Granite County, Montana Explained

County:	Granite County
State:	Montana
Ex Image:	Granite County Courthouse July 2020.jpg
Ex Image Size:	220px
Ex Image Cap:	Granite County Courthouse
Founded Date:	March 2
Founded Year:	1893^[1]
Seat Wl:	Philipsburg
Largest City Wl:	Philipsburg
City Type:	town
Area Total Sq Mi:	1733
Area Land Sq Mi:	1727
Area Water Sq Mi:	5.6
Area Percentage:	0.3
Population As Of:	2020
Population Total:	3309
Pop Est As Of:	2022
Population Est:	3502
Population Density Sq Mi:	auto
Web:	www.co.granite.mt.us
District:	1st
Time Zone:	Mountain
Footnotes:	Montana county number 46

Granite County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,309.^[2] Its county seat is Philipsburg.^[3] The county was founded in 1893, and was named for a mountain which contains the Granite Mountain silver mine.^[4]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.3%) is water.^[5]

Major highways

• Interstate 90
• U.S. Highway 10 (Former)
• U.S. Highway 12
• Montana Highway 1
• Montana Highway 38

Adjacent counties

• Missoula County - north
• Powell County - east
• Deer Lodge County - south
• Ravalli County - west

National protected areas

• Deerlodge National Forest (part)
• Lolo National Forest (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 3,309 people living in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 3,079 people, 1,417 households, and 911 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 2,822 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.5% white, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% black or African American, 0.1% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 26.2% were German, 20.2% were Irish, 18.8% were English, 13.5% were Norwegian, and 7.9% were American.

Of the 1,417 households, 19.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.7% were non-families, and 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.63. The median age was 52.1 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,052 and the median income for a family was $47,685. Males had a median income of $41,307 versus $23,958 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,222. About 7.5% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

• Drummond
• Philipsburg (county seat)

Census-designated places

• Maxville
• Hall

Unincorporated communities

• Beartown^[6]
• New Chicago^[7]
• Quigley^[8]
• Princeton^[9]
• Sherryl^[10]
• Stone^[11]

Ghost Towns

• Bearmouth
• Garnet
• Granite
• Nimrod

See also

• List of lakes in Granite County, Montana
• List of mountains in Granite County, Montana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Granite County, Montana

Further reading

• Loen, J.S., M.J. Blaskowski, and J.E. Elliott. (1989). Geology and mineral deposits of the Miners Gulch Area, Granite County, Montana [U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1791]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.

Notes and References

1. http://genealogytrails.com/mon/countytimeline.html Montana County Formation Time Line
2. Web site: State & County QuickFacts . May 8, 2023 . United States Census Bureau.
3. Web site: Find a County . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx . May 31, 2011 . June 7, 2011 . National Association of Counties.
4. Book: Gannett, Henry . The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States . Govt. Print. Off. . 1905 . 141.
5. Web site: August 22, 2012 . 2010 Census Gazetteer Files . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141205145322/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_30.txt . December 5, 2014 . November 28, 2014 . United States Census Bureau.
6. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Beartown,+MT+59832/@46.7932637,-113.3488307,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x535c57385cf77f77:0xc5fe438e0c4337a3!8m2!3d46.7932646!4d-113.3400759 Beartown, Granite County MT Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)
7. https://www.google.com/maps/place/New+Chicago,+MT+59832/@46.6268733,-113.1510396,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x535c605c5b2a8d5b:0x308c473310a71b9c!8m2!3d46.6268742!4d-113.1422847 New Chicago, Granite County MT Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)
8. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Quigley,+MT+59825/@46.612147,-113.6571787,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x535c3ed9e437696f:0xed6e148006d32823!8m2!3d46.6121478!4d-113.6484239 Quigley, Granite County MT Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)
9. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Princeton,+MT+59858/@46.4168703,-113.1743693,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x535c70a6ca5a5d4b:0x3f93bcf11756864a!8m2!3d46.4168712!4d-113.1656145 Princeton, Granite County MT Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)
10. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sherryl,+MT+59837/@46.552705,-113.2268757,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x535c65d57f5780a5:0x6b3faba68aeedfdf!8m2!3d46.5527058!4d-113.218121 Sherryl, Granite County MT Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)
11. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Stone,+MT+59837/@46.505204,-113.234931,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x535c657be7342f95:0x62bc7e57b75c4b42!8m2!3d46.5052049!4d-113.2261762 Stone, Granite County MT Google Maps (accessed January 2, 2019)