Event Details

Wibaux

Montana County Seat Challenge

Wibaux, Montana; Wibaux County

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Event Elevation: 2,644 feet

Wibaux is a town in and the county seat of Wibaux County, Montana, United States. It is the only incorporated town in Wibaux County. The population was 462 at the 2020 census. The town originally had names such as Keith, Beaver, and Mingusville (named for Minnie and Gus Grisy, who ran the Post Office in the late 19th century). In 1895, the town was renamed for prominent local cattle rancher, Pierre Wibaux, who had immigrated to the area from France in 1883.

Wibaux County is a county in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 937, making it the fourth-least populous county in Montana. Its county seat is Wibaux. Wibaux County was created by the Montana Legislature in 1914 from parts of Dawson, Fallon, and Richland Counties. The name comes from Pierre Wibaux (1858–1913), a late 19th-century cattle baron and friend of Theodore Roosevelt whose ranch was just over the border (in Dakota Territory, later North Dakota). According to legend, Pierre Wibaux's cowboys surrounded the town of Mingusville, and wouldn't let anyone enter or leave town unless they signed a petition changing the name of the town to Wibaux. Upon his death, his ashes were spread over a hill west of Wibaux. Today, a statue of Pierre Wibaux stands on that hill.