Billings, MT

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Fredrick Billings - founder of Billings, MT

The picture is taken in front of the Western Heritage Center. I went on a ghost tour this past week and found out it is supposed to be one of the most haunted places in Billings.

Billings was founded by Fredrick Billings in the 19th century. Billings was a railroad stop that grew. The yard is not as big as it once was and other industries have grown up here. We are the largest city in Montana with about 100,000 people here. The area is still growing, despite the economic downturn in the rest of the country. We are the medical hub for the eastern end of the state. Because of the sparse population it is not unheard of to have to travel long distances to get to a hospital. It maybe over 50 miles between hospitals and they are small. If there is anything major, they will send the patient to Billings.

We also now have 2 refineries/coker plants as major employers, (Conoco & Exxon). Oil is in great abundance in the area, most of it we can't drill for because of laws blocking the drilling. There is also a sugar beet factory, it is a major crop in the surrounding land.
Over looking the city.

From the Rims
The airport is located on top of what we call the 'rims'. It is a bluff area that rises up in the middle of the city. If you are flying into or out of Billings - sometimes it is better not to watch. When coming in, you are coming in to the area at the top of the rims and sometimes it can be unnerving. Going out, the ground drops away FAST!

The rims give an unique feature to Billings. Many people spend time climbing and repelling here. (The nuts will do the repelling upside down.) The picture is taken from the top of the rims looking down upon the city. On a clear day you can see the Pryor Mountains in the South East and the Beartooth Range to the South West. You vision is at this point spanning better than 100 miles between the two ranges. We truly live up to our name, Big Sky Country. When you look up, there is sky that reaches from horizon to horizon. I will post a few other pictures

from here to show the vastness of the sky.
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Billings - Historic Billings

Downtown Billings

This is the best area for the nightlife. Several of the best restaurants and dance clubs are in the historic sector.

I don't recommend the last place - it is a wild bar and not so nice things happen there. The boarded up place next to it was the cause of the one and only lynching in Billings. Couple of tramps got off the train (the tracks are just across from here) and ordered a drink in that bar. The bar tender served them. They ordered a second drink and were served that one. When they ordered the third drink they were asked for some payment, to which they murdered the bar tender. A few of the other patrons in the bar saw what happened and chased them out of the bar and caught one, but the other got away. They took and lynched the man from a telegraph pole and left the body hang for a day as a warning to others. The sheriff got quite upset at them, "You are from Montana, you should know the knot goes on the left side of the neck!" Up until the pole came down, some say they would catch glimpses of the man hanging there.

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Photos

Freddrick Billings
Founder of Billings

From the rims
Over looking the city