Distinctly Montana Magazine

70 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 3 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 B L A I N E C O U N T Y B L A I N E C O U N T Y O n February 29th, 1912, the Montana State Legislature created Blaine County from the northeastern portion of Chouteau County. Three years later the eastern part of the new county became western Phillips County (Dis- tinctly Montana, Summer 2019). Since then Blaine County's boundaries have remained the same--a slightly irregular rectangle stretching roughly 90 miles from the Canadian border to the Missouri River and approximately 60 miles east to west. The county covers 4,267 square miles and as of the 2020 U.S. census had 7,044 residents. Like many eastern Montana counties, Blaine County's population was much great- er in its first census (1920) and the 1940 census recorded the highest number of residents in the county's history. The county takes its name from Maine representative and senator James G. Blaine, who also is the man for whom Blaine County, Idaho is named. On a side note, the James G. Blaine Society is a fictional organization dedicated to keeping Oregon free from new residents. It is so named because in 1884, Blaine, running for president, visited every state in the union except Or- egon. I can only guess that Montana Republicans chose to honor Senator Blaine as a leading Republican politician. T o p o g r a p h i c a l l y , Blaine County is mostly flat with many coulees in the north half of the county. The Bears Paw Mountains and associat- ed buttes cross through the middle of the county east to west. The Little Rocky Mountains rise in the southeastern corner of the county. The Milk River, U.S. Highway 2, and the Great Northern Railroad (now the Burl- ington Northern Santa Fe Railroad) cross through the middle of the county east to west. You will be forgiven if you misspell the name of Blaine County's most prominent feature: the Bears Paw Mountains. No less authority than the U.S. Geological Survey gives four separate spellings for this mountain range that rises to 4,600 feet and crosses most of central Blaine County. Chinook, the Blaine County seat, sits on the Milk River in the western part of the county. With a 2020 population of 1,185, it is the second smallest county seat on U.S. Highway 2, Montana's Hi-line. It is not even the largest population center in Blaine County. That would be Fort Belknap Agency, some 25 miles east on Highway 2. Chinook is home to the Blaine County Museum, the Blaine County Wildlife Museum, and a great assortment of Art Deco architecture spread around the town. The Blaine County Museum features exhibits of native life, cowboy and homestead-era life and life in Blaine County through two world wars. It is also a site on the Montana Dinosaur Trail with a dozen Judith River Formation exhibits. The museum, located at 501 Indiana Street, offers free admission and is open year-round with reduced hours from October 1st to April 30th. The Blaine County Wildlife Museum, at 417 Indiana Street, is housed in what used to be the town's Blaine Theater. Open from June 1st through August 31st, hours are nine to five Monday through Saturday and one to five on Sunday. Exhibits include several dioramas and many ani- mal mounts that bring the wildlife and landscapes of Blaine County together in one place. On the east side of the town a smokestack rises. It is the most visible remnant of the old Utah and Idaho Sugar Company's refinery article and photos by BRYAN SPELLMAN CHINOOK

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