Harlowton, Montana
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement
Harlowton is a city in and the county seat of Wheatland County, Montana, United States.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The population was 955 at the 2020 census.<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">Template:Cite web</ref>
The city was once the eastern terminus of electric operations (1914–74) for the "Pacific Extension" of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("Milwaukee Road"). Here, steam or diesel locomotives were changed or hooked up to electric locomotives for Template:Convert trip through the Rocky Mountains to Avery, Idaho. Harlowton was founded in 1900 as a station stop on the Montana Railroad, a predecessor to the Milwaukee, and was named for Richard A. Harlow,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the Montana Railroad's president.
History
[edit]
The Upper Musselshell River Valley is named for the Musselshell River, which got its name from the large number of freshwater mussels found in its river bed.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> In the fall and winter weather, the bison would migrate to the lower altitudes along the Musselshell River. Early plains hunters, taking advantage of the large bison population, frequented this area.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> Some of the tribes that traveled through the area were the Crow, Blackfeet, Flathead, Gros Ventre, Northern Cheyenne, Nez Perce, Shoshones, Sioux, and Assiniboine.<ref name=":0" />
Harlowton lies within the Montana High Plains that form a part of the Northwestern Plains.<ref name=":1" /> The area is most known archeologically for the line of demarcation which was mutually established between the Crow and Blackfeet tribes that passed through the area.<ref name=":0" /> This fifty-mile rock line fence crossed east to west from the Big Snowy Mountains to the Crazy Mountains.<ref name=":0" /> The rock line hunting boundary was the cause of several battles in the area.<ref name=":0" />
Within Wheatland County, site surveys have recorded and assigned archaeological site numbers to Sentinel Rock, the Fish Creek Pictograph, Owl Canyon Pictograph, Winnecook Petroglyph, Fortification site, and to several buffalo jumps in the area.<ref name=":1" /> The Big Snowy, Little Belt, Castle and Crazy Mountains have produced five wickiup (conical timbered lodges) sites and several pictograph sites.<ref name=":1" />
On May 7, 1868, a treaty with the Crow Nation and the United States Government opened the Musselshell River Valley to settlement.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The first sheep operation on the Upper Musselshell was started by P.J. Moore in 1878.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> The first large cattle operation in the area was the Chicago Montana Livestock Company in 1882, with S.S. Hobson as part owner and manager.<ref name=":2" />
On June 17, 1907, a fire destroyed 24 buildings on the north side of Harlowton's Main Street.<ref name=":4" /> The town was rebuilt, though most of the construction took place on Central Avenue to correspond with the Milwaukee Railroad plot.<ref name=":4" />
The first town election was held on June 6, 1908. Mr. A. T. Anderson was elected mayor.<ref name=":4" />
The grand opening of the Graves Hotel was on June 19, 1909, with a banquet and dance.<ref name=":4" /> Andrew Chris Graves was the principal owner.<ref name=":3" /> The Graves Hotel was added to the National register of historic places on August 6, 1980.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On February 22, the 1917 legislature passed an act which created Wheatland County from Meagher and Sweet Grass Counties. The act took effect on April 1, 1917.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> W
Wheatland was the first county in the US to go over its goal in the World War I Liberty Bond drive of 1918.<ref name=":3" /> County became the 41st county in Montana, and Harlowton became the county seat.<ref name=":4" /> For this effort, a ship, the Template:USS, was named after the county.<ref name=":4" />
The 163rd Infantry Regiment is a regiment of the Montana National Guard based in Harlowton. It went overseas with the 41st Infantry Division in World War II.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Jawbone Creek Country Club is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the only golf course with a cemetery in it.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Merino
[edit]
The town of Merino was officially established in 1881.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite book</ref> The name Merino came from the breed of sheep (Merino) that were run in the area by Charles Severance at the time.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite book</ref> The trading post owned by John and Archie McEachnie housed the post office, store and saloon.<ref name=":4" /> The first railroad into the area was the Montana Railroad (nicknamed the “Jawbone Railroad”) in 1899.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Montana Railroad terminal was located one mile northwest of Merino, so it was decided to relocate the town site.<ref name=":3" /> On June 10, 1900 Richard Harlow, father of the Montana Railroad, and Arthur Lombard, surveyor and promoter of the Montana Railroad, auctioned off lots of the new town site.<ref name=":4" />
The name Merino was changed to Harlowton on November 9, 1900.<ref name=":3" /> The first building to be erected in the new town site was a barber shop, owned by Thomas Hanzlik.<ref name=":4" />
Big Nose George robbery
[edit]In 1878, JV Salazar (Mexican John) was robbed of his horses, grub, and guns near the present site of Harlowton by the noted horse thief George Parrott (Big Nose George).<ref name=":2" /> At the time of the Salazar robbery, George Parrott was known to be camping on the Musselshell River with Andrew Garcia, where he was holding a bunch of stolen horses on his way to Canada.<ref name=":2" /> Big Nose George was later lynched at Rawlins, Wyoming.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Milwaukee Road
[edit]In 1906, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("Milwaukee Road") started building west with its route coming though Harlowton.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite book</ref> On December 5, 1907, work was started on the Milwaukee Railroad Roundhouse in Harlowton.<ref name=":3" /> The first passenger train from the east rolled into Harlowton on March 9, 1908, with freight trains to follow.<ref name=":5" /> In 1915 the Milwaukee Railroad was electrified from Harlowton to Avery, Idaho — over 450 mountainous miles.<ref name=":3" /> Harlowton became the eastern terminus of electric operations and was known as “the place where electricity replaces steam.”<ref name=":5" /> The Milwaukee Railroad dropped its electrified system in 1974, just months before the OPEC oil embargo of the United States.<ref name=":3" /> The Milwaukee Railroad was abandoned following a bankruptcy settlement and the last train that went through Harlowton was in March 1980.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Milwaukee Road Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 8, 1988.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The depot has been converted into the Harlowton Milwaukee Depot Museum.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Paleontology
[edit]The town of Harlowton is located in the Fort Union Geological formation and is famous for its Paleocene fossils.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1902 Albert Silberling, a local homesteader and self-taught paleontologist, discovered the Douglass Quarry southwest of Harlowton.<ref name=":10">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Albert Silberling and Earl Douglass, a Princeton University paleontologist, discovered fossil remains of primitive mammals including the Ptilodus, Phenacodus, and Plesiadapis in the quarries southwest of Harlowton.<ref name=":8" /> Albert Silberling's discoveries from fossils excavated in the Harlowton area have subsidized the information about life in the Paleozoic era.<ref name=":8" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The Rugocaudia cooneyi and Tatankacephalus cooneyorum are two new dinosaur species that were found southwest of Harlowton. The Rugocaudia cooneyi is a new sauropod dinosaur that was described and named by the paleontologist Cary Woodruff<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The genus name Rugocaudia means “wrinkle tail” and the species name honors the landowner J. P. Cooney.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Tatankacephalus is a new ankylosaur dinosaur species found in 1997 by Bill and Kris Parsons, research associates of the Buffalo Museum of Science.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Avaceratops lammersi dinosaur was found on the Lammers family Careless Creek Ranch northeast of Harlowton and is the first of its kind.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite web</ref> The Aveceratops is a small horned dinosaur that belongs to the Ceratopsidaie family.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Eddie and Ava Cole discovered the fossil remains in 1981.<ref name=":7" /> Dr. Peter Dodson, Professor of Paleontology and Veterinary Anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania, participated in further excavation and transported the specimen to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.<ref name=":7" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A cast of the Avaceratops lammersi is on display at the Upper Musselshell Museum in Harlowton.<ref name=":9" />
Geography
[edit]The town is located on the slopes of the Crazy Mountains. Other surrounding mountain ranges include the Big Snowy Mountains, Little Belt Mountains, Bull Mountains, and the Castle Mountains. It is near the Lewis and Clark National Forest.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, all land.<ref name="Gazetteer files">Template:Cite web</ref>
Climate
[edit]According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Harlowton has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.
Demographics
[edit]2010 census
[edit]At the 2010 census,<ref name ="2010 Census">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 997 people, 478 households and 267 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 585 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 95.4% White, 0.7% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population.
There were 478 households, of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.1% were non-families. 40.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.03 and the average family size was 2.71.
The median age in the city was 49.8 years. 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.3% were from 25 to 44; 29.2% were from 45 to 64; and 26.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.
2000 census
[edit]At the 2000 census,<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 1,062 people, 496 households and 281 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 599 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 97.08% White, 0.75% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.98% of the population.
There were 496 households, of which 21.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.3% were non-families. 41.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.79.
20.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 20.0% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 27.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.
The median household income was $23,636 and the median family income was $34,205. Males had a median income of $22,750 compared with $19,265 for females. The per capita income was $13,717. About 4.7% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
[edit]Agriculture has remained a staple for the local economy. The main products are wheat, barley, oats, hay, cattle, sheep, and honey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are many businesses supporting the agriculture industry in Harlowton; the Wheatland County Farm Service Agency, veterinary clinics, a feed store, ranch supply store, auto and mechanical shops, hardware stores, and a saddle repair shop.<ref name=":6" />
Major employers are Wheatland Memorial Healthcare, Harlowton High School, Hillcrest Elementary School, Musselshell Ranger District, Midtown Market 2 Grocery Store, Rays Sport and Western Wear, Cream of the West, Rocky Mountain Cookware, TicketPrinting.com, and the Judith Gap Wind Farm.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref>
Harlowton and Wheatland County boast an industrial business segment, with some truly unique products from stone to steel griddles, honey for your local pancakes to event tickets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The wide variety of products span the globe. E S Stone & Structure Incorporated <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Montana Rock and Stone LLP<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> have multiple stone quarries around the area from which an extensive line of rock and stone products are produced. Rocky Mountain Cookware manufactures die stamped steel griddles and broilers, it was established in 1992.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Steve Park Apiaries provides pollination and offers a variety of beeswax and honey products.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Cream of the West<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> whole grain hot cereal was established in 1914 and its production facility was moved<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> to Harlowton in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Eventgroove is an SaaS company offering event ticketing and fundraising platforms,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and online printing services for tickets and event products.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The main printing facility was opened on September 11, 2001 in Harlowton.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Eventgroove is the largest private employer in Wheatland County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Arts and culture
[edit]Harlowton has two museums, the Upper Musselshell Museum and Harlowton Milwaukee Depot Museum. The Upper Musselshell Museum was founded in 1984 by the Victor Fischer family. It occupies two historic buildings and is filled with rotating displays of the Upper Musselshell's history and paleontology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Museum centerpiece is a full-size replica of the Avaceratops lammersi dinosaur, the first dinosaur found of its kind.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref> The Upper Musselshell Museum is located along Montana's 'Dinosaur Trail' and is open from May until September.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Milwaukee Depot Museum train depot was built in 1908, it was a "Standard Class A Passenger Station", one of several standardized depot plans used by the Milwaukee Road. The passenger Service was discontinued in 1961, and the depot and yards were abandoned by the Milwaukee in 1980. The depot was restored as a Milwaukee Railroad museum.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Displays focus on the history of the town which includes a rich train history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Harlowton Public Library serves the area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Rodeo, Wheatland County Youth Fair, and Harlowton Kiwanis Show are annual events that take place in Harlowton.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Within 100 miles are the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, Charles M. Bair Museum, and Showdown Ski Area.
Parks and recreation
[edit]The Lewis and Clark National Forest offers plenty of acreage for recreational activities; camping, sightseeing, hunting, OHV riding, snowmobiling, etc.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fishing access sites are located along the Musselshell River or at nearby Deadman's Basin or Martinsdale Reservoir.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
There are three parks located within Harlowton: Chief Joseph Park, Deer Park, and Fischer Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The old Milwaukee Railroad trackbed has been converted into the “Smoking Boomer” trail. Of special interest are the pioneer bronze sculpture (entitled And They Called the Land Montana) and the Veteran's Honor Wall located in front of the Wheatland County Court House.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Education
[edit]Harlowton Public Schools educates students from kindergarten through 12th grade.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> School District 16 includes the Hillcrest Elementary (K-6) and Harlowton High School (7-12). Harlowton High School's team name is the Engineers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Media
[edit]Harlowton's local newspaper is The Times Clarion. It is published weekly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Infrastructure
[edit]U.S. Route 12 passes through town from east to west. U.S. Route 191 enters town from the northeast and exits from the southwest.
Wheatland County Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located two miles (4 km) northwest of town.<ref name="FAA">Template:FAA-airport. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective April 5, 2012.</ref>
The Judith Gap Wind Farm is located north of Harlowton along US Highway 191.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are 90 wind turbines situated on 8000 acres of land that produce 135 Megawatts of power.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Judith Gap Wind farm was established in 2011 and is owned by Invenergy LLC.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The power produced by this facility enters the Northwest Energy grid and is distributed where needed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other wind farms located near Harlowton are the Musselshell Wind Project by Shawmut,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Two Dot Wind Farm by Two Dot,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Gordon Butte Wind LLC by Martinsdale.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Health facilities include Wheatland Memorial Healthcare, Deer Creek Dental, Remedies Pharmacy, Harlowton Mental Health Center, Public Health & Human Service Department, Massage Therapy, Wheatland County Senior Citizens Center, and Wheatland Memorial Nursing Home. The Wheatland Memorial Healthcare Center has a Clinic, Emergency Room, Laboratory, X-ray, and Physical Therapy Department.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The financial institutions are the Citizens Bank and Trust Company and the Tricounty Federal Credit Union. Offering insurance needs are the Farm Bureau Insurance Company and Mid-Montana Insurance Company. Harlowton has two motels; the Corral Motel and Country Side Inn.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are clothing stores, thrift stores, boutiques, restaurants and saloons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable people
[edit]- S. Stillman Berry, zoologist, died at Winnecook Ranch, near Harlowton
- Thomas Patrick Gerrity, former United States general and commander of the Air Force Logistics Command, was born here.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]External links
[edit]Template:Commons category-inline
Template:Wheatland County, Montana Template:Montana county seats