Saco is a town in Phillips County,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, United States. The population was 159 at the 2020 census.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Saco has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

History

Faced with the task of naming hundreds of station stops along the High Line, Great Northern Railway officials resorted to "globe trotting." According to one story, an official spun a globe and put his finger on Saco, Maine, thus giving the town its name. Another story tells that the name is a contraction of " Sacajawea." For two years, Saco boasted the Guinness world record for making the world's largest hamburger, building the 6,040-pound burger from the beef of 17 cattle in 1999.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 197 people, 102 households, and 47 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 127 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.0% Asian, and 4.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population. There were 102 households, of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 53.9% were non-families. 47.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.93 and the average family size was 2.83. The median age in the town was 48.1 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 2.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.4% were from 25 to 44; 33% were from 45 to 64; and 21.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 224 people, 109 households, and 57 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 135 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.43%

, 1.79% Native American, and 1.79% from two or more races. There were 109 households, out of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were

living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.8% were non-families. 44.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.84. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $23,125, and the median income for a family was $26,667. Males had a median income of $23,125 versus $24,375 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $16,421. About 14.3% of families and 14.0% 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 ...

, including 22.0% of those under the age of eighteen and 13.2% of those 65 or over.

Education

Saco School District educates students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Saco High School's team name is the Panthers. Phillips County Library has a branch location in Saco.

Media

The '' Phillips County News'' is a weekly local newspaper. They provide a printed paper as well as news online.

Transportation

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

’s

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great North ...

, which operates between

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, passes through the town on

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

tracks, but makes no stop. The nearest station is located in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, to the west.

Notable people

* Wayne Stahl, Montana Legislature member

Images

File:Saco Mercantile (2013) - Phillips County, Montana.png, Saco Mercantile File:Saco Montana Panorama 1.jpg, Church and water tower in Saco File:Saco Montana Park.jpg, Park File:Chet Huntley School Saco Montana.jpg, Chet Huntley School in Saco File:Saco Montana Downtown and Water Tower.jpg, Water Tower overlooks downtown Saco File:Saco Montana Sign Looking East US2.jpg, The sign for Saco looking east at

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

References

External links

Saco, Montana website
{{Authority control Towns in Phillips County, Montana