Colstrip is a city in Rosebud County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,096 at the 2020 census. Established in 1924 and incorporated as a city in 1998, Colstrip is the largest city in Rosebud County with 25.2% of the total population. Colstrip's primary industries are

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting 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 ...

and electricity production. In 2005, '' Sports Illustrated''’s 50th anniversary issue named Colstrip the top sports town in Montana. The entire community celebrates Colstrip Days annually on the weekend prior to the

4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music) In music a fourth is an interval spanning four staff po ...

History

Colstrip was established by the

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...

in 1924 as a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

to provide coal for their steam locomotives. The mining at Rosebud Mine two miles south of the town is open pit strip mining, where draglines remove soil above the layer of

bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...

from the

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 The Second World War, 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 The Montana Power Company (MPC) was an electric utility company based in Butte, Montana, which provided electricity to Montana consumers and industry from 1912 to 1997. History The Montana Power Company was founded in 1912 by John D. Ryan, the ...

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 Corporation () is an American engineering, procurement, construction, and project management company founded in San Francisco, California, and headquartered in Reston, Virginia. , the ''Engineering News-Record'' ranked Bechtel as the sec ...

. During this construction period, Colstrip was a boomtown, with a large increase in population. Plants 1 and 2 became operational in 1975 and 1976, and plants 3 and 4 became operational in 1984 and 1986. In 1974, construction of Colstrip's 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 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 a group led by

PPL Corporation PPL Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. History Pennsylvania Power & Light was founded in 1 ...

(PPL) and

Puget Sound Energy Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is an energy utility company based in the U.S. state of Washington that provides electrical power and natural gas to the Puget Sound region. The utility serves electricity to more than 1.1 million customers in Island, Ki ...

(PSE). The Rosebud Coal Mine was sold to Westmoreland Mining LLC. In this same year, the City of Colstrip was incorporated. In June 2015, PPL spun off its power generation assets including the Colstrip plants to become

Talen Energy Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN) are restriction enzymes that can be engineered to cut specific sequences of DNA. They are made by fusing a TAL effector DNA-binding domain to a DNA cleavage domain (a nuclease which cuts DN ...

In 2016,

reached an agreement with the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

and the

Montana Environmental Information Center The Montana Environmental Information Center is an environmental organization in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located ...

to shut down units 1 and 2 of the coal-fired generating plant by the year 2022. The agreement said nothing about the status of Units 3 and 4 at the generating station. However, the existing electrical transmission capacity that transmits power from Colstrip to the Pacific Northwest may be used to transmit wind energy. In June 2019, Talen Energy announced the closure of two of the four coal burning units by the end of the year. The power plant is "the sixth-largest source of

greenhouse emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and la ...

in the U.S." Units 3 and 4 will remain in operation. In January 2020, Puget Sound Energy announced that Unit 1 ceased operating in the "first days of January", and Unit 2 ceased operating on January 4. Units 3 and 4 will remain operational as planned, but will be closed within the next five years. Colstrip is the proposed junction point of the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

's trackage through the city with the proposed Tongue River Railroad south to new coal mines near the Wyoming border.

Geography

Colstrip is located at (45.880563, -106.629903). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Colstrip has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

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 place.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,214 people, 863 households, and 622 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 986 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.7% White, 0.2% African American, 9.0% Native American, 0.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.4% from other races, and 5.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 4.3% of the population. There were 863 households, of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.9% were non-families. 24.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age in the city was 38.1 years. 28.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.9% were from 25 to 44; 36% were from 45 to 64; and 5.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.8% male and 48.2% female.

2000 census

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%

, 0.51% from other races, and 3.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or

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

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.

Infrastructure

Colstrip Airport (FAA ID: M46) is a public use airport located southwest of Colstrip.

Education

Colstrip Public Schools educates students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The highest level of education offered in Colstrip is the Colstrip High School. They are known as the Colts/Fillies. The nearest college is Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer. Colstrip is about 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. The Bicentennial Library operates in Colstrip.

Recreation

Colstrip offers a wide variety of recreational and sports activities. Boating and fishing is available on Castle Rock Lake, an artificial reservoir used by the Colstrip power plants. Fishing enthusiasts can find bluegill, bass, walleye and pike. A 3.2 mile walking/biking trail runs around the lake, and a picnic area and beach is available to swimmers. A year-round recreational facility is available free to residents at Rye Park through Colstrip Parks and Recreation District. CPRD, formerly CARPA, offers sports programs for children and adults alike including golf, soccer, basketball, baseball, fitness and health classes. CPRD facilities include a weight room and cardio room, and two different gymnasiums. CPRD also maintains the bike paths around the city.

Notable people

Wally McRae Wallace D. "Wally" McRae (born February 26, 1936) is an American rancher, cowboy, cowboy poet and philosopher. He runs the Rocker Six Cattle Co. ranch on Rosebud Creek, south of Rosebud, Montana. Biography McRae is a third-generation rancher, ...

— Cowboy poet who earned the 1990 National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage Award * George Armstrong Custer — one of his final encampments before Battle of the Little Bighorn was south of Colstrip *

Tuff Harris Tuff Chester David Harris (born January 23, 1983, in Crow Agency, Montana) is a former American football safety. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Montana. Harris has also been ...

— safety for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, moved from Lodge Grass to play football at Colstrip High School as a sophomore * Russ Davidson — 2013 National and Montana Outstanding Teacher of American History"Staying Enthralled by History", American Spirit Magazine, National Society Daughters of American Revolution (NSDAR), Vol 147, No. 4, Jul/Aug 2013, p. 13

References

External links

City website
* Colstrip United Collection, Montana Memory Project. https://mtmemory.org/digital/collection/p16013coll150/search/searchterm/Colstrip%20United%20Collection/field/digita/mode/exact/conn/and

{{authority control Populated places established in 1924 Company towns in Montana Northern Pacific Railway Cities in Rosebud County, Montana Mining communities in Montana Cities in Montana