Welcome to Judith Basin County

Published: 2020
By Katie Hatlelid

Judith Basin County is located in central Montana in a fertile basin between the Highwood, Big Snowy, and Little Belt mountains. The county population is 1,940. The principal communities are Stanford, Hobson and Geyser. Numerous other small communities are in the county. Judith Basin County’s economy is based on agriculture. The major components of this industry include livestock, small grains and forage production. Timber and mining enterprises take place on a small scale. The MSU Central Ag Research Center is located in the county near Moccasin. The Judith Basin 4-H programs consist of over 90 youth members and 31 volunteer leaders in four organized clubs. The county offers a variety of recreational opportunities, which include hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, snowmobiling and skiing. A major ski area is about 45 minutes from Stanford. The Judith Basin was the home of the legendary western artist Charlie Russell. Many of his paintings were scenes captured by the artist between Lewistown and Great Falls. Stanford, Hobson, and nearby Utica have several museums of interest. Recreation opportunities abound in the nearby Lewis and Clark National Forest, Judith River Wildlife Management Area and Ackley Lake State Park. Raynesford is an agriculturally-rich area. The homesteading boom from 1908 to 1915 and the extension of the Great Northern Railroad played an important role in the development of this area. Moccasin also began as a homestead community. In 1907, the Montana State legislature created the Central Montana Agriculture Research Center, three miles west of Moccasin. The purpose of the center was to teach dryland farming techniques to newly arrived homesteaders. Even after the homesteaders bust, the center went on to develop machinery and new crops, improving the area’s wheat yields. Many Finnish homesteaders settled in the Geyser area at the turn of the century. In earlier days, it was a stagecoach-stopping place on the trail from Great Falls to Lewistown. In 1920, Geyser became a rail line station, when the old town was moved to its existing site.