Chouteau County is a county located in the North-Central region of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,895. Its county seat is Fort Benton. The county was established in 1865 as one of the original nine counties of Montana, and named in 1882 after Pierre Chouteau Jr., a fur trader who established a trading post that became Fort Benton, which was once an important port on the Missouri River.
Chouteau County is home to the Chippewa-Cree tribe on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation. It contains part of the Lewis and Clark National Forest.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water.
Chouteau County was once the largest county in the Montana Territory and the second largest in the United States, with an area of in the early 20th century. However, some parts of the county were over from the county seat in Fort Benton, so in 1893, the first of several partitions began with the creation of Teton County, the western portion of Chouteau County. In 1912 Blaine, Phillips and Hill counties were formed from northeastern portions of Chouteau County. The county lost half of its population from 1910 to 1930 mainly due to reduction in square miles.
The land is mostly rolling prairie, hence the high density of wheat farming. However, there is notable topography, namely some of Montana's forested island ranges. The Bear Paw Mountains rise in the northeast and the Little Rockies and the Highwood Ranges are in the southeast. Major rivers include the Teton River, Marias River, Missouri River and Arrow Creek.
Adjacent counties
- Liberty County – north
- Hill County – north
- Blaine County – east
- Fergus County – southeast
- Judith Basin County – south
- Cascade County – south
- Teton County – west
- Pondera County – northwest
Major highway
- 20px U.S. Route 87
National protected areas
- Lewis and Clark National Forest (part)
- Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument (part)
Politics
Choteau County is heavily Republican, like many other rural Montana counties. The entirety of the county votes majority Republican except for the portion of the Rocky Boy's Reservation in the northeast, which is strongly Democratic. In no election since 1964 has a Democratic presidential candidate carried the county.
<!-- PresRow should be -->