Jefferson County, Montana 1921
Jefferson County, having a
population, according to the last census, of 5,203, has enjoyed
a political existence of fifty-six years, having been created
February 2, 1865, just as the Civil war was approaching its
termination and about nine months after Montana had been
separated from Idaho and made a separate territory. At that time
it was to the dwellers in the eastern, southern and middle
states a practically unknown region, occupied by Indian tribes
generally hostile, and full of danger for the solitary explorer
or adventurous pioneer. But the discovery of gold at Alder
Gulch, in what is now Madison County, worked a transformation,
and the greed for wealth, or what would now be called the
"get-rich-quick" craze, became an agency for good in the
settlement and final civilization of a vast territory which,
thirty-four years later, was admitted into the sisterhood of
states comprising the American Union.
In this new territory, now a state,
Jefferson County occupies geographically a west central
position. Sixty miles long north and south by forty wide, it has
an area of 1,642 square miles. For the most part the surface is
rugged and mountainous, the elevation above sea level ranging
from 4,100 feet in the Jefferson Valley at the southern end, to
7,000 feet or more in the mountain ranges. The climate, though
sometimes severe in winter, is sufficiently warm and mild in
summer to permit of a growing season of 82 to 121 flays, and
agriculture, stock raising and dairying are followed
successfully with due regard to local conditions of soil,
surface and water facilities.
The Continental divide forms the
western boundary, several of its small spurs jutting into the
county. The Jefferson River, flowing along the southeastern
boundary, is the largest stream. The second in importance is
Boulder River, which has its source in the northern part and
flows south, emptying into the Jefferson at Cardwell. These
rivers, together with Prickly Pear Creek and a number of smaller
streams, furnish good drainage and water supply, and their
valleys, having for the most part a rich alluvial soil, yield
satisfactory returns to the enterprising farmer. The southern
part of the county is more adapted to agriculture than the
northern. Wheat, oats, rye and potatoes are the chief crops, and
Butte and Helena the principal markets. Irrigation is practiced
where needed, the price of irrigated lands ranging from $50 to
$150 an acre. Non-irrigated lands bring from $10 to $35 an acre
and grazing lands $7 to $12 an acre. Of commercial timber the
county contains more than 500,000 acres, of which 354,720 are
contained in the Deer Lodge National Forest, and 147,835 acres
in the Helena National Forest.
Mining was the first industry in
Jefferson County and for many years continued to be the most
important. Silver, lead and gold have been the chief mineral
products, and the output of the silver mines at Corbin, Wickes,
Elkhorn and other camps has amounted to millions of dollars.
Some zinc has also been mined and granite used in the state
capitol at Helena was obtained in Jefferson County. In course of
time, after the shallower or more easily worked deposits had
been exploited, mining activities waned and there was a period
of depression, but more recently interest has revived, new
prospects have been discovered and are now in course of
development, with favorable opportunities for the further
production of metals and an extension of the building stone
industry.
The southern end of Jefferson County
is traversed by the main line of the Northern Pacific and the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railways. The former is paralleled
by the Yellowstone Trail, while the Banff-Grand Canyon road
parallels the Great Northern. Branches of the Northern Pacific
leave the main line at Sappington and Whitehall and run south
into Madison County. The Havre-Bunte branch of the Great
Northern runs north and south through the county.
The peculiar geological formation of
this region finds expression here and there in thermal springs,
of therapeutic value, which have led to the establishment of
three well-patronized health and pleasure resorts, the Boulder
Hot Springs at Boulder, the Pipestone Hot Springs near
Whitehall, and the Alhambra Hot Springs at Alhambra.
Boulder and Whitehall
The chief towns in Jefferson County
are Boulder and Whitehall. Boulder, located near the center of
the county, is the county seat, and, though small as to
population, is a good market town with important livestock and
mining interests. Here is located the State School for the Deaf
and Blind, and the county high school accredited for the four
years course, which also provides a course in agriculture under
the provisions of the Smith-Hughes Act. Whitehall is the center
of the irrigated agricultural district and draws considerable
trade from Madison County. Like Boulder it has a high school
accredited for the four year term. Good rural schools have been
established throughout the country districts, the pupils in
which are showing satisfactory progress.
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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