County · code 30079
Prairie CountyMontana
Prairie County is a county in Montana with its seat at Terry, formed on February 5, 1915.
- Founded1915
- County seatTerry
- Named forprairie
- Land area1,737 sq mi + 5.8 sq mi water
- Population1,088 2020 Census
- Parcels mapped3,780 checked 14 October 2026
Where it is
Prairie on the map of Montana
Montana has 56 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.
History
Formed in 1915 from Custer County, Dawson County and Fallon County
An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.
Prairie County was created by petition and election from Custer, Dawson, and Fallon counties. In 1917, Prairie County gained territory from Custer and small adjustments were made with Dawson and Wibaux counties to align boundaries with federal land survey lines. A further boundary adjustment in 1921 transferred a small area to Custer County to conform to federal survey lines.
- 1915Prairie County created Prairie created by petition and election from Custer, Dawson, and Fallon. · Minutes of Board of County Commissioners, Dawson County, 4 February 1915; Burlingame, 17-19
- 1917Gained territory Prairie gained from Custer. Prairie gained small area from Dawson and lost small area to Wibaux when boundary was adjusted to run on federal land survey lines. · Mont. Laws 1917, 15th leg., ch. 139/pp. 232-235
- 1921Lost territory Prairie lost small area to Custer when boundary was adjusted to run on federal land survey lines. · Mont. Rev. Code 1921, sec. 4342/pp. 1603-1605
Land and parcels
What the maps cover in Prairie
Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.
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Parcels Good enough
Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 3,780 parcels. Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
checked 14 October 2026 -
Address points Official
One point per address, 988 in all from Montana State Library.
edited 13 October 2026 · checked 14 October 2026 -
Buildings Reference
Roof outlines traced from aerial imagery from FEMA Response Geospatial Office with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Good for seeing what is on a lot; not accurate enough to set a fence from.
checked 18 October 2026
- Official
- from the office that keeps the record
- Good enough
- a reliable statewide or national copy
- Fallback
- a guide only; check the official record
- Missing
- nothing public found yet
People and land
Prairie by the Census
Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Rules and offices
Prairie County's official site
We have found the county's site but not its offices yet; start there.
County government
- County government
The official website of Prairie County.
See your own lot on these maps
Open Prairie County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.
Questions
Common questions about Prairie County
- When was Prairie County founded?
- Prairie County was founded in 1915, formed from Custer County, Dawson County and Fallon County, and named after prairie.
- What is the county seat of Prairie County?
- The county seat of Prairie County is Terry.
- Is there an online parcel map for Prairie County?
- Yes. A public source publishes a parcel map of 3,780 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
- Has Prairie County's boundary or name changed?
- Prairie County was created in 1915 from Custer County, Dawson County and Fallon County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 2 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Custer County, Dawson County and Wibaux County.
- Is my lot in a flood zone?
- We do not have flood maps for Prairie County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.
Nearby