{"id":5859,"date":"2023-07-16T19:21:59","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T19:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=5859"},"modified":"2026-08-22T12:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T12:02:17","slug":"powder-river-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/powder-river-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Powder River County, Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Powder River County is a county in Montana, United States, on the state&#8217;s southeastern plains near the Wyoming line. It had a population of 1,694 at the 2020 census and covers 3,298 square miles (8,542 km2) centred near 45\u00b019\u2032N 105\u00b047\u2032W, making it one of the largest counties by area and smallest by population in the state.<\/p>\n<p>Broadus is the county seat, and its postal code is 59317. The county has one incorporated town, one census-designated place, and about a dozen unincorporated communities and crossings. It sits in the Mountain time zone.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Powder River County<\/h2>\n<p>Powder River County has just one incorporated town, Broadus, and one census-designated place, Biddle. Everything else on the list below is an unincorporated community, ranch crossroads, or historic post-office site (labeled Unincorp.) with no separate census count.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Broadus<\/td>\n<td>Town &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>456<\/td>\n<td>59317<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Biddle<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>28<\/td>\n<td>59314<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Powderville<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>59345<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Olive<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>59343<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Otter<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>59062<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sonnette<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bay Horse<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Belle Creek<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cameron Crossing<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Coalwood<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Epsie<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Moorhead<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sayle<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sixmile Crossing<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Stacey<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Willow Crossing<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Town and Country Trailer Park,&#8221; carried on the old list, is a private mobile-home park just outside Broadus rather than a distinct community, so it is not listed separately here.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>59317 &mdash; Broadus (also serves the surrounding ranch country and Sonnette)<\/li>\n<li>59314 &mdash; Biddle<\/li>\n<li>59345 &mdash; Powderville<\/li>\n<li>59343 &mdash; Olive<\/li>\n<li>59062 &mdash; Otter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most of the county&#8217;s smaller crossings and historic sites, including Bay Horse, Cameron Crossing, Coalwood, Epsie, Moorhead, Sayle, Sixmile Crossing, Stacey, and Willow Crossing, are served by one of the five post offices above rather than having their own ZIP code.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Powder River County lies on rolling shortgrass plains and badland breaks between the Powder River and the Tongue River, with the Powder itself crossing the county from south to north on its way to the Yellowstone. The terrain is mostly open rangeland cut by pine-covered ridges and dry creek drainages, with very little surface water outside the river bottoms.<\/p>\n<p>The county borders <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/custer-county-montana\/\">Custer County<\/a> to the north, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/carter-county-montana\/\">Carter County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/rosebud-county\/\">Rosebud County<\/a> to the northwest, and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/big-horn-county\/\">Big Horn County<\/a> to the west, plus Crook County, Campbell County, and Sheridan County across the state line in Wyoming to the south and southeast.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Powder River County had 1,694 residents at the 2020 census, the great majority living in or near Broadus (456) and Biddle (28), with the rest scattered across ranches. Median household income runs below the Montana median of $70,804, reflecting the county&#8217;s small, agriculture-based tax base. Population density is under one person per square mile, among the lowest of any county in the state.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Cattle and sheep ranching drive the county&#8217;s economy, on land that has been grazed continuously since the open-range era of the 1880s. Broadus serves as the county&#8217;s only trade center, with the county courthouse, Powder River County Bank, a hospital, and the K-12 Powder River County School. Rodeo and branding remain central to community life, and the county fairgrounds in Broadus host the annual Powder River County Fair and Rodeo each summer.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Powder River County was created on March 17, 1919, out of the southern portion of Custer County, and takes its name from the Powder River, which the Cheyenne and Lakota called the &#8220;Powder River country&#8221; for the fine, powder-like sand along its banks. The area saw fur trappers pass through in the early 1800s and was contested ground during the Powder River Expedition and the wider Sioux Wars of the 1860s-70s before cattle ranchers began settling it permanently in the following decades.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>U.S. Route 212 runs through Broadus and is the county&#8217;s main highway, connecting south to Wyoming and northwest toward the rest of Montana.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Miles City &mdash; 78 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Sheridan, Wyoming &mdash; 95 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Billings &mdash; 155 miles west<\/li>\n<li>Gillette, Wyoming &mdash; 120 miles southeast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Billings Logan International Airport.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Powder River County?<\/strong><br \/>It is in southeastern Montana, on the Wyoming border, along U.S. Route 212.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Powder River County?<\/strong><br \/>1,694 residents at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Powder River County?<\/strong><br \/>3,298 square miles (8,542 km2), one of the largest counties in Montana by area.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the Powder River County seat?<\/strong><br \/>Broadus is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Powder River County?<\/strong><br \/>One incorporated town (Broadus), one census-designated place (Biddle), and about a dozen small unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Powder River County?<\/strong><br \/>59317 (Broadus), 59314 (Biddle), 59345 (Powderville), 59343 (Olive), and 59062 (Otter).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Powder River County&#8217;s economy based on?<\/strong><br \/>Cattle and sheep ranching, largely unchanged since the open-range era of the 1880s.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/montana\/\">Towns and villages in Montana<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Powder River County is a county in Montana, United States, on the state&#8217;s southeastern plains near the Wyoming line. It had a population of 1,694 at the 2020 census and covers 3,298 square miles (8,542 km2) centred near 45\u00b019\u2032N 105\u00b047\u2032W, making it one of the largest counties by area and smallest by population in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Powder River County, Montana","_seopress_titles_desc":"Broadus, Biddle & Powderville: population, ZIP codes, geography and history of Powder River County, Montana.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-5859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-montana","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5859"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11603,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5859\/revisions\/11603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}