Fergus County, Montana

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Fergus County, Montana
Map
Location in the state of Montana
Montana's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1885
Seat	Lewistown
Area - Total - Land - Water	4,350 sq mi (11,266 km²) 4,339 sq mi (11,238 km²) 11 sq mi (28 km²), 0.26%
Population - (2000) - Density	11,893 3/sq mi (1/km²)
Website: www.co.fergus.mt.us

Fergus County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of 2000, the population is 11,893. Its county seat is Lewistown^[1].

1 Geography
- 1.1 Adjacent Counties
- 1.2 National protected areas
2 Demographics
3 Notable residents
4 Cities and towns
5 Unincorporated communities
6 References

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,350 square miles (11,267 km²), of which, 4,339 square miles (11,238 km²) of it is land and 11 square miles (29 km²) of it (0.26%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent Counties

[edit] National protected areas

Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Lewis and Clark National Forest (part)
Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument (part)

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 11,893 people, 4,860 households, and 3,197 families residing in the county. The population density was 3 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 5,558 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.10% White, 0.08% Black or African American, 1.18% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. 0.81% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 24.5% were of German, 13.5% American, 13.0% Norwegian, 9.3% Irish and 9.0% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 97.1% spoke English, 1.2% German and 1.1% Spanish as their first language.

There were 4,860 households out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.10% were married couples living together, 6.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.20% were non-families. 30.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 6.10% from 18 to 24, 23.60% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 19.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 94.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,409, and the median income for a family was $36,609. Males had a median income of $27,260 versus $18,138 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,808. About 10.60% of families and 15.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.40% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Notable residents

Roy E. Ayers, later Governor of Montana, served as the attorney of the county from 1905 to 1909.
Carl W. Riddick, later United States Congressman from Montana, earlier served as County Assessor of Fergus County.