Colstrip, Montana
Encyclopedia
Colstrip is a city in Rosebud County
, Montana
, United States
. The population was 2,346 at the 2000 census. Established in 1924 and incorporated as a city in 1998, Colstrip is the largest city in Rosebud County with 25% of the total population. Colstrip's primary industries are coal mining
and electricity production. For the Sports Illustrated
Magazine's 50th anniversary, it named Colstrip the top sports town in Montana. The entire community celebrates Colstrip Days annually on the weekend prior to the 4th of July
. The primary way to travel to Colstrip is by driving. See the video Coal Strip Tease for a driving tour of Colstrip.
in 1924 as a company town
to provide coal for their steam locomotives. The mining is open pit strip mining, where draglines remove soil above the layer of bituminous coal
from the Fort Union Formation
.
During World War II
, the Colstrip mine was identified as strategically important because it supplied coal for the Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotives hauling military equipment for the war effort. The mine was guarded from sabotage, and the employees were not allowed to quit their jobs.
In 1958 the railroad switched to using diesel locomotives and the Colstrip mine was shut down. In 1959 Montana Power Company
purchased the rights to the mine and the town, and resumed mining operations in the 1970s with plans to build coal-fired electrical plants.
The power plants were built in the 1970s and 1980s by a collection of contractors including Bechtel
. During this construction period Colstrip was a boomtown
, with a large increase in population. Plants 1 & 2 were operational in 1975 and 1976, and plants 3 & 4 were operational in 1984 and 1986.
In 1974 construction of Colstrip's 150 acre (0.607029 km²) Castle Rock Lake (formerly named surge pond) was completed. The Colstrip plants produce electricity from coal using steam. The water for the steam is pumped in an underground pipe 30 miles (48.3 km) from the Yellowstone River
and stored in the lake. The lake is stocked with fish and the home for a wide variety of wildlife.
In 1990 the Colstrip Energy Limited Project started commercial operations. Located six miles (10 km) north of Colstrip, this experimental electricity production facility is owned by Rosebud Energy Corp., a partnership that at one point included Enron
. The plant uses high sulfur waste coal from the Rosebud Coal Mine's topmost one foot layer of coal.
In 1998 plants 1-4 were sold to PPL Corporation (PPL), and the Rosebud Coal Mine was sold to Westmoreland Mining LLC.
In this same year the City of Colstrip was incorporated.
. The nearest college is Chief Dull Knife College
in Lame Deer
. Colstrip is about 20 miles (32.2 km) north of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation
. Many Cheyenne
students from the reservation attend school at the high school, making up about one third of the students.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²), all of it land.
.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 2,346 people, 825 households, and 674 families residing in the city. The population density
was 522.6 people per square mile (201.7/km²). There were 936 housing units at an average density of 208.5 per square mile (80.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.93% White, 0.68% African American, 11.30% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.51% from other races
, and 3.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.15% of the population.
There were 825 households out of which 48.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.8% were married couples
living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.3% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 34.4% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 3.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 106.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $55,650, and the median income for a family was $60,352. Males had a median income of $54,241 versus $25,234 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $20,336. About 5.9% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Rosebud County, Montana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,383 people, 3,307 households, and 2,417 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile . There were 3,912 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 2,346 at the 2000 census. Established in 1924 and incorporated as a city in 1998, Colstrip is the largest city in Rosebud County with 25% of the total population. Colstrip's primary industries are coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
and electricity production. For the Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
Magazine's 50th anniversary, it named Colstrip the top sports town in Montana. The entire community celebrates Colstrip Days annually on the weekend prior to the 4th of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
. The primary way to travel to Colstrip is by driving. See the video Coal Strip Tease for a driving tour of Colstrip.
History
Colstrip was established by the Northern Pacific RailwayNorthern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
in 1924 as a company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
to provide coal for their steam locomotives. The mining is open pit strip mining, where draglines remove soil above the layer of bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
from the Fort Union Formation
Fort Union Formation
The Fort Union Formation is a geologic unit containing sandstones, shales, and coal beds in Wyoming, Montana, and parts of adjacent states. In the Powder River Basin, it contains important economic deposits of coal, uranium, and coalbed methane....
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Colstrip mine was identified as strategically important because it supplied coal for the Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotives hauling military equipment for the war effort. The mine was guarded from sabotage, and the employees were not allowed to quit their jobs.
In 1958 the railroad switched to using diesel locomotives and the Colstrip mine was shut down. In 1959 Montana Power Company
Montana Power Company
The Montana Power Company was an electric utility company based in Butte, Montana which provided electricity to Montana consumers and industry from 1912 to 1997.- History :...
purchased the rights to the mine and the town, and resumed mining operations in the 1970s with plans to build coal-fired electrical plants.
The power plants were built in the 1970s and 1980s by a collection of contractors including Bechtel
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...
. During this construction period Colstrip was a boomtown
Boomtown
A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
, with a large increase in population. Plants 1 & 2 were operational in 1975 and 1976, and plants 3 & 4 were operational in 1984 and 1986.
In 1974 construction of Colstrip's 150 acre (0.607029 km²) Castle Rock Lake (formerly named surge pond) was completed. The Colstrip plants produce electricity from coal using steam. The water for the steam is pumped in an underground pipe 30 miles (48.3 km) from the Yellowstone River
Yellowstone River
The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the western United States. Considered the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, the river and its tributaries drain a wide area stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of the Yellowstone National...
and stored in the lake. The lake is stocked with fish and the home for a wide variety of wildlife.
In 1990 the Colstrip Energy Limited Project started commercial operations. Located six miles (10 km) north of Colstrip, this experimental electricity production facility is owned by Rosebud Energy Corp., a partnership that at one point included Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
. The plant uses high sulfur waste coal from the Rosebud Coal Mine's topmost one foot layer of coal.
In 1998 plants 1-4 were sold to PPL Corporation (PPL), and the Rosebud Coal Mine was sold to Westmoreland Mining LLC.
In this same year the City of Colstrip was incorporated.
Education
The highest level of education in Colstrip is the Colstrip High SchoolColstrip High School
Colstrip High School is the only high school in Colstrip, Montana, in the United States. It has one of the largest bus districts in the nation, including locations as far away as Ashland, Montana...
. The nearest college is Chief Dull Knife College
Chief Dull Knife College
Chief Dull Knife College is a small, open-admission, Native American tribal community college and land grant institution. It is located on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Lame Deer, Montana, USA. Current enrollment is 141 students. More than half of its graduates move on to four-year...
in Lame Deer
Lame Deer, Montana
Lame Deer is a census-designated place in Rosebud County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,018 at the 2000 census. Lame Deer is part of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and the home of the Chief Dull Knife College. Lame Deer is the starting location of the movie Powwow...
. Colstrip is about 20 miles (32.2 km) north of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation
Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation
The Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, formerly named the Tongue River Indian Reservation, is an Indian reservation that is home to the Northern Cheyenne tribe of the Native Americans. It is located around the small towns of Lame Deer and Ashland, Montana, in parts of Rosebud and Big Horn...
. Many Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
students from the reservation attend school at the high school, making up about one third of the students.
Geography
Colstrip is located at 45°52′50.03"N 106°37′47.65"W (45.880563, -106.629903).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
The historical population of Colstrip has varied largely since it was established in 1924. Prior to incorporation in 1998 it was a census-designated placeCensus-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
.
As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 2,346 people, 825 households, and 674 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 522.6 people per square mile (201.7/km²). There were 936 housing units at an average density of 208.5 per square mile (80.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.93% White, 0.68% African American, 11.30% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.51% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 3.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.15% of the population.
There were 825 households out of which 48.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.3% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 34.4% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 3.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 106.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $55,650, and the median income for a family was $60,352. Males had a median income of $54,241 versus $25,234 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $20,336. About 5.9% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Notable natives
- Wally McRaeWally McRaeWally McRae is a rancher, an American cowboy, a poet and philosopher.Wally McRae runs the Rocker Six Cattle Co. ranch on south of Forsyth Montana. McRae attended grade school and high school at nearby Colstrip, Montana. He graduated from Montana State University in 1958 in zoology and ...
— Cowboy poetCowboy poetryCowboy poetry cp is a form of poetry which grew out of a tradition of extemporaneous composition carried on by workers on cattle drives and ranches. After a day of work, cowboys would gather around a campfire and entertain one another with tall tales and folk songs...
who earned the 1990 National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
' National Heritage Award - George Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
— one of his final encampments before Battle of the Little BighornBattle of the Little BighornThe Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
was 10 miles (16.1 km) south of Colstrip - Tuff HarrisTuff HarrisChester David "Tuff" Harris is an American football safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2007...
— safety for the Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, moved from Lodge Grass to play football at Colstrip High SchoolColstrip High SchoolColstrip High School is the only high school in Colstrip, Montana, in the United States. It has one of the largest bus districts in the nation, including locations as far away as Ashland, Montana...
as a sophomore