They grew old farming the land in this sprawling eastern Montana county that befits its name so well, and they stay once the work is done. So the fact that Prairie County has the state's eldest population is no surprise to those who live there.
People come from the surrounding area to retire.
It's a cheap way of life. Prairie County, its 1,200 people scattered across 1,737 square miles, had the state's highest median age of 59.9 years in the 2000 census. That means half the people were older and half younger. Only 9 percent of the population is under 10 years old and only one in five is younger than 21, the smallest proportions of youth in any county. They take off for the big cities for work.