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Miles City ( chy, Ma'xemâhoévé'ho'eno) is a city in and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of Custer County,
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Colu ...
, United States. The population was 8,354 at the 2020 census.


History

After the
Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, No ...
in 1876, the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
created forts in eastern Montana, including one where the north-flowing Tongue River flowed into the east-flowing
Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains an ...
. The first fort was known as the Tongue River Cantonment or the Tongue River Barracks and was founded on August 27, 1876. A second, permanent fort was constructed on higher ground two miles to the west of the mouth of the Tongue and this became Fort Keogh.
Fort Keogh Fort Keogh is a former United States Army post located at the western edge of modern Miles City, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is situated on the south bank of the Yellowstone River, at the mouth of the Tongue River. Colonel Nelson A. Miles, ...
(named after Captain Myles Keogh, one of the battle dead, whose horse, Comanche, was the lone survivor of Custer's command) started as a few rough winter cabins, but grew into a moderate sized western fort, from which its commander, General Nelson A. Miles, effectively brought the remaining "uncontrolled" Native Americans into subjugation during the last decade of the 1800s. Nelson Miles said that "whiskey caused him more trouble than the Indians" and, after tiring of drunken soldiers causing problems during the winter campaign, evicted the
sutler A sutler or victualer is a civilian merchant who sells provisions to an army in the field, in camp, or in quarters. Sutlers sold wares from the back of a wagon or a temporary tent, traveling with an army or to remote military outposts. Sutler wago ...
s who provided "liquid stock" in the spring of 1877. Moving two miles due east of the Tongue River Cantonment, these early merchants founded the first Miles City. Although fondly referred to as "Milestown," the first post office and first official plat both called the town "Miles City." When the old cantonment moved two miles west, the town literally picked up and followed, moving to the current site. The last occupants of Old Miles City stayed on until 1900 but the new community was the one that grew. Before the town itself was founded, George Miles, the nephew of General Miles, who had accompanied his uncle on the western expedition and served in the quartermasters office, bought a herd of sheep, the first of many commercial enterprises in his involvement with the core founders of the town. Livestock speculation brought thousands of cattle to the open ranges in the late 1880s, the railroad was extended through the area, and Texas drove numerous cattle to Miles City to fatten them on free grass and move them to where they could be loaded on trains bound for the slaughterhouses in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
(
Milwaukee Railroad The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced ...
). The City of Miles City was incorporated in 1887 and the first mayor was Eugene Henry "Skew" Johnson (born July 27, 1846, in Clarksville, Arkansas, died July 31, 1919, in Miles City, Montana) who served for one term. Miles City established a municipal electric utility around 1887 and it was a source of civic pride (as any city would have towards its own utilities) until a traveling employee of Minnesota Northern Power (predecessor of MDU Resources Group, Inc.) told the city council "the emperor has no clothes;" i.e., the system was far less efficient and in worse shape than they thought. The city council eventually put the question to the voters who instructed the city to sell the utility. By this time, the people with the Montana Power Company (now NorthWestern Energy's Montana division) became aware of this and were soon locked in an epic battle with Minnesota Northern over the franchise. A franchise election was held to determine who would serve Miles City on June 28, 1927. Minnesota Northern won by a scant 16 votes. Miles City experienced rapid growth until the 1920s and 1930s, but became overshadowed by the upstart upriver town of Billings, which was at the cross roads of transportation routes. Billings became a banking center, oil refining center, and medical service center and is now the largest city in the state. The publicly owned
Miles City Municipal Airport Miles City Airport or Frank Wiley Field is a city-owned airport two miles northwest of Miles City, in Custer County, Montana, United States. The airport was served by one airline, subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. EAS subsidies e ...
is located less than two miles (3 km) from town. Notably, it was the site of an early scheduled airline crash, involving
Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
Flight 1, which caught fire and crashed shortly after takeoff in January 1939.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern term ...
passes through the community, with access from Exits 135, 138, and 141.
Montana Highway 59 Highway 59 (MT 59) is a state highway in Montana, United States, that connects Wyoming Highway 59 (WYO 59) in Wyoming with Montana Highway 200 (MT 200) near the south end of the town of Jordan. WYO 59 continues south to the city ...
runs north–south. The Tongue River flows into Yellowstone River at the town. Pirogue Island State Park is just outside of town.


Climate

The city holds the record for the highest mean sea level pressure in the contiguous United States with a reading of 31.42
inHg Inch of mercury (inHg and ″Hg) is a non- SI unit of measurement for pressure. It is used for barometric pressure in weather reports, refrigeration and aviation in the United States. It is the pressure exerted by a column of mercury in heigh ...
(1064 mb) on December 24, 1983. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Miles City has a
cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-a ...
, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.


Giant snowflake

''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' reports that the largest natural snowflake ever measured, in diameter, was recorded at Fort Keogh on January 28, 1887. However, there is no corroborating evidence to support this claim.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2010, there were 8,410 people, 3,677 households, and 2,082 families living in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberP ...
was . There were 4,000 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.3%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.3%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
, 1.7% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...
, 0.6% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.6% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...
or Latino of any race were 2.4% of the population. There were 3,677 households, of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.0% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.4% were non-families. 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age in the city was 40.6 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.7% were from 25 to 44; 27.6% were from 45 to 64; and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.


2000 census

As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2000, there were 8,487 people, 3,528 households, and 2,194 families living in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberP ...
was 2,593.3 people per square mile (1,002.1/km2). There were 3,890 housing units at an average density of 1,188.7 per square mile (459.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.72%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 0.12%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
, 1.39% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...
, 0.44% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.00% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties form ...
or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population. There were 3,528 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,847, and the median income for a family was $41,190. Males had a median income of $30,123 versus $18,750 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $16,449. About 9.4% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.


Media

The Miles City Star is the town's newspaper.


Radio stations

* KATL (AM 770) –
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
* KMTA (AM 1050) –
Oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
* KIKC (AM 1250) –
Oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
* KYPR (FM 90.7) – NPR station * KYUS-FM (92.3 FM) – Adult Hits * KIKC-FM (101.3 FM) –
Country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...


Events


1944 ice jam

In March 1944, an ice jam on the
Yellowstone River The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the Western United States. Considered the principal tributary of upper Missouri, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountains an ...
caused flooding which reached into Miles City. After unsuccessful attempts to clear the jam using local resources, help was requested from the Army Air Corps by the Montana governor. A B-17 bomber was dispatched from nearby Rapid City,
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large portio ...
and cleared the ice jam using 250-pound bombs.


Annual bucking horse sale

The largest event of the year is the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale held in May. Miles City is also home to the Eastern Montana Fair and is the commercial hub of southeastern Montana. The sale is generally held regardless of weather.


Education

Miles Community College was founded in 1939. The current average student to faculty ratio is 11:1; class sizes range from 8 to 50 students; and over 85% of the students qualify for financial aid. Miles Community College also features free tutoring at the Center for Academic Success. The Judson H. Flower, Jr. Library is located within the main building of Miles Community College, and is equipped with computer lab and INFOTRAC. Custer County District High School is the only high school in the entire county; some students drive as many as to school. Much of the population's livelihood involves agriculture – entirely or in part; therefore, the National FFA Organization (Future Farmers of America) organization is very active and about 20% of the student population belong to it. The school is famous for its Chorale, which travels extensively including a trip to Carnegie Hall in NYC in 2005 and a trip to Washington D.C. in 2007. The school boasts that its seniors have an average ACT score of 23 and that 57% of the graduating seniors go on to complete their education at a 4-year university. Miles City also has 4 elementary schools, Lincoln (3-6), Highland Park (k-2), Jefferson (k-2), Garfield (1-6) and a middle school, Washington School (7 and 8). Washington Middle School boasts many extra curricular activities, including sports, builder's club and student council. There is also one parochial school,
Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...
(pre K-8). Miles City Public Library serves the area.


Places of interest

Woodruff Park provides picnic opportunities in the Pine Hills east of town on the road to Baker (Hwy 12). Spotted Eagle recreation area provides picnic, fishing, swimming, and hiking. Also on the Baker road, but much closer to town, just past the Interstate, are the Strawberry Hills, good for short hikes and climbs. The highest point in the vicinity is Signal Butte (3,051 feet / 929.94 meters above sea level), said to have been used by Native Americans for communication, but used for decades by radio and sometimes TV antennas. Signal Butte lies at the edge of an area of
badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, ...
, a striking arid vista of eroded sedimentary soil, sporting multi-colored layers exposed by the erosion. The land contains sandstone formations in the midst of sagebrush and cedar trees growing in a soil that turns to
gumbo Gumbo (Louisiana Creole: Gombo) is a soup popular in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the official state cuisine. Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish (or sometimes both), a thickener, and the Creole " ...
when wet. Airport Hill is the elevated bluff of the north bank of the Yellowstone River, and Paragon Pit is a remote area of the north bank opposite of Fort Keogh frequented by teenagers over the years. 12 Mile Dam spans the Tongue River and attracts teens in the summer for water sport. Being shallow, the Tongue River is often used for tubing. The former Fort Keogh once boasted an Air Force radar station and still houses a state Extension Experiment Station. Near the highway is the site of a state fish hatchery, and nearby, a double humped butte is known locally as "Camelback". Miles City lies at the mouth of the north flowing Tongue River as it empties into the eastward flowing Yellowstone River. Both rivers are fished regularly, but yield mostly catfish, carp and a junk fish known locally as " shiners". Many local reservoirs are stocked with edible fish from the hatchery in Miles City.


Trinity Lutheran Church

There are 21 places of worship in Miles City. Trinity Lutheran Church was founded in 1906 as a preaching station with German services and served by missionaries following on the newly built
Northern Pacific Railroad The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whi ...
to hold services for German settlers in Miles City. During the anti-German hysteria of WWI, preaching in German was outlawed in Montana, including for worship at Trinity, Miles City. Now it is an English-speaking congregation in the Montana District of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). It also operates a school.


Notable people

* Walter A. Burleigh, non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the Dakota Territory * Noelle E. Cockett, geneticist and president of
Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...
* Emily Danforth, professor and author of '' The Miseducation of Cameron Post'' * Caleb Frare, professional baseball pitcher * Maurice Hilleman,
microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of para ...
*
Elmer Holt William Elmer Holt (October 14, 1884 – March 1, 1945) was an American politician. He served as the tenth Governor of Montana from 1935 to 1937. Biography Holt was born in Savannah, Missouri, and moved with his family to a ranch in Miles City, ...
, tenth governor of
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Colu ...
* George Lynch, race car driver * Jeff Meyer, television director * Merle Greene Robertson, art historian and renowned scholar of the pre-Columbian
Maya civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, a ...
. * Curt Schmidt,
Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...
pitcher * James Arnold von der Heydt, lawyer and judge of the
United States District Court for the District of Alaska The United States District Court for the District of Alaska (in case citations, D. Alaska) is a federal court in the Ninth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...
100 Years of Alaska's Legislature A. Von James
/ref> * Larry R. Williams, commodity trader, author, and father of
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-nominated actress, Michelle Williams *
George Winston George Winston (born December 26, 1949) is an American pianist, guitarist, harmonicist, and record producer. He was born in Michigan and raised mainly in Montana ( Miles City and Billings), as well as Mississippi and Florida. He is best known ...
, pianist


References


External links


City website

Community website

''The Miles City Star''

''The Miles City Live HD Camera''

''1944 Bombing of Miles City''
{{Authority control Cities in Montana Cities in Custer County, Montana County seats in Montana