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Montana County
Musselshell County, Montana
Roundup's Bull Mountains elk country and coal heritage - from the Bull Mountains (the isolated sandstone ridge rising from the central Montana plains north of Roundup - whose ponderosa pine forests, rimrock formations, and remote character provide exceptional elk hunting and represent one of the most distinctive isolated mountain landscapes in the Montana interior) and Roundup's coal mining heritage (the Roundup area coal seams supplied fuel for the Northern Pacific Railroad and regional communities for decades, and the town's name reflects the cattle roundup traditions of the central Montana range that predated the coal era).
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Office: Musselshell County Disaster & Emergency Services (DES) – 506 Main Street, Roundup, MT 59072 | (406) 323-1104; also operates a CodeRED public notification system.
Dispatch: Musselshell County Dispatch – (406) 323-1402.
Sheriff: Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office – 820 Main Street, Roundup, MT 59072 | Non-emergency (406) 323-1402 | Fax: (406) 323-2566; Sheriff Shawn Lesnik, Undersheriff M. Jason Bednar. Staffed by the Sheriff, Undersheriff, a Sergeant, four deputies, an administrative assistant, and one detention officer, patrolling roughly 1,900 square miles. Detention Center visiting hours: Tue 9-11 AM, Thu 3-5 PM, Sun 1:30-2:30 PM.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-12 and US-87 meet at Roundup, the county seat, in south-central Montana. Roundup Airport (RPX) is owned jointly by the city and county.
Notes: Musselshell County, created February 2, 1911 by Governor Edwin L. Norris from parts of Fergus, Yellowstone, and Meagher Counties, is named for the Musselshell River, itself named by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 for the abundant freshwater mussels found along its banks. Roughly 4,700-5,600 residents.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Musselshell County – confirm current phone via musselshellcounty.gov.
Notes: Roundup genuinely earned its name from open-range cattle roundups held here in the 1880s along the Musselshell River, later becoming the trailhead for the 1989 Great Montana Centennial Cattle Drive – a six-day, 60-mile drive from Roundup to Billings marking the state’s centennial, involving roughly 2,400 people, 2,700 cattle, 288 wagons, and 3,500 horses; an annual Roundup Cattle Drive continues the tradition today. The Musselshell County Historical Museum, housed in an 1884 building once home to two British cattle barons, displays a homemade airplane genuinely built and flown down Main Street by teenager David Comstock in the 1930s – reportedly at night specifically to avoid the sleeping sheriff. Roundup was also home to Tony Boyle, president of the United Mine Workers of America from 1963-1972.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Musselshell County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via musselshellcounty.gov.
Federal: VA Montana Health Care System (Fort Harrison/Helena, accessible west).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Roundup Community Library – 525 6th Avenue West, Roundup, MT 59072 | (406) 323-1802; a combined school-public library located at Roundup Junior/Senior High School, serving Roundup and all of Musselshell County; roughly 19,500-volume collection.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Musselshell County Historical Museum, the annual Roundup Cattle Drive, and the Musselshell County Fairgrounds are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine 1989 Centennial Cattle Drive and the teenage homemade-airplane legend are distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Musselshell County Clerk & Recorder – 506 Main St, Roundup, MT 59072 | (406) 323-1413.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current animal control arrangements via musselshellcounty.gov or the Sheriff’s Office, (406) 323-1402.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Musselshell County Refuse District – confirm current phone via musselshellcounty.gov.
NOTES: Musselshell County is the sixth county in the Montana v2 A+ sourced redo’s fifth batch. The genuine 1989 Centennial Cattle Drive and Roundup’s cattle-roundup namesake are distinctive local facts. 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 Musselshell County
Musselshell County is the Bull Mountains elk country and Musselshell River valley – the isolated sandstone ridge north of Roundup provides exceptional elk hunting in one of central Montana’s most distinctive landscapes, and the Musselshell River’s drainage defines the county’s geographic character between Billings and Lewistown.
Roundup (the county seat, population ~1,700) serves the county’s ranching, coal, and outdoor recreation communities in the central Montana interior.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Musselshell County Assessor at 506 Main Street, Roundup, MT 59072, phone 406-323-1212. MT residential assessed at market value, taxed at 1.35%.
Courts & Legal
Musselshell County District Court at 506 Main Street, Roundup, MT 59072, phone 406-323-1212, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK AND RECORDER
506 Main St., Roundup, MT 59072
(406) 323-1104
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
506 Main St., Roundup, MT 59072
(406) 323-1104
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Musselshell County Clerk of District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Musselshell 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
Musselshell County Clerk of District Court, Probate Division 506 Main Street, Roundup, MT 59072 (406) 323-1413 Musselshell County is in central Montana, seated in Roundup.
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
506 Main St., Roundup, MT 59072
(406) 323-2600
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
506 Main St., Roundup, MT 59072
(406) 323-1104
ELECTIONS
506 Main St., Roundup, MT 59072
(406) 323-1104
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Musselshell County Health Services / Environmental & Public Health – confirm current phone via musselshellcounty.gov.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Roundup
Population: 4,700
Area: 1,867 sq mi
Established: 1911
Tier: 3
Public Records
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