Sheridan County
Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture
P.O. Box 104 • Plentywood, MT 59254-0104
email: chamber59254@yahoo.com
Most of the homesteaders who came to the area learned of the settlement through Danish newspapers or word of mouth. They were of modest means and relied on cooperative efforts to establish necessary businesses and organizations. Cooperatives are popular in Denmark and the settlers in the new village on the prairie of Montana formed cooperatives to handle such needs as a grocery store, coal mine, and casket company, a fund for destitute widows and orphans, and fire insurance. With changing economic times and the exodus of people from the rural area, many of the co-ops ceased to exist. Residents and visitors in the community today still enjoy the services provided by businesses that started from the early day cooperative movement. A service station, post office, and grocery store maintain a full array of services in Dagmar.
The Danish heritage remains obvious as one drives through the area. Two well maintained Lutheran Churches have altars graced with statues of Christ by the noted Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen. Inspired by rock monuments in Denmark, the new settlers established several in the Dagmar community. One of the most unique rock monuments can be seen in the yard of the Lutheran parsonage.
The Danish Brotherhood Lodge located in “North Dagmar” holds regular meetings in a well-kept lodge where they recently celebrated their 85th anniversary.
If it is wildlife you seek, Dagmar is a sportsman’s paradise. Whether you do your hunting with a gun or a camera, you will find bountiful upland game birds, waterfowl, and deer. The Medicine Lake Wildlife Refuge that borders the Dagmar area along with productive farm land provides ideal habitat for creatures of all kinds. Hunters from all over the United States are lured to this small community where they can rent housing, purchase prepared meals and even have their trophies mounted by a local taxidermist.
Despite the well-established Lutheran heritage of many of the Danes who settled in Dagmar, a notorious horse thief was part of the local history as well. Kid Mathews lived in the region off and on from 1906 until his death in 1920. Old timers can point out where his tar paper shack, ram shackled sheds, and corrals once stood. He conducted a thriving business transferring horses from one owner to another, therefore, making Dagmar an important link in the Outlaw Trail.
DAGMAR
established in 1906
Nestled in the eastern area of Sheridan County is an authentic ethnic community. Dagmar was named after the beloved queen of Denmark by E.F. Madsen. Madsen was a land locator who chose this region to form a settlement of Danish immigrants who would make their living in agriculture. His home which depicts typical Danish architecture can be seen from the road as one enters the town.
