Timeline of Billings, Montana

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Billings, Montana, USA.

Prior to 20th century

• 1877 - Homesteaders arrive.^[1]
• 1882
  • Billings Depot built.
  • Billings Herald newspaper begins publication.^[2]
  • Billings Cemetery established.
• 1883
  • Coulson-Billings street railway begins operating.^[3]
  • Billings Fire Brigade organized.
• 1885 - Billings Daily Gazette newspaper begins publication.
• 1889 - Town becomes part of new State of Montana.
• 1891 - The Weekly Times newspaper begins publication.^[2]

20th century

• 1901 - Public Library established.^[4][5]
• 1902 - Billings and Northern Railroad in operation.
• 1903 - Moss Mansion (residence) built.
• 1904 - Northern Hotel in business.
• 1906 - Babcock Theatre built.^[6]
• 1908 - Billings Polytechnic founded.
• 1910
  • Masonic Temple (Billings, Montana) built.
  • Population: 10,031.
• 1912 - Billings and Central Montana Railway in operation.
• 1917 - Cereal Food Processor Building constructed.
• 1927 - Eastern Montana Normal School founded.
• 1928 - Billings Municipal Airport begins operating.^[7]
• 1929 - Yale Oil refinery begins operating.^[8]
• 1931 - Fox Theater opens.
• 1932 - Cobb Field baseball park opens.
• 1935 - Intermountain Union College relocated to Billings (approximate date).
• 1937 - Pictograph Cave excavation begins near city.
• 1944 - St. Patrick's High School established.
• 1947
  • Rocky Mountain College established.
  • Carter Oil Company refinery built near Billings.^[9]
• 1948 - Billings Mustangs baseball team formed.
• 1950
  • Billings Symphony Orchestra founded.
  • Shrine Auditorium built.
  • Population: 31,834.
• 1953 - Billings Studio Theater company founded.
• 1957 - Yellowstone County Courthouse built.
• 1958 - June 2: Tornado.
• 1962 - Kampgrounds of America headquartered in Billings.
• 1964 - Yellowstone Art Center opens.
• 1971 - Western Heritage Center opens.
• 1974 - Sage Tower built.
• 1975
  • Montana Entertainment Trade and Recreation Arena opens.
  • Granite Tower built.
  • Rimrock Mall in business.
• 1977 - Norwest Bank built.
• 1980
  • Sheraton Hotel built.
  • City covered in ash from 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
  • Population: 66,798.
• 1982 - Rocky Plaza condos built.
• 1985 - First Interstate Center built.
• 1986 - Flag of Billings, Montana design adopted.
• 1988 - City filled with smoke from Yellowstone fires of 1988.
• 1990 - Population: 81,151.^[10]
• 1992 - December 18: Airplane crash.^[11]
• 1993 - Billings Bulls ice hockey team formed.
• 1994 - Montana Women's Prison in operation.^[12]
• 1995 - ZooMontana opens.
• 1996 - Charles Tooley becomes mayor.^[13]
• 1999
  • Four Dances Natural Area acquired by US Bureau of Land Management.^[14]
  • City website online.^[15]
  • Mormon Temple dedicated.

21st century

• 2002 - Skypoint awning/sculpture installed.^[16]
• 2007 - Billings Dharma Center dedicated.^[17]
• 2008 - Dehler Park (stadium) opens.
• 2009
  • Magic City Rollers roller derby league formed.^[18]
  • Tom Hanel becomes mayor.^[19]
• 2010
  • June 20: Fathers Day Tornado.^[20]
  • Population: 104,170.
• 2011 - July: Oil pipeline bursts near city.^[21]

See also

• Sections of Billings, Montana
• Crow Indian Reservation, established 1868
• Billings Metropolitan Area
• Media in Billings, Montana
• List of mayors of Billings, Montana
• History of Montana

References

1. Wishart 2004.
2. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
3. Campbell 1915.
4. "Parmly Billings Library". City of Billings. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
5. American Library Annual, 1917-1918. New York: R.R. Bowker Co. 1918.
6. "Historic Theatre Inventory". Maryland, USA: League of Historic American Theatres. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
7. "City of Billings Logan International Airport". City of Billings. Archived from the original on February 13, 2001.
8. "Yale Oil of South Dakota - Billings Facility". Montana Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
9. "ExxonMobil Billings Refinery" (PDF). ExxonMobil. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
10. "Billings". Billings Gazette. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000.
11. "Small Jet Crashes in Montana". New York Times. December 19, 1992.
12. "Montana Women's Prison". Montana Department of Corrections. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
13. "Mayor". City of Billings. Archived from the original on September 2, 2000.
14. "Four Dances". United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
15. "Welcome to Billings Montana". Archived from the original on January 1999 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
16. Ednor Therriault (2010), Montana Curiosities, Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press
17. Pluralism Project. "Billings, Montana". Directory of Religious Centers. Harvard University. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
18. "Magic City Rollers". Billings, MT. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
19. "Meet the Mayors". Washington, DC: United States Conference of Mayors. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
20. "Tornado Tears Through City in Montana". New York Times. June 20, 2010.
21. "Ruptured Montana Pipeline Was Shut Down Before". New York Times. July 3, 2011. Exxon Mobil pipeline

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• "(Billings)", Official Northern Pacific Railway Guide, St. Paul, Minn.: W.C. Riley, 1899

Published in the 20th century

• "Billings, Montana". National Magazine. Boston. November 1905.
• Marius R. Campbell (1915), "Billings", Guidebook of the Western United States: Northern Pacific Route, U.S. Government Printing Office
• Federal Writers' Project (1939). "Billings". Montana: a State Guide Book. American Guide Series. NY: Viking Press. + Chronology
• George Thomas Kurian (1994), "Billings, Montana", World Encyclopedia of Cities, 1: North America, Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO (fulltext via Open Library)

Published in the 21st century

• David J. Wishart, ed. (2004). "Cities and Towns: Billings, Montana". Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-4787-7.

External links

• Items related to Billings, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).
• Materials related to Billings, various dates (via US Library of Congress, Prints & Photos Division).

Coordinates: 45°47′12″N 108°32′14″W / 45.786667°N 108.537222°W