Sweet Grass County, Montana
Encyclopedia
National protected areaProtected areaProtected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
s
- Custer National ForestCuster National ForestCuster National Forest is located primarily in the southern part of the U.S. state of Montana but also has separate sections in northwestern South Dakota. With a total area of 1,278,279 acres , the forest comprises over 10 separate sections...
(part) - Gallatin National ForestGallatin National ForestFounded in 1899, Gallatin National Forest is located in south central Montana, United States. The forest comprises 2.1 million acres and has portions of both the Absaroka-Beartooth and Lee Metcalf Wilderness areas within its boundaries...
(part) - Lewis and Clark National ForestLewis and Clark National ForestLewis and Clark National Forest is located in west central Montana, United States. Spanning , the forest is managed as two separate zones. The eastern sections, under the Jefferson Division, is a mixture of grass and shrublands dotted with "island" pockets of forested areas. Here, cattle leases to...
(part)
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 3,609 people, 1,476 households, and 987 families residing in the county. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 1,860 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.98% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.06% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.55% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.33% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.03% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.75% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.30% from two or more races. 1.50% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race. 22.5% were of Norwegian, 21.3% German, 11.4% English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, 8.0% Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and 7.8% American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 1,476 households out of which 30.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.00% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 4.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.10% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the county the population was spread out with 26.00% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 26.40% from 45 to 64, and 17.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 99.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,422, and the median income for a family was $38,750. Males had a median income of $28,385 versus $17,245 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the county was $17,880. About 9.00% of families and 11.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.10% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
In Presidential elections Sweet Grass County is among the most consistently Republican counties in the state or nation. The last, and one of the only, times the Democratic candidate carried the county was in 1936 when Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
won every county in Montana. In both the 1916 and 1932 Presidential elections Sweet Grass County was the only county in Montana to be won by the Republican.
Sweet Grass County is also Republican at a local level. Democratic governor Brian Schweitzer
Brian Schweitzer
Brian David Schweitzer is an American politician from the U.S. state of Montana. Schweitzer is its 23rd and current governor, serving since January 2005. Schweitzer currently has one of the highest approval ratings among governors in the nation, with polls regularly showing a rating of above 60...
has never won a majority of the county's vote and no Democratic gubernatorial candidate has carried the county in decades. In the Montana Senate
Montana Senate
The Montana Senate is the upper house of the Montana State Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators.-Composition of the Senate:-Officers:*Majority Whip: Greg Barkus...
it is represented by Republican John Esp and in the Montana House of Representatives
Montana House of Representatives
The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years.-Composition of the House:...
it is represented by Republican Joel Boniek.
Culture
The county was the setting of the 2009 sheep-herding documentary SweetgrassSweetgrass (film)
Sweetgrass is a 2009 documentary film that follows modern-day cowboys as they lead their flocks of sheep up into Montana's Absaroka-Beartooth mountains for summer pasture. It was directed by Lucien Castaing-Taylor, a Harvard anthropologist, and produced by his wife Ilisa Barbash...
. The film takes place in many counties in Montana but the title comes from the county of Sweet Grass.
See also
- List of cemeteries in Sweet Grass County, Montana
- List of lakes in Sweet Grass County, Montana
- List of mountains in Sweet Grass County, Montana
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Sweet Grass County, Montana