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Bozeman, Montana

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Bozeman, Montana
Nickname: 
The Bozone
Location of Bozeman, Montana
Location of Bozeman, Montana
CountyGallatin
Government
 • City ManagerChris Kukulski
Population
 (2000)
 • Total27,509
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
Websitehttp://www.bozeman.net/

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 [1], Bozeman is an All-America City (awarded in 2001)[2]. Bozeman residents are known as Bozemanites.

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

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 party camped 3 miles east of what is now Bozeman, at the mouth of Kelly Canyon. 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" [3].

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 1867 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 [4]. 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 1906, a Chinese immigrant name Lu-Sing murdered another Chinese immigrant named Tom Sing (no relation). In a fascinating summary defense, witnesses indicate that Lu-Sing acted in self-defense but Lu-Sing was found guilty and hanged outside the Bozeman Jail [5].

In the 1930s local ordinances prohibited dancing anywhere in town after midnight, and in beer halls at any time. It was illegal to drink beer standing up, so all the bars had plenty of stools.

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

Montana State University in recent years has graduated a number of pioneering scientists and engineers who have stayed in Bozeman and founded technology companies that compete on a national and global level. Local technology companies such as Zoot Enterprises and RightNow Technologies have in turn recruited many Montana State University Graduates to help build an innovative and dedicated workforce. The University's Museum of the Rockies was put on the map by famed paleontologist Jack Horner.

Residents and visitors enjoy easy access to skiing at the Big Sky Ski Resort, although many locals prefer the closer and cheaper Bridger Bowl Ski Area. Plentiful recreational activities and the free marketing the area received from A River Runs Through It and The Horse Whisperer have combined to bring a steady influx of new residents and visitors.

In two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, "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. The starship USS Bozeman appears in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect", another reference to Braga's hometown and is referenced as having been affected by the energy ribbon in Star Trek: Generations

In the popular television show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Las Vegas Crime Scene Investigator Level 3 Catherine Willows is originally from Bozeman. In the spinoff show CSI: NY, Detective Lindsay Monroe is also a Bozeman native and had been a CSI there for 3 years before her transfer to New York at the request of Mac Taylor. Because of her roots in Bozeman, Lindsay is given the nickname "Montana" by co-worker Detective Danny Messer. In a 2007 episode, Lindsay returns to Bozeman to testify as a witness for the prosecution in a quadruple homicide case in which she is the lone survivor.

Bozeman was also featured in the movie Supervolcano, where it is destroyed by an eruption at Yellowstone.

Bozeman is the hometown of Dale, a character from Heroes, featured in the episode "Unexpected".

Lincoln Burrows makes a call from a Bozeman bridge in the second season of the hit TV series Prison Break.

Bozeman is also featured in the Paramount Pictures film, "Shooter", starring Mark Wahlberg.

In the film "Silence of The Lambs", Jodie Foster's character mentions while she was living on a Montana ranch as a young girl, she was sent to "live at the Lutheran orphanage in Bozeman" after trying to save sheep from slaughter.

Geography and Climate

Bozeman is located at 45°40′40″N 111°2′50″W / 45.67778°N 111.04722°W / 45.67778; -111.04722Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (45.677890, -111.047274)Template:GR, in the Gallatin Valley with the Bridger Mountains to the northeast, the Tobacco Root Mountains to the west, the Big Belt Mountains to the north, the Hyalites to the south and the Spanish Peaks and Gallatin Range to the southwest. 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.

Climate in Bozeman and the surrounding area is fairly unique in that it receives significantly higher rainfall, up to 24 inches of precipitation annually vs. 8-12 in much of Montana[6]. Combined with fertile soils, plant growth is relatively lush. This undoubtedly contributed to the early nickname "Valley of the flowers" and the establishment of the state's Montana Agricultural College.

Demographics

As of the 2000 censusTemplate:GR, 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.

As of 2006, Bozeman has sustained a consistent 5% to 7% growth rate since the last US Census edging the municipal population towards 40,000 people. To address the impacts of rapid growth, local government officials have had the difficult job of researching controversial measures such as county wide zoning, inclusionary zoning, transfer of development rights, and other land use regulation.

Notable People Involved With Bozeman

Points of interest

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