Billings, Montana

The history of Montana's largest city begins in the 1860s. An increasing tide of immigrants crossed the Yellowstone Valley headed for the gold fields of southwestern Montana via the Bozeman Trail. This [Page 55]did not sit well with the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, who also inhabited the area. Neither tribe wanted to lose additional land and resources to the increasing number of white settlers pushing into the northern plains. Another Indian tribe, the Crows, also valued the area that came to be known as Billings as a traditional hunting and gathering site because of its abundant game. Over the next few months, the Sioux and Cheyenne attacked and killed many settlers in this area and set fire to government forts. Finally, in 1868, the Fort Laramie Treaty officially closed the Bozeman Trail and reserved the Native Americans’ seasonal hunting rights throughout the Powder, Tongue, and Bighorn drainages. With this closure, settlement along the Yellowstone screeched to a halt. For the next decade, settlers avoided the area south of the Yellowstone and used steamships on the upper Missouri to travel to such places as Fort Benton and Helena.

Perry W. McAdow, an entrepreneur from Bozeman, became the man that helped develop the Yellowstone Valley. He believed that transportation industry was the key to the settlement and development of the valley. He traveled to the area and noticed that settlers had already begun to use the fertile grounds to grow crops. Settlers moving east from the Gallatin Valley had farmed the flats around the Yellowstone Valley since 1877 and rejoiced at the news that the railroad was coming their way.

In 1882, the Northern Pacific Railroad surveyed the area and began preparations for the coming of the railroad. As the railroad approached the Yellowstone Valley, capitalists linked to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company controlled and profited from the development of town sites. The Northern Pacific sold two sections of land to the Montana and Minnesota Land & Improvement Company. With its prime geographic area, the company established the Billings Townsite Company. They did this to sell plots of land for the building of the town of Billings. Not surprisingly, the largest stockholders of the Montana and Minnesota Land & Improvement Company were the leaders of the Northern Pacific Railroad. These leaders included Heman Clark, general contractor for and president of the Northern Pacific; Frederick Billings, former Northern Pacific president; and Thomas Oakes, Northern Pacific vice president. Heman Clark eventually became the first president of the Billings Townsite Company.

By May 1882, there were three buildings used as the headquarters to lodge railroad survey crews. The railroad's location at the navigable part of the Yellowstone River made Billings an early trading and shipping point. By the end of 1883, the newspaper reported some 400 buildings and a population of 1,500. Billings was finally incorporated as a city in 1885.

Today, Billings enjoys the title of “Montana's largest city.” With an area population of well over 100,000, tourists head to Billings all times of the year. Many historical and cultural points lie within a days drive, including Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Yellowstone National Park, and Pompey's Pillar. Outdoor enthusiasts can backpack in the nearby Beartooth-Absaroka Wilderness and Custer and Gallatin National Forests. Fly-fishing is popular along Rock Creek, Boulder River, Stillwater River, and Yellowstone River. Billings is also home to the Montana Zoo and both a professional hockey and arena football team. Billings has enjoyed a rapid growth rate, supported by various economies, including energy (oil, natural gas, and coal), agriculture (grains such as wheat, barley, and corn; sugar beets; beef and dairy cattle), and transportation (air, rail, and trucking).

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