Welcome!

Dawson County Montana Ancestry Dawson County MTGenWeb is a free genealogical site about the history of the Montana county. It is a member of MTGenWeb, which is a member of USGenWeb®. We hope you find helpful clues for your research of Dawson County ancestors.

What's New at Dawson County MTGenWeb since your last visit
Search Dawson County MTGenWeb for a specific name

Please consider contributing your pieces of Dawson county family history. Corrections, updates, and additions to this site are always welcome. Our combined efforts can make this a great site for all who visit!

County Coordinator: Rebecca Maloney maloneys7193@gmail.com

State Coordinator: Karen De Groote

Assistant State Coordinator: Suzanne Andrews

COUNTY FORMATION

Dawson County was created in January 15, 1869 from the northern half of the original Big Horn County. The name comes from Major Andrew Dawson, manager of the Fort Benton Trading Post for the American Fur Company from 1856 to 1864. The legislature chose Fort Peck as the county seat but attached the county to Chouteau County for legislative representation. Over the years, Dawson County lost territory, which formed all of the counties now in northeastern Montana. Glendive, an important station along the Northern Pacific Railway, is the modern county seat and largest town in Dawson county.
- from "Montana Place Names Companion" - September 22, 2012 and Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org)
Geography:
Dawson county is located in the far eastern part of the state. It is only about 15-20 miles from the western border of North Dakota. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total area of the county is 2,383 square miles (6,171.9 km2) and only 10 miles of that is water. With an estimated population of 9,249 people in the 2012 U.S. Census, there are only 3 people for every square mile of Dawson county! That is some serious peace and quiet!
Over the years parts of Dawson county have been lost to other neighboring counties, Valley County in 1893, Richland County and a part of Wibaux County in 1914, a part of Prairie County is 1915 and Garfield and part of McCone county in 1919