Petroleum County, Montana
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 5 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1995. Most listings are in or near Winnett, Mosby, Flatwillow.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Montana is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Petroleum titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP2 of 5 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
5 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Cat Creek Oil Field Sign | Mosby | 2015 |
| Howard Lepper Memorial Hall | Flatwillow | 2020 |
| Lewistown Satellite Airfield Historic District (Boundary Increase III) | Winnett | 2010 |
| Winnett Block | Winnett | 2009 |
| Winnett School | Winnett | 1995 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBPetroleum was formed in 1925 (1925-02-22) from Fergus.
PETROLEUM created by petition and election from FERGUS.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusPetroleum County population from 1930 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,045 | 1,083 | 1,026 | 894 | 655 | 493 | 496 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS4 cemeteries and 8 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 4 of 4 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Ashley Cemetery |
| Cat Creek Cemetery |
| Flatwillow Cemetery |
| Winnett Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 8 of 8
| Name |
|---|
| Blakeslee |
| Dovetail |
| Hoyle |
| Jitney |
| Muscleshell City |
| Shay |
| Wallview |
| Weede |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Petroleum County, Montana
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