Custer County | |
|---|---|
 Custer County Courthouse of Art Deco style architecture of the 1930s era, in the county seat and largest town of Miles City | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Montana | |
 Montana's location within the U.S. | |
| Coordinates: 46°16′N 105°35′W / 46.27°N 105.58°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Montana |
| Founded | June 2, 1865 |
| Named for | George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) |
| Seat | Miles City |
| Largest city | Miles City |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,793 sq mi (9,820 km2) |
| • Land | 3,783 sq mi (9,800 km2) |
| • Water | 9.9 sq mi (26 km2) 0.3% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 11,867 |
• Estimate (2022) | 12,032  |
| • Density | 3.1/sq mi (1.2/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (Mountain) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | https://custercountymt.com/ |
| |
Custer County is a county located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 11,867.[1] Its county seat and largest town is Miles City.[2] The county was established after the end of the American Civil War (1861-1865), on June 2, 1865, as one of the nine original counties of the new western federal Territory of Montana, which had been formed the previous May of 1864 by the United States Congress, with the approval of 16th President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865, served 1861-1865). It was originally named Big Horn County of the old Montana Territory,[3] and was renamed on February 16, 1877, in honor of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876), commander of the famous 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, recently massacred and killed in the nearby Battle of the Little Bighorn, in the later portion of the American Indian Wars, the year before in June 1876.[4]
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Big Horn County, Montana Territory was not the same county as present-day Big Horn County, Montana of statehood status.
- ^ "A Brief Custer County History". Custer County Montana. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.