Jordan, Montana
town in and the county seat of Garfield County, Montana, United States
Jordan is a town in and the county seat of Garfield County, Montana, United States. The population was 356 at the 2020 census. It is Garfield County's only incorporated community.
History
Jordan was settled in 1896. The founder, Arthur Jordan, had hunted the area and decided to settle with his family in 1896 along the banks of the Big Dry Creek.
A post office was opened in Jordan on July 11, 1899. Afterward, a town began building around the post office. There were saloons, rooming houses, livery stables, blacksmiths, and stores. In the later part of the 1910s, the homestead boom hit Garfield County, which was then actually part of Dawson County to the east. By 1919, the citizens reached a consensus to form a county of their own, therefore establishing Garfield County.
The public source identifies “Jordan, Montana” as town in and the county seat of Garfield County, Montana, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Jordan, Montana and town.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Jordan, Montana”, the useful work is to connect “town in and the county seat of Garfield County, Montana, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q955017. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1896, 1899 and 1919.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Jordan, Montana”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Jordan, Montana primary sources, Jordan, Montana archive and Jordan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jordan, Montana”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Jordan, Montana” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.