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White Sulphur Springs 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 parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Meagher 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 population was 955 at the 2020 census.


History

White Sulphur Springs was originally called "Brewers Springs", after James Scott Brewer, who laid claim to the
thermal springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by cir ...
in 1866. In 1876 the town name changed.


Geography

White Sulphur Springs is in central Meagher County, along combined U.S. Routes 12 and 89, which pass through the city as Main Street and 3rd Avenue. US 12 leads east to Harlowton and southwest to Townsend, while US 89 leads north to Neihart and south to Livingston. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, White Sulphur Springs has a total area of , all of it recorded as land. Hot Springs Creek rises in the center of town at a local hotel, which offers soaking in the mineralized hot springs. The North Fork Smith River crosses the northwest part of town. The Smith River is a north-flowing tributary of the
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
. The Castle Mountains are southeast of town. Newlan Creek Reservoir is by road to the north, at the foot of the
Little Belt Mountains The Little Belt Mountains are a section of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Montana. Situated mainly in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, the mountains are used for logging and recreation for the residents of Great Falls, Montana. Sh ...
, and Lake Sutherlin is to the northeast along US 12. The lakes provide recreational water activities, including fishing for trout,
burbot The burbot (''Lota lota''), also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, or eelpout, is a species of coldwater ray-finned fish native to the subarctic regions of ...
, and
kokanee salmon The kokanee salmon (''Oncorhynchus nerka''), also known as the kokanee trout, little redfish, silver trout, kikanning, Kennerly's salmon, Kennerly's trout, or walla, is the non anadromous form of the sockeye salmon (meaning that they do not mig ...
. White Sulphur is an anchor for the Kings Hill Scenic Byway, a drive which passes through the Little Belt Mountains in the
Lewis and Clark National Forest Lewis and Clark National Forest is located in west central Montana, United States. Spanning . The region was inhabited by various cultures of Native Americans for a period of at least 8,000–10,000 years. When the Lewis and Clark Expedition ca ...
.


Climate


Demographics


2010 census

At the 2010 census there were 939 people in 433 households, including 255 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 563 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.2% White, 0.1% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4%. Of the 433 households 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.1% were non-families. 37.4% of households were one person and 19.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.75. The median age was 51.2 years. 19% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18% were from 25 to 44; 31.4% were from 45 to 64; and 26.3% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.8% male and 50.2% female.


2000 census

At the 2000 census there were 984 people in 443 households, including 265 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 567 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.24% White, 1.42% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.93%. Of the 443 households 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 37.0% of households were one person and 17.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.84. The age distribution was 22.4% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% 65 or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.9 males. The median household income was $28,229 and the median family income was $34,342. Males had a median income of $23,403 versus $13,929 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,836. About 11.6% of families and 13.3% 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 16.5% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.


Arts and culture

The Castle Museum and Carriage House is a combination of a mansion tour and the Meagher County Museum. The Victorian style mansion has been decorated with period style artifacts. The carriage house was built in the 1990s to display a variety of carriages, sleds, a stagecoach, and other mementos. The Charles M. Bair Family Museum, away, is the former home of Bair, one of the largest sheep ranchers in the United States in the early 1900s. The 11,000 sq ft home is filled with artifacts from the family. Additionally the museum covers 7,300 sq ft with art galleries and additional artifacts from the family's collections. Meagher County City Library serves the area. The Red Ants Pants Music Festival is held the last weekend in July. Internationally famous musicians have performed at the festival such as
Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...
,
Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayl Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, ''Ramblin' on My Mind (Lucinda Williams album), Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and ''Happy Woman Blues'' (198 ...
, and
Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile (born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Her music spans different genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. Throughout her career, she has received eleven Gramm ...
.


Education

White Sulphur Springs Schools educate students from kindergarten through 12th grade. White Sulphur Springs High School's team name is the Hornets.


Media

''The Meagher County News'' has provided local news weekly since 1934. The ''Meagher County Chronicle'' is an online news source for the area. The public radio station KUMS is licensed in White Sulphur Springs.


Infrastructure

U.S. Routes 89 and 12 enter through town in the east and exit through the south. White Sulphur Springs Airport is a public use airport located south of town.


Notable people

*
Dirk Benedict Dirk Benedict (born Dirk Niewoehner; March 1, 1945) is an American actor and author. He is best known for playing the characters Lieutenant Starbuck in the original ''Battlestar Galactica'' film and television series and Templeton "Face" Peck ...
, actor *
Sarah Calhoun Sarah Calhoun (born March 13, 1979) is a businesswoman and social entrepreneur living in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, United States. She is the founder of the Red Ants Pants clothing brand, which creates rugged clothing designed for women ...
, entrepreneur, founder of the women's workwear company Red Ants Pants *
Ivan Doig Ivan Doig (; June 27, 1939 – April 9, 2015) was an American author and novelist, widely known for his sixteen fiction and non-fiction books set mostly in his native Montana, celebrating the landscape and people of the post-war American West. W ...
, novelist; born in White Sulphur Springs *
Emmanuel Taylor Gordon Emmanuel Taylor Gordon (April 29, 1893 – May 5, 1971) was a singer and vaudeville performer associated with the Harlem Renaissance in the mid-1920s. He was born in White Sulphur Springs, Montana and moved to New York City at the age of 17 ...
,
Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...
singer and performer; born, raised, and died in White Sulphur Springs


See also

* National Register of Historic Places in Meagher County


Notes


External links

*
Meagher County Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Meagher County, Montana County seats in Montana Cities in Montana