Distinctly Montana Magazine

95 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m G E T T O K N O W G E T T O K N O W A C O U N T Y A C O U N T Y C A R B O N C O U N T Y C A R B O N C O U N T Y O N MARCH 4TH, 1895, THE MON- TANA LEGISLATURE TOOK LAND FROM PARK AND YEL- LOWSTONE COUNTIES TO CREATE CARBON COUNTY, NAMED FOR THE COAL DEPOSITS UNDERLYING THE AREA. Centrally located, the largest town in the new county, Red Lodge, became the county seat. Today, Carbon County covers 2,062 square miles and the 2020 U.S. Census counted 10,473 residents. Note that this is down from a 1920 high of 15,279, but considerably higher than the 1970 low of 7,080—the lowest population ever recorded in the county's history. The county number is 10. The 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty established the Crow's rights to land stretching from the Yellow- stone River to Wyoming's Wind River Mountains, including all of what is now Carbon County. But the treaty was amended, first to allow white settlement, and ulti- mately to diminish considerably the size of the Crow Reservation, following the discovery of coal and gold near Red Lodge. As you may guess, coal played a vital role in the development and growth of Carbon County. A fascinating article in the Mon- tana AHGP (American History and Genealogy Project) titled "Carbon County, 1921," (www.ahgp.org/mt/carbon_coun- ty_montana_1921.html) talks of the 1887 discovery of coal near Red Lodge, which in turn brought the railroad to Carbon Coun- ty. Immigrants from across Europe moved into the area to work in the mines, leaving a lasting impact on the area. Until recent- ly, an annual Festival of Nations celebrated the various ethnic groups who built Red Lodge and Carbon County. I personally visited many times to hear the bagpipes, eat haggis and dance on Scottish Day. Like the county, Red Lodge's population grew rapidly from an 1890 count of 624 to a 1915 high of 6,000. For the next six decades, the decline in mining led to a population decline until 1970's low of 1,844. Since then, the city seems to have stabilized around 2,000 residents. Mining no longer plays the role it did prior to the Great De- pression. It has been replaced by agriculture and tourism. Ag- riculture, primarily in the form of cattle, sugar beets, and fruit orchards, is concentrated in the RED LODGE

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