Terry, is a town in Prairie County,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. The population was 562 at the 2020 census.

History

The site where Terry is located was first called Joubert's Landing, in recognition of the man who built a supply point along the

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, via its own tributaries it drains an area with headwaters across the mountain ...

for freighters traveling from Bismarck,

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

, to Miles City,

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

. When the

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

's transcontinental rail line arrived in 1881, the town was renamed for Alfred Howe Terry, a

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in the Union Army who commanded an 1876 expedition in connection with

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point ...

’s campaign against Native Americans, specifically in the west. Terry became a two-railroad town when the

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...

constructed a transcontinental line known as the Pacific Extension through the town in the early 20th century. The Custer Creek train wreck, the worst rail disaster in Montana history, occurred near Terry along this line in 1938. The town was incorporated in 1910.

Geography

Terry is in

Eastern Montana Eastern Montana is a loosely defined region of Montana. Some definitions are more or less inclusive than others, ranging from the most inclusive, which would include the entire part of the state east of the Continental Divide, to the least inclusiv ...

, approximately south of the

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land. The

Terry Badlands The Terry Badlands WSA (also Terry Badlands) is a designated Wilderness Study Area by the Bureau of Land Management. It is located three miles north of the township of Terry, Montana. It is part of the National Landscape Conservation System. S ...

lie just north of the Yellowstone River, and is one of the wilderness study areas in Montana.

Climate

The town on average has over 200 days of sunshine a year. The average annual snowfall is 17.6 inches a year.http://evelyncameron.com/pages/history-climate.pdf

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 605 people, 292 households, and 168 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 357 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.7% Asian, and 2.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population. There were 292 households, of which 17.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.5% were non-families. 38.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.62. The median age in the town was 57 years. 17.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 3.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.6% were from 25 to 44; 31.3% were from 45 to 64; and 32.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 611 people, 294 households, and 171 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 387 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.55%

, 0.33% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 1.64% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population. There were 294 households, out of which 18.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 3.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.62. In the town, the population was spread out, with 17.2% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 15.1% from 25 to 44, 32.9% from 45 to 64, and 31.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $25,294, and the median income for a family was $34,531. Males had a median income of $25,938 versus $21,538 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,093. About 3.5% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.9% of those under age 18 and 15.9% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Events

Several festivals are held annually in Terry. The largest of these events is "Terry Yippie", a town-wide BBQ and games fair held in Terry Central Park. The Evelyn Cameron Gala is often in the fall. In August, the Prairie County Fair is held at the Terry Fairgrounds.

Tourism

The Terry Badlands WSA and the Evelyn Cameron Museum attract visitors from all over the world every year. The guest registry in the Evelyn Cameron museum has entries from as far away as Europe, Asia, and Africa. Efforts to increase

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

include an

Americorps VISTA AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to alleviate poverty. President John F. Kennedy originated the idea for VISTA, which was founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of ...

project to create a trail network for hikers and campers in the surrounding badlands. The Terry Badlands Trails Project encourages the

Leave No Trace Leave No Trace, sometimes written as LNT, is a set of ethics promoting conservation of the outdoors. Originating in the mid-20th century, the concept started as a movement in the United States in response to ecological damage caused by wilderne ...

principles. Terry is home to the historic Kempton Hotel which is the oldest continuously operated hotel in Montana, running since 1902. The hotel has hosted the likes of U.S. President Theodore Rosevelt and frontierswoman

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Canary (May 1, 1856 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American American frontier, frontierswoman, Exhibition shooting, sharpshooter, sex worker, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits, she was known f ...

Government

The Township of Terry has a Mayor-Council government with Rolane Christofferson serving as mayor. The City Council is made up of four council members serving two wards.

Neighborhoods

* Downtown * Yellowstone District * West Town * Terry Central Park

Education

The only schools in Prairie County are located in Terry. The K-12 enrollment at the beginning of the 07–08 school year was 125 students. Terrier sports programs won state championships in football from 1985 to 1987. They were runner up 4 other times in the 1980s and 1990s. They also won volleyball titles in 1988, 1989 and 2010. Prairie County Library serves the area.

Media

The major newspaper in Terry is the ''Terry Tribune'', established in 1908. It is published weekly and also as an e-edition.

Infrastructure

The town is just north of

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

, at the cross roads of old highway 10 and highway 253. Terry Airport is a public use airport located 1 mile southeast of town.

Notable people

* Norm Clarke,

gossip columnist A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially in a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are written in a light, informal style, and relate opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities fr ...

* Evelyn Cameron, photographer *

Donna Lucey Donna Lucey is the author of the book ''Photographing Montana 1894-1928: The Life and Work of Evelyn Cameron'' (1990), a biography and collection of photographs from frontier photographer Evelyn Cameron. Lucey has been an editor at Time-Life Books ...

, author * Robert M. Losey, American meteorologist and air force officer

References

External links

Travel MT
{{authority control Towns in Prairie County, Montana County seats in Montana