Carter County Geography
Carter County was founded in 1917, was named after Thomas H. Carter and is located in the Southeastern corner of Montana and is 3,313 square miles. Farming and ranching are the principal industries, with beef production number one on the list.
The County seat is Elakaka, named in honor of Ijkalaka, daughter of Eagle Man of the Ogalala Sioux, wife of David H. Russell, the first white settler in the picturesque Russell Creek Valley just outside of Ekalaka. The Rusell family moved to the valley in southeast Montana Territory in 1881, when the post office was built in 1885, in the nearby town, spelled phonetically so victors could write the name.
Ekalaka is 36 miles south of the US Highway #12 and MT Highway #7 junction at Baker. Ekalaka is also located 72 miles north of Alzada on Route #323. MT Route #323 is a direct route to the Black Hills of South Dakota and Devils Tower in Wyoming.
As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,415, making it the seventh-least populous county in Montana
The County seat is Elakaka, named in honor of Ijkalaka, daughter of Eagle Man of the Ogalala Sioux, wife of David H. Russell, the first white settler in the picturesque Russell Creek Valley just outside of Ekalaka. The Rusell family moved to the valley in southeast Montana Territory in 1881, when the post office was built in 1885, in the nearby town, spelled phonetically so victors could write the name.
Ekalaka is 36 miles south of the US Highway #12 and MT Highway #7 junction at Baker. Ekalaka is also located 72 miles north of Alzada on Route #323. MT Route #323 is a direct route to the Black Hills of South Dakota and Devils Tower in Wyoming.
As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,415, making it the seventh-least populous county in Montana
