- Fast Facts -
Originally a part of the Idaho Territory, Montana became a territory on May 26, 1864, and was admitted into the Union as the 41st state on November 8, 1889. Montana contains 147,040 square miles of land, making it 4th in size of all the states, being preceded only by Alaska, Texas and California. You can view the progression of the territories here, courtesy of the USGenWeb Census Project®.
Roughly 60% of Montana is prairie with the western half being mountainous. Among the numerous mountain ranges found here, are a portion of the Bitterroot range, which extends from Alaska to Mexico.
Park county boasts the highest point in Montana. Granite Peak, at 12,807 feet above seas level, is a part of the Beartooth Plateau; the largest continuous land mass exceeding 10,000 in height in the continental U.S.
In the ten years between 1870 and 1880 the population of the state almost doubled, rising from 20, 595 in 1870 to 39,159 in 1880. The 2010 Census placed the state's population at 989,415. Montana is now divided into 56 counties. The first capital of Montana Territory was Bannack. It was moved to Virginia City a year later and to Helena, the present capital of the State, in 1875. During the 1880's Helena could boast more millionaires per capita than any other city in the United States.
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