Circle, Montana - Discovering Montana

Circle is a largely agricultural and ranching community in north-eastern Montana. Located along the Big Sky Back Country Byway, the small town developed around ranchers coming into the area as early as 1884.

Circle got its name from the fact that back then many community ranches were known by their brand a circle in the case of the Mabry Cattle Corporation which thus became known as the Circle Ranch.

It wasn’t until 1905 though, when an old store opened up a post office and named it Circle, catering to the local agricultural and ranching settlers that the town started to take proper form.

Further developments occurred once McCone County had been formed in 1919 and Circle became the county seat, a key factor in the community’s development.

Circle moved to its present location when the Great Northern Pacific platted it as a town site in 1914, and once the Railroad turned up and started work on a branch line to Brockway in 1928, the town’s fate was sealed.

It was the cause of many celebrations in the area when the population numbers reached their highest, as they did again in the 1960s with the discovery of oil.