Editing Belt, Montana (section)

==History==
Belt was home to Montana's first coal mine.<ref name="mhs">{{cite web|title=Montana Place Names Companion|url=http://mtplacenames.org/|publisher=Montana Historical Society|accessdate=July 22, 2017}}</ref> It supplied fuel to [[Fort Benton, Montana|Fort Benton]].<ref name="names">{{cite book|last1=Carkeek Cheney|first1=Roberta|title=Names on the Face of Montana|date=1983|publisher=Mountain Press Publishing Company|location=Missoula, Montana|isbn=0-87842-150-5|page=5}}</ref> During the coal boom the town was referred to as "Little Pittsburgh", "Coal Banks", or "Black Diamond City".<ref>{{cite web |title=Belt Museum |url=https://centralmontana.com/listings/belt-museum/ |publisher=Central Montana Tourism Office |access-date=September 15, 2023}}</ref>  The post office opened on February 2, 1885, with Eugene Clingan as postmaster.<ref name="names" />

Several talented Finnish carpenters and architects contributed to the growth of the town. Fifteen buildings are included in the [[Belt Commercial Historic District]] listing on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nrhpdoc">{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=04001380}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Belt Commercial Historic District / 24CA826 |publisher=[[National Park Service]]|author=Jon Axline |date=April 23, 2003 |accessdate=April 26, 2019}} With {{NRHP url|id=04001380|photos=y|title=accompanying 12 photos from 2002-03}}</ref>

The Belt Museum is housed in the original town jail, also on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref>{{cite web |title=Belt Jail |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/80002400 |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=September 15, 2023}}</ref>

When the Great Falls smelters converted from coal to natural gas in 1930, the town's economy lost a significant source of income.<ref name="travel" />