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Garfield County, Montana

54 topographic sheets cover 34 settlements here, and 1 property is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

1 National Register listing published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Montana within the United States
Garfield County within Montana

What the record shows

  • 252 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 1 property here is on the National Register of Historic Places, listed as a site.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 34 populated places in this county; 34 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

1

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Hornaday Campsite199191000298

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

458 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 458 of them, burning about 645,947 acres. 352 started naturally and 1 was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Natural352
Equipment and vehicle use41
Missing data/not specified/undetermined41
Debris and open burning7
Power generation/transmission/distribution6
Recreation and ceremony5
Other causes2
Firearms and explosives use1
Smoking1
Arson/incendiarism1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
19 July 2017Natural270,723 acresMiles City Field OfficeBRIDGE COULEE
19 July 2003Natural125,900 acresMiles City Field OfficeMISSOUBRKS
17 July 2006Natural117,292 acresMiles City Field OfficeBLACK PULASKI COMPLEX
2 September 2020Debris and open burning46,892 acresGarfield CountyHUFF
19 July 2017Natural10,408 acresMiles City Field OfficeSOUTH BREAKS
19 July 2017Natural9,255 acresMiles City Field OfficeBARKER
17 May 1998Natural5,680 acresMiles City Field OfficeSANDBURN
1 September 1998Natural4,926 acresCharles M. Russell National Wildlife RefugeHERMAN RDG

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1965 to 2026

60 of 619 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 619 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 1 injury and about $3,627,000 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Hail291
Thunderstorm Wind264
Flash Flood20
Flood16
Tornado12
Heavy Rain7
Funnel Cloud5
Wildfire4

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2007HailMosby1 hurtA woman was caught outside and received several bruises.
July 2003WildfireBrusett$2,900,000no account filed
August 2009Thunderstorm WindJordan$150,000A bow echo thunderstorm raked through the area destroying sheds, wiping out crops and hay fields, and causing significant loss of property. The bow echo started producing severe wind gusts and at least 1/2 hail about 25 miles northwest of Jordan in the Brussett area and tracked east-northeast through the county. Golf ball sized hail was reported with the winds south of the Hell Creek area. Twenty-six families were impacted with damage to their structures, livestock and crops. A total of 213,440 acres of rangeland, wheat and hay fields were damaged partially to totally wiped out. Six horses and a cow had to be put down due to injuries they received during the storm. Damage information was gathered from the Jordan Tribune, and the USDA FSA agent in the county.
June 2002Flash FloodVan Norman$100,0003 to 9 inches of rain fell over eastern Garfield County in less than 5 hours. Flooding closed Highway 200 from Jordan to the junction of Highway 24 for most of the night and caused some damage along bridges on Highway 200.
July 2000HailJordan$100,000no account filed
September 2013Thunderstorm WindCohagen$75,000Public reported multiple types of wind damage, including large hay bales moved, a truck hood blown off, a combine roof blown off, and a machine shed destroyed. Damaging winds persisted for up to 10 minutes.
May 2010Flash FloodVan Norman$50,000Heavy rain during the evening brought the failure of a local dam. The dam's name was 7-Tree and the gash or hole made was 50-60 feet wide by 40-50 feet deep.
June 2002Flash FloodCohagen$50,000Heavy rainfall from the night of June 22, 2002 contributed to the failure of the Ross Dam #2 stock dam. Rainfall amounts up to 9 inches were reported in the drainage basin that flow into the dam. The dam was nearly empty prior to the heavy rain event, and then filled up three-quarters of the way to a series of holes which had been dug by animals. The water pushed through the holes, and caused the dam to then collapse. The subsequent deluge downstream flooded out the basement of a home, lifted several older vehicles and transported them downstream, and caused considerable damage to a culvert. The damage to the culvert lead to the U-ALL Road being washed out.
July 2001HailJordan$30,000Large hail broke out windows of homes at Rock Creek Recreation area. Several vehicles also had hail damage.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindJordan Arpt$25,000A thunderstorm gust uprooted several trees in Jordan. The wind damaged a roof in Jordan and overturned a semi-trailer.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindCohagen$25,000Damaging thunderstorms winds ripped apart a 50' x 100' shop sending debris up to 2 miles away.
June 1997Flash FloodJordan$15,000Five inches of rain falling in less than 3 hours caused flash flooding along Dead Horse Creek. The gravel road running from Hwy 200 to Hwy 22 had numerous washouts.
July 2000HailBrusett$12,000no account filed
May 2007Hail(Jdn)Jordan$10,000The hail covered the ground in drifts. There was damage to roofs, siding and skylights.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindCohagen$10,000Thunderstorm winds destroyed a 50' x 100' shop. Debris was carried two miles away.
July 2001Flash FloodWest Central Portion$10,000no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindSand Spgs$10,000no account filed
July 2000Thunderstorm WindJordan$10,000no account filed
June 2008HailBrusett$6,000A motorist reported his pickup truck totaled from hail.
July 2013HailVan Norman$5,000Public reported hail up to the size of hen eggs fell for 10 minutes, breaking a skylight and several windows.
May 1994Thunderstorm Windnot stated$5,000A mobile home was pushed off its foundation.
July 2001HailEdwards$5,000no account filed
August 1993HailJordan$5,000no account filed
August 1993Thunderstorm WindN Portion$5,000no account filed
August 1993HailJordan$5,000no account filed
May 2007HailBrusett$3,000One inch hail covered the ground. The hail was accompanied by wind gusts of up to 45 mph. The combination of the hail and wind caused damage to vinyl siding and windows on a house. |
July 1983Tornado (F0)not stated$2,500no account filed
May 2007Hail(Jdn)Jordan$2,000Windows were knocked out at the Hell Creek Marina.
June 2002Flash FloodSand Spgs$1,000Over 3 inches of rainfall fell in 1 hour, over an area that has been in a long term drought. The water ran off the fields and flooded pastures and tore out several fences throughout southwestern Garfield County. The total rainfall in this portion of the county was around 4.5" with the worst of the damage along the Sage Hen Creek drainage.
July 2008Thunderstorm Wind(Jdn)Jordan$500Two to three inch diameter tree branches were snapped off. A neighbor's tree was also uprooted.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindCohagen-The Rock Springs N Montana Climate Office mesonet site (RSNM8) recorded a 59 mph wind gust.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindJordan Airport (Kjdn)-The Jordan Airport AWOS site (KJDN) recorded a 64 mph wind gust.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindJordan Airport (Kjdn)-The Jordan Airport AWOS site (KJDN) measured a 62 mph wind gust.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindMosby-Mosby SE Mesonet site (Montana Climate Office).
June 2025Thunderstorm WindMosby-Wind gust reported by mesonet observation southeast of Mosby.
July 2025HailBrusett-Cooperative observer reported that their rain gauge was destroyed by ping pong ball size hail.
July 2025HailBrusett-Trained spotter reported damaged windshields of six vehicles and shattered house windows, all from hen egg size hail.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindCohagen-A wind gust of 66 mph was measured at the Hillside MT-59 DOT site.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindJordan Airport (Kjdn)-A wind gust of 71 mph was measured at the Jordan airport ASOS site.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindSouth Sawmill Raws-A wind gust of 68 mph was measured at the South Sawmill Creek RAWS site (SSMM8).
July 2025Thunderstorm WindJordan Airport (Kjdn)-A wind gust of 64 mph was measured at the Jordan airport ASOS site (KDJN).
July 2025Thunderstorm WindJordan Airport (Kjdn)-A wind gust of 58 mph was measured at the Jordan airport ASOS site (KJDN).
July 2025HailHaxby Point-Public reported golf ball size hail.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindSouth Sawmill Raws-A wind gust of 68 mph was measured at the South Sawmill Creek RAWS site.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindSouth Sawmill Raws-The South Sawmill Creek RAWS site (SSMM8) recorded a 62 mph wind gust.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindJordan Airport (Kjdn)-A 58 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured at the Jordan Airport AWOS (KJDN).
June 2024Thunderstorm WindVan Norman-The Jordan E mesonet site (MTM88) measured a 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindJordan Airport (Kjdn)-The Jordan Airport AWOS site (KJDN) measured a 63 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindVan Norman-The Jordan E mesonet site (MTM88) recorded a thunderstorm wind gust of 67 mph.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindJordan Airport (Kjdn)-The Jordan Airport AWOS (KJDN) measured a 61 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindVan Norman-The Jordan E mesonet station (MTM88) measured a 67 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindJordan Airport (Kjdn)-The Jordan Airport AWOS (KJDN) measured an 81 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindJordan Airport (Kjdn)-The Jordan Airport AWOS (KJDN) measured a 74 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindBenzien-The Sand Springs NW Hydromet mesonet site measured a 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindSouth Sawmill Raws-The South Sawmill Creek RAWS site (SSMM8) measured a 61 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindLufborough Hill Dot-The Lufborough Hill DOT site (MTLUF) measured a 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust.
July 2024HailSand Spgs-Public reported, via Facebook, hail up to the size of quarters.
July 2024HailSand Spgs-Public reported, via Facebook, hail up to the size of quarters.
July 2024HailBenzien-Public reported, via Facebook, hail up to the size of golf balls.
July 2024HailSand Spgs-Public reported, via Facebook, hail up to the size of quarters.

Mines and quarries

4 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 4 workings inside this county. None of them still produces: all are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Clay1
Bentonite, Kaolin1
Iron1
Gold1
Bentonite1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Seven Blackfoot ClaysClay, Bentonite, KaolinUnknown
Seven Blackfoot PlacersGoldUnknown
Smoky Butte IronIronOccurrence
VanandaBentoniteUnknown

Every populated place in the county

34

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

The vanished settlements of Garfield County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.