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Liberty County, Montana

27 topographic sheets cover 16 settlements here, and 4 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

4 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Montana within the United States
Liberty County within Montana

What the record shows

  • 104 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 4 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 2 buildings and 2 structures.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 16 populated places in this county; 16 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

4

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
First Episcopal Methodist Church of Chesterbuilding199797000974
First State Bank of Chesterbuilding199797000975
Pugsley Bridgestructure2020100005746
Pugsley Bridgestructure2020100005746

Wildfire, 2007 to 2020

34 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 34 of them, burning about 70 acres. 5 started naturally and none was recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Equipment and vehicle use20
Natural5
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Other causes2
Debris and open burning2
Recreation and ceremony1
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
1 April 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined30 acresMalta Field OfficeMOFFIT
6 July 2017Equipment and vehicle use10 acresCentral Land Officenot named
24 October 2018Equipment and vehicle use10 acresCentral Land Officenot named
26 June 2018Railroad operations and maintenance8.0 acresCentral Land Officenot named
21 July 2007Natural8.0 acresCentral Land Officenot named
20 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresNortheastern Land Officenot named
28 July 2008Naturalunder an acreNorth Central Montana DistrictMT ROYAL
23 July 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreLiberty County38592

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

Storms, 1956 to 2025

60 of 143 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 143 reports for this county, causing no deaths, no injuries and about $939,000 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Thunderstorm Wind82
Hail52
Tornado4
Flood2
Lightning1
Heavy Rain1
Funnel Cloud1

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
May 1993Thunderstorm WindNear Joplin$500,000no account filed
May 1980Tornado (F1)not stated$250,000no account filed
April 2023FloodLothair$50,000Roads north of Lothair become flooded from snowmelt. Liberty Co law enforcement closed several sections of several roads across the county.
July 1994HailChester$50,000no account filed
July 1994Thunderstorm WindChester$50,000no account filed
May 1977Tornadonot stated$25,000no account filed
May 1993Thunderstorm WindChester$5,000no account filed
May 1993HailTiber Dam$5,000no account filed
August 1999Thunderstorm WindChester$2,000no account filed
June 2000HailWhitlash$1,000Car windows broken.
September 2004Thunderstorm WindChester$1,000no account filed
August 2025Thunderstorm WindTiber-Mesonet station GW1986 Lothair 9N peak gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindSelma-Mesonet station GW1952 Riverview Colony peak gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindTiber-Mesonet station GW1986 Lothair 9N peak gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindLothair-Mesonet station GW3478 Tctiber peak gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindWhitlash-Mesonet station GW3546 WHITLASH SEVEN SOUTH measured a 72 mph wind gust. More exact timing estimated based on radar.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAlma-An Ambient Weather Station measured a 59 mph gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAlma-Mesonet station GW0637 Bears Den 9 Ene measured a 65 mph wind gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindWhitlash-Mesonet station GW2412 Hill 2sw measured an 82 mph wind gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindAlma-Mesonet station GW0718 Joplin 25nnw measured a 84 mph wind gust.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindMarias-Mesonet station GW1852 Tiber Marina measured a 64 wind gust.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindLothair-Convective outflow gust from a decaying shower.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindLothair-Convective outflow gust from a decaying shower.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindTiber-Mesonet station GW4063 Eagle Creek Colony measured a 55 kt gust.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindBuelow Siding-An Ambinet station NE of Chester measured a 60 mph gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindChester-The strong wind gusts caused a power outage.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindChester-A 66 mph gust caused a power outage in Chester.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindChester-Mesonet station CW1334 in Chester measured a severe caliber gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindChester Lbrty Co Arp-Mesonet station GW2112 Chester NW measured a severe caliber gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindBuelow Siding-Mesonet station GW4015 Chester four NE measured a severe caliber gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindChester-Mesonet station FW9939 Chester measured a severe caliber gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindBuelow Siding-Peak wind gust report from mesonet site GW4015 Chester 4 NE.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindLothair-Mesonet station GW3478 TCTIBER measured a severe caliber gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindJoplin-Mesonet station GW0416 Joplin measured a severe caliber gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindMarias-A personal weather station measured this severe gust.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindLothair-Public Wunderground sensor KMTCHEST53 measured a severe caliber gust.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindAlma-Measured by Ambient Weather site.
September 2022Thunderstorm WindAlma-Mesonet station GW0625 Joplin 17 N reported 53 knot wind gust.
September 2022Thunderstorm WindSelma-Ambient weather station NNW of Selma reported 51 knot wind gust.
September 2022Thunderstorm WindChester Lbrty Co Arp-Mesonet station GW2112 Chester NW reported 56 knot wind gust.
September 2022Thunderstorm WindJoplin-Mesonet station GW0416 Joplin reported 55 knot wind gust.
September 2022Thunderstorm WindAlma-Mesonet station GW0718 Joplin 25NNW reported 56 knot wind gust.
September 2022Thunderstorm WindAlma-Mesonet station GW0637 Bears Den 9 ENE reported 54 knot wind gust.
September 2022Thunderstorm WindChester Lbrty Co Arp-Mesonet station EW9427 Chester-5NW reported 51 knot wind gust.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindChester-Mesonet station fw9939 Chester MT.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindJoplin-Mesonet station GW0416 Joplin MT.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAlma-Gust measured via an Ambient sensor.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindJoplin-Mesonet station GW0416 Joplin MT.
July 2022HailMarias-Largest hail stone was tennis ball, with most stones averaging ping pong size. Leaves on trees were shredded, with damage done to shingles and windows of house/vehicles.
July 2022HailAlma-Trained spotter reported 1.00 to 1.50 inch hail, with 30 mph winds.
July 2022HailAlma-Reported 1 inch hail 14 miles NNW of Joplin.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAlma-Gust measured via an Ambient sensor.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAlma-Mesonet station GW0718 Joplin 25 NNW.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindChester-Mesonet station FW9939 Chester MT.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAlma-Mesonet Station GW0625 Joplin 17N.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindAlma-Mesonet station DW4821 Chester MT.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindLothair-A trained spotter reported a downed swing set and a significant number of trees limbs blown down due to thunderstorm wind gusts.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindJoplin-Mesonet station at 10 N Joplin measured a 50 kt (58 mph) thunderstorm wind gust.
July 2020HailLothair-A trained spotter reported ping pong ball (1.5 inch diameter) to lime (2 inch diameter) size hail and gusty winds in excess of 50 mph. Heavy rain also caused some flooding.
July 2020HailLothair-A trained spotter reported golf ball size (1.75 inch diameter) hail and gusty winds. Crop/tree damage and broken windows were observed.

Mines and quarries

8 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 8 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
Fluorine-Fluorite3
Sand and Gravel, Construction2
Silver2
Fluorine-Fluorite, Gold1
Silica1
Gold1
Copper1

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

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Old FaithfulSilver, CopperUnknown
Silver HaloGold, SilverUnknown
Tootsie Creek FluorsparFluorine-Fluorite, SilicaProspect
Tootsie Creek ProspectFluorine-Fluorite, GoldOccurrenceFluorite
Eveland Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Hardin PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Malvina ClaimFluorine-FluoriteOccurrence
Tootsie Creek DepositsFluorine-FluoriteOccurrenceFluorite

Every populated place in the county

16

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 Liberty 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.