Carter County is located in the Southeastern corner of Montana and is 3,313 square miles. Farming and ranching are the principle industries, with beef production number one on the list. Ekalaka the county seat, is 36 miles south of the US Highway #12 and MT Highway #7 junction at Baker. Ekalaka is also located 72 miles north of Alzada on Route #323. To take Route #323, MT Route #323 is a direct route to the Black Hills of South Dakota and Devils Tower in Wyoming. Ekalaka was named in honor of Ijkalaka, daughter of Eagle Man of the Ogalala Sioux Tribe. She was the wife of David H Russell, the first white settler in the picturesque Russell Creek Valley. She got her name from her restless nature, and grew up on a ranch in Powder River Territory, Wyoming. Ijkalaka and David had four children before moving a valley in the southeast Montana Territory in 1881. When the first post office building was built in 1885, the burgeoning nearby town was named for Ijkalaka, spelled phonetically so visitors could write the name.
