Hill County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,309. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Havre. It lies along the United States border with Canada, abutting

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

. Part of its territory is within the

Rocky Boy Indian Reservation Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation (also known as Rocky Boy Reservation) is one of seven Native American reservations in the U.S. state of Montana. Established by an act of Congress on September 7, 1916, it was named after ''Ahsiniiwin'' ( Stone Ch ...

, which is held by the federally recognized Chippewa-Cree Tribe.

History

The first European-American settlement in the future county area was

Fort Assinniboine Fort Assinniboine was a United States Army fort located in present-day north central Montana (historically within the military Department of Dakota). It was built in 1879 and operated by the Army through 1911. The 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, ...

, garrisoned by the United States Army in 1879. Fifteen of the original 104 structures from the fort are still standing. A portion of the fort was ceded for use as the Indian reservation, which was established in 1916. The county is named after

James J. Hill James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railroad director. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwes ...

, president of the Great Northern Railway Company, which built the rail line across Montana as part of the

Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

to the Pacific coast.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water. Hill County is on the " Hi-Line" in north-central Montana. It borders Blaine County to the east, Liberty County to the west, and Canada to the north. Hill County contains Beaver Creek Park, the nation's largest county park. It is one of the few locations in the United States to have an

antipodal point In mathematics, antipodal points of a sphere are those diametrically opposite to each other (the specific qualities of such a definition are that a line drawn from the one to the other passes through the center of the sphere so forms a true d ...

on land, and its community of Rudyard is the only populated such place. The Kerguelen Islands are on the opposite side of the earth from parts of Hill County, while the antipodal points of almost all other places in the United States lie in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

Adjacent counties and rural municipalities

* Liberty County - west * Chouteau County - south * Blaine County - east *

County of Forty Mile No. 8 The County of Forty Mile No. 8 is a municipal district in south eastern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 1, southwest of Medicine Hat. Its municipal office is located in the Village of Foremost. Geography Communities and ...

, Alberta - northwest *

Cypress County Cypress County is a municipal district in southeastern Alberta, Canada that surrounds the City of Medicine Hat and the Town of Redcliff. The municipality is part of Census Division 1, Alberta.http://www.albertafirst.com/profiles/statspack/20 ...

, Alberta - north * Rural Municipality of Reno No. 51, Saskatchewan - northeast

Major highways

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern ...

U.S. Route 87

National protected areas

Creedman Coulee National Wildlife Refuge Creedman Coulee National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the northern region of the U.S. state of Montana. This very remote refuge is a part of the Bowdoin Wetland Management District (WMD), and is unstaffed. The refuge consists ...

Lake Thibadeau National Wildlife Refuge Lake Thibadeau National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. state of Montana, northeast of Havre, Montana. This refuge is a part of the Bowdoin Wetland Management District (WMD), and is managed from Bowdoin National Wildlife ...

Politics

In presidential elections, Hill County is a swing county. Since 1952, it has voted for the Democratic nominee nine times and the Republican nominee nine times.

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

2000 United States census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, there were 16,673 people, 6,457 households, and 4,255 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 6 people per square mile (2/km²). There were 7,453 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.55%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 17.30% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.35% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, 0.09%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, and 2.32% from two or more races. 1.25% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 21.1% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 13.5%

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, 8.7%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 6.7% American and 6.2%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

ancestry. 93.9% spoke

, 3.3% Cree and 2.0%

as their first language. There were 6,457 households, out of which 34.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.50% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.10% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.15. The county population contained 28.20% under the age of 18, 11.60% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,781, and the median income for a family was $38,179. Males had a median income of $29,908 versus $19,874 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $14,935. About 15.30% of families and 18.40% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 23.30% of those under age 18 and 9.00% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, there were 16,096 people, 6,275 households, and 4,020 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 7,250 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 73.9% white, 21.7% American Indian, 0.4% Asian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.3% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 28.9% were

, 18.5% were

, 12.7% were

, 9.2% were

, and 3.0% were American. Of the 6,275 households, 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.9% were non-families, and 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.10. The median age was 35.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $43,606 and the median income for a family was $55,963. Males had a median income of $44,286 versus $28,908 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,420. About 12.4% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the

, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

* Havre (county seat)

Town

* Hingham

Census-designated places

* Azure * Beaver Creek *

Box Elder ''Acer negundo'', the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, compound leaves. It is sometimes considered a weedy or inva ...

* East End Colony * Gildford * Gildford Colony * Havre North * Herron * Hilldale Colony * Inverness * Kremlin * Laredo * Parker School * Rocky Boy West * Rocky Boy's Agency * Rudyard * Saddle Butte * St. Pierre * Sangrey * West Havre

Unincorporated communities

* Agency * Goldstone *

Simpson Simpson most often refers to: * Simpson (name), a British surname *''The Simpsons'', an animated American sitcom **The Simpson family, central characters of the series ''The Simpsons'' Simpson may also refer to: Organizations Schools *Simpso ...

''Simpson, Hill County MT'' Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)
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References

External links

* {{Coord, 48.63, -110.11, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MT_source:UScensus1990 1912 establishments in Montana Populated places established in 1912