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Bozeman, Montana

Encyclopedia : B : BO : BOZ : Bozeman, Montana

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Bozeman is a city in southwestern Montana, USA. It is the county seat of Gallatin County. With a 2000 population of 27,509, Bozeman is the fifth largest city in the state. The city is named after John M. Bozeman, founder of the Bozeman Trail. Located in the fastest-growing county in the state [link], Bozeman is an All-America City. Bozeman residents are known as Bozemanites.

Bozeman is home to Montana State University. The local newspaper is the Bozeman Chronicle. Gallatin Field Airport serves the city.

Contents

History

Prehistory

For thousands of years, Native Americans tribes including the Shoshone, Nez Perce, Blackfeet, Flathead and Sioux made the area their home, though the Gallatin Valley was not permanently held by any particular tribe.

19th century

William Clark visited the area in July 1806 as he traveled east from Three Forks along the Gallatin River. The journal entries from Clark's party briefly describes the future city's location in a place the local natives called the "Valley of the Flowers" [link].

In 1863, John Bozeman, along with a partner named John Jacobs, opened the Bozeman Trail, an offshoot from the Oregon Trail leading to the mining town of Virginia City through the Gallatin Valley and the future location of the city of Bozeman.

John Bozeman, with Daniel Rouse and William Bealle platted the town in 1864 stating "standing right in the gate of the mountains ready to swallow up all tenderfeet that would reach the territory from the east, with their golden fleeces to be taken care of...". The Indian Wars closed the Bozeman Trail in 1868, but the town's fertile land attracted permanent settlers.

In 1866 Nelson Story arrived with 3,000 head of longhorn cattle sneaking past angry Native Americans and the U.S. Army who tried to turn Story back for safety reasons. Those first cattle formed the first herd in Montana's cattle industry.

Fort Ellis was established in 1868 by Captain R. S. LaMotte and two companies of the 2nd Cavalry, after the mysterious death of John Bozeman near Yellowstone and considerable political disturbance in the area led local settlers and miners to feel a need for added protection. The fort, named for Gettysburg casualty Colonel Augustus Van Horne Ellis, was decommissioned in 1886 and very few remains are left at the actual site, now occupied by the Fort Ellis Experimental Station of Montana State University [link]. In addition to Fort Ellis, a short-lived fort, Fort Elizabeth Meahger (also simply known as Fort Meagher), was established in 1867 by volunteer militiamen. This fort was located eight miles east of town on Rock Creek.

Northern Pacific Railway tracks finally reached the small town in 1883. By 1900, Bozeman's population reached 3,500.

20th century

In two episodes of , Carbon Creek and Desert Crossing, the city was named as the fictional location of First Contact (as shown in the movie Star Trek: First Contact) between Vulcans and Humans, an obvious nod from Bozeman native and Star Trek producer Brannon Braga. A starship in the episode Cause and Effect is also named after the town, the USS Bozeman.

In 1906, a Chinese immigrant name Lu-Sing murdered another Chinese immigrant named Tom Sing (no relation). In a fascinating summary defense, witness indicate that Lu-Sing acted in self-defense but Lu-Sing was found guilty and hanged outside the Bozeman Jail [link].

The first Federal Building and Post Office was built in 1915. Many years later, while empty, it was used along with downtown Bozeman in filming A River Runs Through It (1992) by Robert Redford and starring Brad Pitt. It is now used by HRDC, a community organization.

Bozeman's filmmaking connection is continued with an annual arts festival, HATCHfest, that takes place in early October and attracts entertainment industry notables who mentor film, music, design, architecture, art, fashion and writing students. Past industry notables who were involved in this unique mentoring opportunity include: Peter Fonda, Bill Pullman, Michael Keaton, Dean Cain, John Dahl, Jim Brubaker, Erica Huggins, Jack Green, Patrick Markey and William Fichtner.

Geography

Bozeman is located at [45°40′40″N, 111°2′50″W] (45.677890, -111.047274)[Geographic references#1GR1], in the Gallatin Valley with the Bridger Mountains to the east, the Tobacco Root Mountains to the west, the Big Belt Mountains to the north, and the Spanish Peaks and Gallatin Range to the south. Interstate 90 passes through the city, with the city lying 60 miles east of Butte, Montana (87 by road), 125 miles west of Billings, Montana (143 by road), and 93 miles north of Yellowstone National Park.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.6 km² (12.6 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 27,509 people, 10,877 households, and 5,014 families residing in the city. The population density was 843.0/km² (2,183.8/mi²). There were 11,577 housing units at an average density of 354.8/km² (919.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.73% White, 0.33% African American, 1.24% Native American, 1.62% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population.

There were 10,877 households out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.9% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city the population was spread out with 16.0% under the age of 18, 33.0% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 14.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 111.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,156, and the median income for a family was $41,723. Males had a median income of $28,794 versus $20,743 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,104. About 9.2% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable People Involved With Bozeman

Points of interest

External links

State of Montana

Regions
Eastern Montana - Western Montana - Inland Empire - Glacier National Park - Southwestern Montana - Bighorn Country
Largest cities
Anaconda | Belgrade | Billings | Bozeman | Butte | Evergreen | Glendive | Great Falls | Havre | Helena | Kalispell | Laurel | Lewistown | Livingston | Miles City | Missoula | Sidney | Whitefish
Counties
Beaverhead - Big Horn - Blaine - Broadwater - Carbon - Carter - Cascade - Chouteau - Custer - Daniels - Dawson - Deer Lodge - Fallon - Fergus - Flathead - Gallatin - Garfield - Glacier - Golden Valley - Granite - Hill - Jefferson - Judith Basin - Lake - Lewis and Clark - Liberty - Lincoln - Madison - McCone - Meagher - Mineral - Missoula - Musselshell - Park - Petroleum - Phillips - Pondera - Powder River - Powell - Prairie - Ravalli - Richland - Roosevelt - Rosebud - Sanders - Sheridan - Silver Bow - Stillwater - Sweet Grass - Teton - Toole - Treasure - Valley - Wheatland - Wibaux - Yellowstone

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