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Montana County
Madison County, Montana
Virginia City - Montana's best-preserved gold rush town - from Virginia City's extraordinary preservation (Virginia City - the 1863 gold rush boomtown that briefly served as Montana Territory's capital - is the most authentically preserved gold rush community in Montana, where the entire downtown historic district is preserved as a National Historic Landmark and state historic site, and the wooden sidewalks, 19th-century storefronts, and summer melodrama theater transport visitors to the genuine frontier Montana that most western towns have lost) and the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake (the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that triggered a massive landslide damming the Madison River, killing 28 campers and creating Earthquake Lake - one of the most dramatic geological events in modern Montana history).
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Office: Madison County Emergency Management/Fire Warden – Virginia City, MT 59755; confirm current phone via madisoncountymt.gov.
Sheriff: Madison County Sheriff’s/Coroner’s Office – 5 Placer Loop (Physical: 100 W Wallace St), Virginia City, MT 59755 | (406) 843-5301; the office operates 24/7 and maintains Madison County Search and Rescue as two units – the Ruby Valley Unit (based in Sheridan) and the Madison Valley Unit (based in Ennis). Seven separate fire districts serve the county.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MT-287 serves Virginia City, the county seat, in southwest Montana; Ennis, along US-287, is the county’s largest town.
Notes: Madison County, established 1865 and named for James Madison, spans 3,603 square miles with roughly 8,600-10,000 residents. Four incorporated towns exist within the county: Ennis, Sheridan, Twin Bridges, and Virginia City.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Madison County Courthouse – built in 1875 and still in active use for county government, one of the oldest continuously operating courthouses in Montana.
Notes: Virginia City is genuinely Montana’s second territorial capital (1865-1875), succeeding Bannack after the discovery of gold at Alder Gulch in 1863 – one of the richest placer gold strikes in Rocky Mountain history, producing gold now valued well over $100 million (some estimates place the modern equivalent above $1 billion). Virginia City’s population swelled to roughly 10,000-30,000 during the boom. The town is often called a “living ghost town” because it remains inhabited (roughly 150 year-round residents) while preserving over 150 NRHP-certified original 1860s buildings, unlike neighboring Nevada City, which functions purely as an open-air museum. The winter of 1863-64 saw a secret Vigilance Committee hang 21 men, including corrupt Sheriff Henry Plummer, whose gang was allegedly responsible for over 100 murders of miners and travelers – one of the most dramatic vigilante-justice episodes in the Old West. Charles Bovey began restoring the town in the 1940s, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Madison County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via madisoncountymt.gov.
Federal: VA Montana Health Care System (Fort Harrison/Helena, accessible north).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Thompson-Hickman Madison County Library – Virginia City, MT 59755 | (406) 898-4293; confirm current hours via virginiacitylibrary.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Virginia City and Nevada City’s National Historic Landmark districts, the Alder Gulch Short Line heritage railway, and the Madison River (blue-ribbon trout fishing near Ennis) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Alder Gulch gold rush, one of the richest placer strikes in Rocky Mountain history, and the vigilante-justice history are among the most distinctive local facts in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Madison County Motor Vehicle Licensing – (406) 898-4329 or (406) 843-4210.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current animal shelter/adoption arrangements via madisoncountymt.gov or the Sheriff’s Office, (406) 843-5301.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Madison County – confirm current contact via madisoncountymt.gov.
NOTES: Madison County is the second county in the Montana v2 A+ sourced redo’s fifth batch. The genuine Alder Gulch gold rush and Virginia City’s vigilante-justice history are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Madison County
Madison County is Virginia City and the 1959 earthquake – Montana’s best-preserved gold rush town serves as the county seat of a county that also contains Earthquake Lake, formed by the landslide triggered by the 7.3 magnitude Hebgen Lake earthquake that killed 28 campers in one of the most dramatic geological events in modern Montana history.
Virginia City (the county seat, population ~190) is one of the smallest and most historically significant county seats in the West. Ennis (population ~900) anchors the Madison River fly fishing economy.
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Madison County Assessor at 110 W. Wallace Street, Virginia City, MT 59755, phone 406-843-4270. MT residential assessed at market value, taxed at 1.35%.
Courts & Legal
Madison County District Court at 110 W. Wallace Street, Virginia City, MT 59755, phone 406-843-4270, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK AND RECORDER
110 W. Wallace St., Virginia City, MT 59755
(406) 843-4270
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
110 W. Wallace St., Virginia City, MT 59755
(406) 843-4270
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Madison County Clerk of District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Virginia City, the county seat, was Montana’s second territorial capital and is a well-preserved gold-rush-era historic town.
Local societies
No dedicated Madison County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Madison County Clerk of District Court, Probate Division 110 West Wallace Street, Virginia City, MT 59755 (406) 843-4230
Madison County is in southwestern Montana, seated in Virginia City, a former territorial capital and historic gold-rush town.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Montana adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), codified at Title 72 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA). Probate is handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent resided.
Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit (MCA § 72-3-1101) – available when the value of the probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000. At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted anywhere. The affiant presents the sworn, notarized affidavit (with a certified death certificate) directly to whoever holds the property to collect it – skipping probate court entirely. Must be used within 3 years of death.
Summary Administration – a streamlined court process for estates valued at $100,000 or less; unlike the affidavit procedure, this still goes through the court, just with reduced formality.
Informal Probate – the most common path for uncontested estates. An application can be made to the clerk of district court no sooner than 120 hours (5 days) after death, with minimal court involvement.
Formal Probate – required when there’s no will, when a will’s validity is contested, or when there’s disagreement over the personal representative or distribution. Handled by a district court judge.
Supervised Administration – formal probate with ongoing court oversight of the personal representative.
Step 2: filing for formal or informal probate
File an application (informal) or petition (formal) with the Clerk of District Court in the county where the decedent resided, no sooner than 120 hours after death.
The court or clerk appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets.
After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and closes the estate.
What it costs
Montana does not set statutory percentage-based fees; personal representative and attorney fees are generally “reasonable compensation” based on time and complexity.
Montana has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
110 W. Wallace St., Virginia City, MT 59755
(406) 843-5351
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
110 W. Wallace St., Virginia City, MT 59755
(406) 843-4270
ELECTIONS
110 W. Wallace St., Virginia City, MT 59755
(406) 843-4270
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Madison County Public Health – (406) 204-0712.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Virginia City
Population: 8,600
Area: 3,587 sq mi
Established: 1865
Tier: 3
Public Records
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