Billings MT Moving Companies

Billings, Montana

Billings, Montana is a vibrant community known for its quiet neighborhoods and bustling business districts. With many community groups and recreational and cultural activities, the city offers something for the entire family. The Billings area has evolved into a center of commerce with a great small town feel. Those moving to Billings will find a warm and genuine place.

History:
Billings was founded in 1882 by the Northern Pacific Railroad as a railhead for the company's western line and named for the president of the railroad, Frederick Billings. Over the next six months, more than 2,000 people settled in the town, which was incorporated as a city in 1885. During the early 20th century, families of settlers known as "homesteaders" arrived in the area, taking advantage of the offer of free land. Conditions were difficult, but many families struggled through their first years and eventually developed successful farms. Irrigation had been introduced in the Yellowstone Valley in 1879. Sugar beet growing was thus made possible, and a sugar refinery was built in 1906. Immigrant laborers came to work the fields. The Russo-German workers were unusually industrious; soon they bought their own land at the Huntley Irrigation project outside Billings, where they constituted a third of the population by 1940. Billings grew steadily during the 1900s, spurred on by the development of vast natural resources such as minerals, coal, natural gas, and oil. In 1933, pulp-drying equipment was installed at the sugar refinery; a thriving livestock industry developed around animals fed on beet pulp. By 1938 more than 600,000 acres of land around Billings was irrigated. A true hub city and gateway to the West, Billings has become the commercial, health care, and cultural capital of the "Midland Empire," a vast area of agricultural, mountainous, wilderness, and sometimes forbidding terrain that includes eastern Montana, the western Dakotas, and Northern Wyoming. It is also an important refining and shipping center for agricultural and energy products.

Economy:
Agriculture has been one of the leading economic forces in Billings since its founding, and it continues to play a major role today. The city is the transportation, processing and packaging center for this large, productive area. The main agricultural products include sugar beets, grain, and livestock such as cattle and sheep. The energy industry is also an important part of the economic picture in Billings. Billings is the retail and wholesale trade center for a vast area of land in the northern Rocky Mountain States and a primary and secondary market population of almost half a million people. Billings is also the medical and educational capital of the region. The city's medical community, including two major hospitals and more than 40 clinics, provides the most advanced health care in the four-state area. Three major colleges and a highly rated public school system provide jobs and a well-trained workforce. It is also difficult to underestimate the impact of tourism and recreational diversity on the area's economy. The proximity of nearby Yellowstone National Park, as well as a wide array of other wilderness territories, mountain trails, rivers, and streams in the area bring much-needed tourist dollars and act as a magnet to companies and workers looking to relocate. Three oil refineries make Billings and Yellowstone County the oil-refining capital of the northern Rockies. Exxon-Mobil and Conoco-Phillips operate refineries in the Billings area.

Tourism:
Head over to Pictograph Cave State Park. There you can experience rock paintings that tell the story of the prehistoric people who took shelter in these sandstone caves 4,500 years ago. The 23-acre park also contains well-equipped picnic areas. Next, head over to the Yellowstone Art Museum. This extensive permanent collection of contemporary and historic art of America's Rocky Mountain West includes more than 3,000 significant paintings and drawings including the works of cowboy illustrator Will James. Then, a prominent architect designed the Moss Mansion. This huge, red-sandstone, turn-of-the-century mansion has been shown on TV and in films, and combines several architectural styles inside. For a bit of family fun, visit Zoo Montana. The focus is on animal life in northern latitude, temperate climates with a variety of state-of-the-art habitats and exhibits including river otters, black-footed ferrets, Siberian tigers and bald eagles. Finally, if you’re looking to get outside, check out Pryor Mountains. Located south of Billings, these mountains boast beautiful vistas, spectacular canyons and high mountain meadows for hiking, camping and hunting.

Colleges and Universities:

• Montana State University - Billings
• Rocky Mountain College
• Walla-Walla University

Interesting Facts:

• Billings, the county seat of Yellowstone County, was named after Frederick Billings who was the president of the Northern Pacific Railroad from 1879 to 1881.
• The city was nicknamed, the “Magic City,” not long after it was founded in 1882, because of the immediate growth in population.
• At one time Billings was the largest inland wool shipping point in the U.S.