Big Horn County Montana 1921
On June 25, 1876, Gen. George A.
Custer, with his force of some 1,100 men attacked a body of
Sioux Indians, afterward found to number about 9,000, encamped
on the Little Big Horn River, and he and his entire command were
destroyed. Today, the Custer battlefield, located on the Custer
Battlefield Highway, is the shrine visited by thousands of
tourists annually. The field is dotted by little white crosses,
each marking where a soldier died, and these culminate in the
monument at the highest point of the ridge overlooking the
Little Big Horn River, where the final stand was made by the
whites. This battlefield lies in the eastern center of Big Horn
County, and its presence is only one of the reasons for tourists
making this part of Montana the object 01 their interest.

Custer Battlefield of 1921
The Big Horn Canyon, formed by the
Big Horn River after which the county is named, is an
exceptional bit of scenery, and while most of the surface of the
county is level or rolling, with broad bench uplands, isolated
mountain ranges rise near the eastern and western sides,
including the Wolf and Rosebud ranges. The county lies in
Southeastern Montana, its southern boundary being defined by the
Wyoming state line, and, irregular in shape, has a maximum
length east and west of 120 miles and a maximum width north and
south of seventy miles. Lying in the county is the Crow Indian
Reservation, recently thrown open to settlement, and the Tongue
River Northern Cheyenne Reservation, or a part thereof.
Possessing a rich clay loam soil,
which is mixed with considerable sand in some places and in
others is somewhat heavy and of the gumbo type, Big Horn is
distinctively an agricultural and stock growing county. It is
estimated that more than 100,000 acres are under cultivation,
while projects are contemplated for the reclamation of 125,000
acres more, and there are approximately 500,000 acres of
non-irrigated grain land, the remainder of the county being used
for grazing. Irrigated land prices range from $40 to $200 an
acre, non-irrigated farming land from $10 to $75 an acre, and
grazing land from $6 to $12 an acre. The principal farming crops
are alfalfa and sugar beets, confined to the irrigated districts
along the streams; wheat, oats, potatoes and corn, the last
named raised both for grain and silage, on the non-irrigated
lands, and garden stuff. The farmers on the non-irrigated lands
generally keep some stock. Much pork is produced in the
irrigated districts, the animals being brought to maturity
chiefly on alfalfa pasture and then fattened on corn, wheat or
barley. Dairying as an industry has made some headway during
recent years, and several large and prosperous apiaries have
been established. While coal has been found in commercial
quantities in Big Horn County, it is not being mined. In wells
around Hardin natural gas has been found, and, as in other parts
of the state, drilling for oil has been carried on lately. Along
the rivers and stream there is an abundant growth of cottonwood
timber, and in the north end and mountain ranges on the eastern
and western sides of the county small pine timber of slight
commercial value exists.
For its drainage, Big Horn County
looks principally to the Big Horn and Little Horn rivers, the
former the third largest river in the state, which rise in the
high mountains of Wyoming, are fed by numerous tributaries in
Big Horn County, and enter the county from the southwest and
south respectively, and, running north, unite near Hardin.
Rosebud Creek traverses the eastern portions of the county,
springs are frequent in the uplands, making a good pasture
region, and water is encountered at depths of from 15 to 100
feet. Running northward through the county to connections with
the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways, is the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and a branch to the east has been
provided to serve the southeastern part of the county, as well
as counties adjoining. The state highway is the Custer
Battlefield Highway, of which there are seventy-five miles in
Big Horn County. Big Horn County has a number of thriving trade
centers, principal among which are Hardin, the county seat, Crow
Agency, Lodge Grass and Wyola. There are fifty-seven schools in
the county, of which all but seven are public schools, including
a modern high school. In addition to two schools conducted by
the Federal Government for the Indians, there are three Baptist
and two Congregational schools.
Montana Counties 1921
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Montana AHGP

Source: Montana its Story and Biography,
by Tom Strout, Volume 1, The American Historical Society, 1921
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