Editing Sidney, Montana (section)

==History==
[[Settlers]] began arriving in the area in the 1870s, and a [[post office]] was established in 1888.<ref name="mhs">{{cite web |title=Sidney |url=http://mtplacenames.org/ |website=Montana Place Names Companion |publisher=Montana Historical Society |access-date=April 9, 2021}}</ref> Six-year-old Sidney Walters and his parents were staying with Hiram Otis, the local [[justice of the peace]], and Otis decided that Sidney was a good name for the town. The following year, [[Montana]] became a state and Sidney was incorporated in 1911.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sidneymt.com/history.htm |title=History |date=December 4, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041204101651/http://www.sidneymt.com/history.htm |archive-date=December 4, 2004}}</ref>

Sidney was originally part of [[Dawson County, Montana|Dawson County]], but became the county seat of Richland County at its inception in 1914.<ref name="RoM">{{cite book |last1=Greenfield |first1=Chas. |title=Resources of Montana |date=1920 |publisher=Montana. Dept. of Agriculture, Labor, and Industry |page=174 |edition=1920 |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=xSYmAQAAIAAJ&pg=GBS.PA174&hl=en |access-date=September 1, 2023}}</ref>

Agriculture became an important part of the region after the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://esidney.com/sugardays/lyipsmmry.html |title=Lower Yellowstone |date=December 21, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041221044451/http://esidney.com/sugardays/lyipsmmry.html |archive-date=December 21, 2004}}</ref> was completed in 1909. A dam was built on the river south of [[Glendive, Montana|Glendive]], which diverted water from the river into a {{convert|115.2|km|mi|abbr=on}} main canal, which runs north–south, parallel to the Yellowstone, irrigating land from Glendive north up to [[Fairview, Montana|Fairview]], where it drains into the [[Missouri River]]. This project irrigates {{convert|51429|acre|km2}} and serves water to 450 farms, according to the manager of the  Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Districts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/archives/106cong/water/99oct07/nypen.htm |title=October 7, 1999: Witness Statement - Jerry Nypen; Manager, Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Districts |date=December 25, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041225034328/http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/archives/106cong/water/99oct07/nypen.htm |archive-date=December 25, 2004}}</ref>

During the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], Montana artist [[J. K. Ralston]] painted a [[Federal Arts Project]] mural at the Richland County Courthouse in Sidney.<ref name = "bookofdays">{{Cite book|publisher=Historic Montana Publishing |isbn=9780966335569 |last=Smith |first=Jeffrey J |title=The Montana book of days: the short course in Montana history |location=Missoula, Montana |date=2003 |page=93}}</ref>

The town received a boost in 1924 when the [[Imperial Sugar|Holly Sugar Company]] opened up a sugar refinery in Sidney to process locally grown sugar beets.<ref name="mhs" />

The area experienced an [[petroleum|oil]] boom and bust in the late 1970s and early 1980s, bringing an influx of people to the town for a short period of time. Around the start of the 21st century, the town experienced another surge in oil exploration activity.<ref name="oil boom">{{cite web |last1=Zuckerman |first1=Laura  |title=U.S. oil shale boom puts big squeeze on small towns |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-energy-boomtowns/u-s-oil-shale-boom-puts-big-squeeze-on-small-towns-idUSL2E8DP1EG20120225 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=September 1, 2023 |date=February 25, 2012}}</ref>