Mendon, Moccasin, Windham. Spion Kop. (Jeyser. Benchland. Ftica and Lehigh. 



Attractive scenery is found in the mountains in the southwestern part of the 

 county. The sapphire mines on Yogo Creek, 25 miles southwest of Hobson, are of 

 interest to tourists. 



JUDITH BASIN COUNTY — Ranks forty-second in population (4,283); tlnrty-si.xth 

 in ana. ( 1.1 7'.»,5:iU acres); twelfth in combined 1922 crop and livestock value; tliirty-first 

 in bank deposits, 1922; fifteenth in assessed valuation, 1922. Acres public land, 7,434; 

 acres state land, 57,425; acres national forests, 304,170. 



WEALTH PRODUCTION — Estimated 1922 crop value, $1,841,900; estimated live- 

 stock value. January, 1923, $2,228,000; metal production, 1920, figures not available; 

 1921 lumber cut, 30 M feet; total bank deposits, September 15, 1922, $1,099,351. 



TAXATION 1922 — Total assessed valuation, $26,940,663; total taxable value, 

 $8,626,310. Total outstanding county bond Indebtedness, $360,000; total outstanding 

 < 1 unty warrant indelUedness. $10,255 ; total outstanding school bond in(lcl)todiiess, $73,242; 

 other school debts, $16,714. Total general and special county taxes, $133,537; total gen- 

 eral and district school taxes, $183,453; total municipal taxes, $5,788; total state taxes, 

 $41,263; total tax (inclusive municipal), per capita, $84.99. 



EDUCATIONAL — Number graded schools, 58; enrollment, 1,623. Number high 

 schools, 5; enrollment, 286. 



BUSINESS STATISTICS — Number of railroads, 2; railway mileage, exclusive spurs 

 and sidetracks, 103.13. Number of banks, 12. Number general stores, 19; confectionery, 

 etc., 6; groceries and meats, 8; lumber yards, 7; total number merchants, 156. Total 

 assessed valuation 1922 merchandise, $361,298. Number .grain elevators, 26; total ca- 

 pacity, 670,000 bushels. Number flour mills, 2. Number saw mills, 1. Number of 

 lawyers. 5. Number of physicians, 5. 



AFRICULTURE (1920 census)* — Farm acreage, 802,840; irrigated acreage, 18,000 

 acres (estimated). Livestock assessed 1922 — number cattle, 27,346; number sheep, 

 30,645; number horses, 9,036. 



CLIMATOLOGICAL DATA — At Utica. Elevation, 5,000 feet. Average date last 

 killing frost in spring. May 26; average date first killing frost in fall, September 18. 



An- 

 Jan. Feb. Mar. April May .Tune .Tulv Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. nual 

 Ave. Free. .65 .38 .80 1.17 2.'83 3.39 2.10 1.19 1.38 1.15 .81 .58 16.43 

 Ave. Temp. 23.0 24.1 29.9 42.1 49.4 58.0 64.8 64.6 54.6 45.0 34.3 26.8 43.0 



County Seat, Stanford. Population County Seat, 300. 



County Agricultural Agent — No. 



♦Included in Cascade and Fergus Counties. 



MEAGHER COUNTY 



A 



of the 



{ NOTED stock-raising region in the early 

 da.vs, with some mining, Meagher county, 

 in central Montana, has been little affected 

 by the passing of time. Natural conditions 

 are such that the stock industry, in one 

 j^.. ^^ form or another, will probably continue to 



''"*S!<4|M'^^f^»J*^>_*,^,f hP:;^^ be the major agricultural pur.suit. Mining 



operations have declined, but the unde- 

 \eloped mineral resources justify the con- 

 clusion the time will come when the in- 

 (lustr.v will be revived on a larger scale 

 than in the past. Ideally adapted to dairy- 

 ing, pronounced progress has been made in 

 this branch of the livestock industry in the 

 past few years, and many of the farmers 

 in the lower valleys and on the non-irri- 

 gated benches are re-arranging their farm 

 methods to make it a major enterprise. 

 Mountain and grazing lands occupy most 

 area of the county, which extends to the crest of the Big Belt mountains 



