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Billings is a city located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Montana. Billings is rapidly growing; As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 89,847, and a 2006 city estimate indicates the city's population has grown to 101,182 ... more »
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Billings is rapidly growing; As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 89,847, and a 2006 city estimate indicates the city's population has grown to 101,182 (up 10.9% or 11,281 since 2000). Billings is the chief city in the Billings Metropolitan Area and is the county seat of Yellowstone County. In terms of population, it is the largest metropolitan area in Montana. It is nicknamed the Magic City because of its rapid growth from its founding as a railroad town in 1882. It was said that Billings "grew like magic." Billings is named for Frederick H. Billings, president of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Due to Billings' status as the largest city in a 500 mile radius (south-central and eastern Montana and northern Wyoming), it serves as a shopping and accommodation center for area residents and highway travelers. The city's proximity to Yellowstone National Park, Pompey's Pillar, and the area where the Battle of the Little Bighorn was fought also draws a large number of tourists, especially during the summer months. Such traffic in recent years is largely due to Billings being on the most significant highway in Montana, Interstate 90.
Billings is located with two thirds of the city in the Yellowstone Valley, the city being divided into the Valley and the Heights by the Rims, a long cliff, also called the Rimrocks. Billings is surrounded by six mountain ranges, the Beartooth Mountains to the west, the Pryor Mountains and Bighorn Mountains to the south, the Crazy Mountains to the northeast, the Big Snowy Mountains to the north and the Wolf Mountains to the south east.
Most of Billings is located in the Yellowstone Valley, carved out by the Yellowstone River. Over 10 million years ago, this valley was underwater with the tops of the Rims being a prehistoric beach. It is not unusual to find fossilized fish in the area.
Billings was founded in 1877 and established in 1882 in the Montana Territory near the already-existing town of Coulson. Coulson had been situated on the Yellowstone River, which made it ideal for the commerce that Steamboats brought up the river. However, when the Montana & Minnesota Land Company oversaw the development of potential railroad land, they ignored Coulson, and platted the new town of Billings several miles to the West. When the Northern Pacific Railroad was built, Coulson died as Billings flourished. The land that was once the town of Coulson is now Coulson Park. Northern Pacific Railroad President Frederick Billings, along with other executives of the railroad, bought land in the Yellowstone Valley, then later sold it back to his own railroad. This practice was both legal and common at the time.
Billings suffered from a major flood in 1937. After World War II, Billings boomed into a major financial, medical and cultural center in the region. In the 1960's, Billings surpassed Great Falls as Montana's largest city. In the 1970's, Billings suffered a short decline in population due to the oil crisis. The population quickly rebounded in the early 1980's and has never declined since. Billings was affected by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in May; the city received about an inch of ash on the ground. Billings received the All-America City Award in 1992.
Today Billings continues to be the financial, medical, agriculural, and cultural center in a 500 mile radius and continues to be the "Star of the Big Sky Country." In 2002 Skypoint was completed. Sixteen- and twelve-story mixed-use buildings are proposed for downtown Billings. In 2005, the people of Billings elected former Police Chief Ron Tussing as Mayor. He was sworn in January 9, 2006.
Billings has experienced continued growth in the recent years, never declining in population like most of the rest of the eastern portion of the state, as well as most of the Great Plains states. It has avoided this trend by being in close proximity to the mountainous regions of Wyoming and Montana, making it a tourist hotspot.
This growth can be seen all over the city, with a new Wal-Mart and Target popping up in the Heights (making them the second of both in the city, the others are on the West End). New housing subdivisions are crowding a once sparse highway to the nearby town of Laurel and the medical corridor never seems to stop expanding. The population of the city is constantly on the march toward the 100,000 mark. Some see Billings becoming the next Boise, Idaho or Reno, Nevada.
Interstates and Highways
Interstate 90 runs east/west through Billings. Interstate 94 begins a few miles east of the city limits. U.S. Highway 87 is the north/south highway that begins on the edge on the Heights and is northest of Downtown Billings. Note: US 87 North does not go through Billings, It turns into Main Street in the Heights before connecting to U.S. Highway 87 East.
Bus
The Billings METropolitan Transit, the MET, provides public transportation. Greyhound has an eastern terminus at Billings; Rimrock Trailways also provides regional and interstate bus service.
Train
The nearest Amtrak stop is on the Hi-Line, 200 miles north of Billings.
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Billings Logan International Airport
Billings Logan International Airport, located northwest of downtown Billings, offers non-stop service to a number of cities in the western United States and within Montana.
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