50. Garfield County

The state of Montana added seven counties in February and March, 1919.  Along with Treasure (# 33), Garfield County came into being on February 7th of that year.  Prior to that date, what is now Garfield County had been part of Dawson County (# 16) which covered much of eastern Montana at the time.  Bordered by the Missouri River on the north, Garfield County's area of 4,847 square miles coupled with its 2010 US Census count of 1,206 residents, makes it the least densely populated county in Montana, and the third least densely populated county in the U.S. outside of Alaska.  One of the nicknames for the area is The Big Dry (from Big Dry Creek which flows through the county), and the lack of population has led some out-of-state conservationists to suggest that the county would better serve as a wildlife preserve, returning the land to pre-white settlement conditions.  Not surprisingly, most county residents oppose this plan.  Of course, Frank Popper's plan for a Buffalo Commons covers much more than just Garfield County, extending to portions of ten states in the Great Plains region.  Politically speaking, Garfield is probably most famous for being the home of the Montana Freemen, an anti government group whose fraudulent banking practices drew the attention of the FBI.  In 1996, an 81 day standoff between the FBI and the Freemen ended with the group surrendering to government forces.  Of course, there are always at least two sides to any story, and one view is that the Freemen were law abiding citizens unfairly targeted by the FBI.

The Garfield County Courthouse

(Formerly the Garfield County Hospital)

Jordan, Montana

Taken March 26th, 2010

The only incorporated town in the county is Jordan, the county seat.  First settled in 1896 as a cow town, Jordan got its post office in 1899, a post office run by Arthur Jordan.  According to Cheney's Names on the Face of Montana, Jordan suggested the name for the community, but did not name it for himself.  Rather he suggested the name of a friend of his in Miles City, a man also named Jordan.  Writing for the historical collection Garfield County: The Golden Years, Grace Walker says "When we came to Jordan, it was a small town."  Of course, with a 2010 population count of 343, most people would say it is still a small town.  In the same volume, Vivienne Nault Schrank uses the term "tiny."  She remembers asking her mother, "Is this really it, just two houses and three people?"  That was in April, 1913, and other than their own "cherry red HUDSON car," Vivienne saw no other automobiles in town.  The drive from Miles City, some eighty-three miles away had taken them two full days.

Jordan has the only high school in the county, a high school that into the 1990s had a co-ed dormitory for those students who couldn't get home over night.  With a total student body of fifty-six, Garfield County High School serves an area almost as large as the state of Connecticut.  A friend of mine taught English there for several years.  He had great experiences, and apparently was much appreciated.  It's hard to find people these days who want to live out in the middle of nowhere.  As another friend, Bill McRae who grew up on a cattle ranch in Garfield County and has written several guide books for Moon Handbooks puts it in his book Montana, "No one comes to Jordan ... because of its interesting history or architecture."  He goes on to describe Jordan thus:

The most isolated county seat in the continental U.S., Jordan is 175 miles from the nearest major airport, 85 miles from the nearest bus line, and 115 miles from the nearest [passenger] train line.  (McRae, Montana, p. 381)

The first time I visited Jordan back around 1980, I found the water unfit to drink.  Heavily alkaline in nature, a glass of water in a restaurant was just not potable.  Nor was the coffee made with that water.  In 2010, when I stopped in Jordan for lunch, I was studiously avoiding the water glass set before me until the woman seated at the next table spilled hers all over the table and floor, with a good bit splashing on me.  I was amazed that anyone would even attempt to drink the stuff until I figured out what the sign out in front meant.  "New RO."  RO?   Oh, Reverse Osmosis.  The restaurant had put in a water purification system that meant the water, coffee and ice tea actually tasted like something.  Imagine my surprise at finding that you can buy machines to turn your water alkaline.  Fortunately, in Jordan, at least one restaurant is going the other way.

Traffic Congestion in Garfield County

Montana Highway 200

Taken March 26th, 2010

That first trip also included camping overnight at Hell Creek Campground on the shores of Fort Peck Reservoir.  Hell Creek State Park, one of Montana's fifty-four state parks, is twelve miles north of Jordan over a road so bad that even the state parks information site says it will take you a half hour to drive.  Personally, unless they've improved the road considerably in the last twenty years, I think that is an optimistic estimate.  Don't get me wrong, the park is in a beautiful setting, and if you're into playing in the water or fishing for walleye, by all means go visit.  But make sure your tent is securely tied down.  All night long I felt as if we were going to blow into the lake at any minute.

One other thing before we leave Jordan.  When I was there in 2010, I searched for some time looking for the county court house.  Eventually I ended up in front of a rather odd looking building off a back street.  I've seen lots of court houses over the years, and this building did not look like one, yet every bit of information I had said I was in the right place.  I finally went inside and asked.  Yep, this building, originally built as a hospital, was now serving the legal needs of the county.  Apparently, the old court house, a white frame building, had burned down.  Bluehiways3y has a picture of it on Flickr.  You can see it here.

Some Garfield County Residents Getting Their Exercise

Eastern Garfield County

March 26th, 2010

Today, Jordan is the only incorporated town in the county (and it was only incorporated in 1951).  But believe it or not, back in 1919, there was a competition for the honor of being seat of the new county.  Cheney reports that some thirty "settlements" with post offices existed within the boundaries of the new county.  Today there are just four outside of Jordan.  Brusett lies off the main roads, but has a post office that was first established in 1916.  Prior to that, folks got their mail in Bruce, down the road a piece.  Cohagen is on MT Highway 59, the road to Miles City, in the southeastern corner of the county.  Its post office was first opened in 1905, but even in 1948, local students wrote "Cohagen today is one of Garfield County's many little has-been towns."  (Cheney, Names on the Face of Montana, p 47)  Mosby and Sand Springs are both on MT Highway 200 in the western portion of the county.  The former got its post office in 1904 and lost it in 1983.  The latter, with a population of around 90, saw its post office doors open for the first time in 1911.  I have been through Cohagen, Mosby and Sand Springs, but I really don't recall anything about any of them.

The Big Dry

Central Garfield County

March 26th, 2010