Hardin is a city in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of
Big Horn County,
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
, United States.
The population was 3,818 at the
2020 census.
It is located just north of the
Crow Indian Reservation
The Crow Indian Reservation is the homeland of the Crow Tribe. Established 1868, the reservation is located in parts of Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Treasure counties in southern Montana in the United States. The Crow Tribe has an enrolled member ...
.
History
The city was named for Samuel Hardin, a friend of developer
Charles Henry Morrill
Charles Henry Morrill (July 14, 1843 – December 14, 1928) was a prominent American businessman who played an important role in the history of Nebraska. Morrill County, Nebraska is named after him.
He was born in Concord, New Hampshire, the only ...
. It was incorporated in 1911.
Thomas D. Campbell operated the nation's largest wheat farm on 95,000 acres near here and pioneered the use of industrial machinery in farming.
The
Holly Sugar Company established a sugar beet–processing plant in Hardin in 1937.
Geography
Hardin is located at (45.731824, -107.612542).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
The
Little Bighorn River empties into the
Bighorn River
The Bighorn River is a tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately long, in the states of Wyoming and Montana in the western United States. The river was named in 1805 by fur trader François Larocque for the bighorn sheep he saw along its ba ...
near the town.
Economy
Hardin hosts a
bitcoin mining
The bitcoin network is a peer-to-peer payment network that operates on a cryptographic protocol. Users send and receive bitcoins, the units of currency, by broadcasting digitally-signed messages to the network using bitcoin cryptocurrency ...
facility by
Marathon Patent Group
Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. is a digital asset technology company, which engages in mining cryptocurrencies, with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets. The company was founded on February 23, 2010 and is he ...
, according to a press release by the company.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2010, there were 3,505 people, 1,301 households, and 850 families living in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was . There were 1,401 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 49.8%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 0.7%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 40.8%
Native American, 1.2%
Asian, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 2.2% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 5.1% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 7.1% of the population.
There were 1,301 households, of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% 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 ...
living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.7% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.29.
The median age in the city was 33.2 years. 29.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.1% were from 25 to 44; 24.7% were from 45 to 64; and 13.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2000, there were 3,384 people, 1,295 households, and 868 families living in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was 2,415.5 people per square mile (933.3/km
2). There were 1,411 housing units at an average density of 1,007.2 per square mile (389.1/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 62.26%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 0.12%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 31.59%
Native American, 0.35%
Asian, 1.03% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 4.64% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 5.53% of the population.
There were 1,295 households, out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% 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 ...
living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 31.0% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,018, and the median income for a family was $33,729. Males had a median income of $28,493 versus $19,444 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $13,041. About 17.2% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 33.1% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.
Events
The Hardin Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture conducts the annual Little Big Horn Days festival in the 3rd weekend in June, including the
Custer's Last Stand Reenactment.
Jail
In 2004–05, a consortium including architectural, bond sellers and contractors located in Texas, promoting the construction of speculative prison and jail ventures convinced Hardin's industrial development authority to float a $27 million bond issuance to build the
Two Rivers Detention Facility. It was designed for 464 inmates, and was to be located on a sugar beet field. The facility was slated to open in July 2007 but the state of Montana would not approve it. The Authority bonds defaulted on May 1, 2008. The consortium's contract terminated in January 2009 without any prisoners ever being housed in the jail.
In November 2009 the Two Rivers Board hired its fifth director. A reserve fund of $814,000 was earmarked to maintain the building for possible future use. It remained complete and vacant for over seven years, though it was partially filled for 18 months. By February 2016, empty once again, it had cost the city $582,595 paid to Two Rivers to maintain it since 2004. Due to unpaid interest on the defaulted bonds, its estimated indebtedness had increased to over $40 million by December 2015.
Climate
According to the
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
system, Hardin has a
cold semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...
, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.
Infrastructure
Big Horn County Airport is a public use airport located 3 miles west of town.
Education
Hardin Public Schools serves students from kindergarten to 12th grade.
Hardin High School
Hardin is a city in and the county seat of Big Horn County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,818 at the 2020 census.
It is located just north of the Crow Indian Reservation.
History
The city was named for Samuel Hardin, a friend ...
's team name is the Bulldogs.
The Big Horn County Library operates in Hardin.
Notable people
*
Kroy Biermann
Kroy Evan Biermann (born September 12, 1985) is a former American football outside linebacker. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Montana. He is married to former Bravo t ...
-
NFL defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...
*
Kendall Cross
Kendall Duane Cross (born February 24, 1968) is an American freestyle wrestler, wrestling coach and Olympic gold medalist. He won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he wrestled in the 57 kilogram (125.5 pounds ...
-
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
Gold Medalist
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
in
Freestyle Wrestling
Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestlin ...
*
Tim Fox -
Attorney General of Montana
The Montana Department of Justice is a state law enforcement agency of Montana. The Department is equivalent to the State Bureau of Investigation in other states.
The Montana Attorney General, currently Republican Austin Knudsen, heads the age ...
Media
Radio
*
KHDN
KHDN (1230 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Hardin, Montana, United States, the station serves the Billings area. The station is currently owned by Sun Mountain, Inc. and features pr ...
1230 (Talk) (silent)
*
KRWS-LP 100.7 (Oldies)
Newspapers
* Big Horn County News
* The Original Briefs
References
{{authority control
County seats in Montana
Cities in Big Horn County, Montana
Cities in Montana