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Hill County, Montana facts for kids

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Hill County
U.S. county
Hill County Courthouse in Havre
Hill County Courthouse in Havre
Map of Montana highlighting Hill County
Location within the U.S. state of Montana
Map of the United States highlighting Montana
Montana's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  Montana
Founded 1912
Named for James J. Hill
Seat Havre
Largest city Havre
Area
 • Total 2,916 sq mi (7,550 km2)
 • Land 2,899 sq mi (7,510 km2)
 • Water 17 sq mi (40 km2)  0.6%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 16,309
 • Estimate 
(2022)
 16,068 Decrease
 • Density 5.5929/sq mi (2.1594/km2)
Time zone UTC−7 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−6 (MDT)
Congressional district 2nd
  • Montana county number 12

Hill County is a county in Montana, a state in the United States. In 2020, about 16,309 people lived there. The main town and county seat is Havre. Hill County is right next to the border with Canada, touching the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. A part of the county is home to the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation, which belongs to the Chippewa-Cree Tribe.

History of Hill County

The first settlement by European-Americans in this area was Fort Assinniboine. The United States Army set up this fort in 1879. Today, 15 of the original 104 buildings from the fort are still standing.

A part of the fort's land was later given to create the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation. This reservation was officially started in 1916.

Hill County is named after James J. Hill. He was the president of the Great Northern Railway Company. This company built train tracks across Montana. These tracks were part of the Transcontinental Railroad, which connected the country to the Pacific coast.

Geography of Hill County

Hill County covers a total area of about 2,916 square miles. Most of this area, about 2,899 square miles, is land. The remaining 17 square miles (0.6%) is water.

The county is located in north-central Montana. This area is often called the "Hi-Line". Hill County shares borders with Blaine County to the east and Liberty County to the west. To the north, it borders Canada.

Hill County is home to Beaver Creek Park. This park is special because it is the largest county park in the entire United States.

Neighboring Areas

Hill County shares its borders with several other counties and areas:

Main Roads

Two major highways run through Hill County:

  • US 2.svg U.S. Route 2
  • US 87.svg U.S. Route 87

Protected Natural Areas

Hill County also has special places set aside to protect wildlife:

People of Hill County

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1920 13,958 —
1930 13,775 −1.3%
1940 13,304 −3.4%
1950 14,285 7.4%
1960 18,653 30.6%
1970 17,358 −6.9%
1980 17,985 3.6%
1990 17,654 −1.8%
2000 16,673 −5.6%
2010 16,096 −3.5%
2020 16,309 1.3%
2022 (est.) 16,068 −0.2%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790–1960, 1900–1990,
1990–2000, 2010–2020

In 2020, the population of Hill County was 16,309 people.

According to the 2010 census, there were 16,096 people living in the county. About 73.9% of the people were white. About 21.7% were American Indian. Other groups made up smaller parts of the population. People of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.3% of the population.

Towns and Communities

City

  • Havre (This is the county seat, where the main government offices are.)

Town

Other Communities

These are smaller communities in Hill County:

Unincorporated Communities

These are small places that are not officially organized as cities or towns:

Images for kids

  • Hill County Courthouse

    Hill County Courthouse in Havre

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Hill (Montana) para niños

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