Big Horn

Formed March 12, 1890 (12^th county)

Big Horn County (11,521), Basin (1,289), Lovell (2,242)

The columned red/brown brick Classical Revival structure was completed in 1918.  The facility is on C Street between 4^th Street and 5^th Street.  United States Highway 20 is 4^th Street in the town.  W. N. Bowman provided the building designs.  The building has been enlarged and an Annex was built in 1966.  A supporting courthouse is in Lovell.  The county was formed on March 12, 1890 from parts of Sheridan, Johnson and Fremont counties as the 12^th county with Basin as the only county seat.  Big Horn County is named for the Big Horn Mountain Range.  The county seat name is named for the Bighorn Basin.  There was a 1901 version of the courthouse previously in Basin. 

Big Horn County government consists of a sheriff, a clerk, a treasurer, an attorney, an assessor, and a coroner (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  One District Court Judge and Three Circuit Court Judges serve Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park, and Washakie counties and a court clerk serves Big Horn County (judicial.)  The county is on the northern border with Montana.  Casper, Wyoming is southeast and Billings, Montana is north of the county.  The county center is 13.5 miles North of Basin nearer Greybull.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Montana and Sheridan, Johnson, Washakie, and Park counties. 

The area of the county is 3137 square miles.  It is 13 out of 23 in the state.  It ranks 15 out of 23 in population in the state.  It has a density of 3.7 persons per square mile making it 14 out of 23 in the state.  Big Horn County has 62.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 14 enters the county from Sheridan County, northeast, and exits into Park County, west.  United States Highway 14 Alternate originates and heads west into Park County.  United States Highways 16/20 come from the south, Washakie County, and joins United States Highway 14 west into Park County.  United States Highway 310 enters from the north, Montana, and terminates.  The county resembles a snow boot.  Basin is located in the southwest quarter of the county.  Lovell is in the northwest quarter of the county.  Basin is the county seat and Lovell is the largest city.  Basin is 11.2% of the county population while Lovell is 19.5% of the county population.