Chouteau County is located in North Central
Montana, about 100 miles south of the Canadian border.
Established in 1865, it is one of the original nine counties
of the Montana Territory. It was named in 1882 for Augusta
& Pierre Chouteau, fur traders and owners of the original
trading post Historic Old Fort Benton, from which the
community of Fort Benton, today's county seat, took its name. Fort Benton, named for Senator Thomas H. Benton of Missouri, was once an important port on the Missouri River. Fur traders, gold seekers, and
settlers came via steamboats to Fort Benton, the "Head of Navigation" on the Missouri River.
Today, Fort Benton still retains much of its "steamboat
days" character. Fort Benton, Big Sandy & Geraldine
are the population centers with smaller communities in Loma,
Carter, Floweree, Highwood, Shonkin, and Square Butte.
Chouteau County was once the largest county in
the Montana Territory and the second largest in the United
States. Chouteau County was subdivided repeatedly to form
other counties until it reached its present size, an area of
3,936 square miles and a population of 5,738. It is home to the
Chippewa-Cree tribe on the Rocky Boys Indian reservation in
the Bear's Paw Mountains to the northeast, and contains part
of the Lewis and Clark National Forest in the Highwood
Mountains to the south. The terrain is primarily gently
rolling plains that are dissected in the central portion by
the eastward flowing Missouri River. The land is a
complex of uplands, valleys, coulees, and broad plains. The
primary surface water sources are the Missouri, Marias, and
Teton Rivers. Streams of secondary importance are
Highwood, Shonkin, Big Sandy and Arrow Creek.
Contact InformationPhone numbers for the various departments can be found on the Departments Page.
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