Garfield County, Montana
was created in 1919
from Dawson County, with Jordan as its county seat. The name,
Garfield, was given in memory of President James A. Garfield.
This was one of the last areas of the lower 48
states to be settled and its population went from almost none in 1900 to
about 800 in 1910. In the 1910's the land was opened for homesteading
and by 1920 the population was close to 7,000.
Following World War I drought
conditions hit eastern Montana, at the same time that the agricultural
economy fell. This led to a large number of people leaving the
county, and that exodus has continued so that every census shows less
people than the one ten years before. The current population is
less than 1500.
Garfield County is
agriculture. It produces cattle, sheep, and grains. The
north edge of the county is bordered by the Missouri River that is
backed up by Fort Peck Dam. The land in this area is called
"The Breaks" because of the erosion leading down to the
Missouri. In this eroded land are found the skeleton's of
dinosaurs, including the first discovery of a Tyrannosaurus
Rex.
