Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T L Y M O N T A N A M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 2 92 G E T T O K N O W G E T T O K N O W A C O U N T Y A C O U N T Y W H E A T L A N D W H E A T L A N D T HE MONTANA STATE LEGISLATURE CREATED WHEATLAND COUNTY on February 22, 1917, using land taken from Meagher and Sweet Grass Counties. From the beginning, Harlowton has served as county seat. The county covers 1,428 square miles, of which five square miles is wa- ter. The 2020 population was 2,069, the lowest count in the county's hundred-plus-year history. Located just southwest of the geographic center of Montana, Wheatland County is mostly square in shape. It lies between the Little Belt and Big Snowy Mountains in the north and the outliers of the Crazy Mountains in the south. Two U.S. highways cross the county. US- 12 runs east-west, connecting the county with Helena to the west, and Miles City to the east. US-12 runs par- allel to the Mus- selshell River, the longest river that is entirely within the state of Montana. US-191 runs north-south and connects with Lewistown and Big Timber. Where the two roads cross lies Harlowton, the county seat. It should surprise no one that a county named Wheatland has agriculture as its primary industry. Fully one-quarter of county workers are involved in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, according to the most recent city-data.com sta- tistics, and that applies to both males and females. The same source tells us that the average size of county farms is 5,163 acres and that wheat grown for grain was harvested from 37,204 acres. That's over 58 square miles. Montana State University, using data from the 2017 Census of Agri- culture, says that 95% of Wheatland County land is used for agriculture, more than any of its neigh- bors. And while we're on the topic, the 2017 Census of Agriculture shows that while forage (hay, etc.) was the number one crop by acres, wheat for grain came in second. If agriculture is king in Wheatland County, Harlowton is, or at least was, a article and photos by BRYAN SPELLMAN HARLOWTON

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