Hysham, Montana | |
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Town | |
Location of Hysham, Montana |
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Coordinates: 46°17′26″N 107°13′48″W / 46.29056°N 107.23000°WCoordinates: 46°17′26″N 107°13′48″W / 46.29056°N 107.23000°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Montana |
County | Treasure |
Area | |
• Total | 0.21 sq mi (0.54 km2) |
• Land | 0.21 sq mi (0.54 km2) |
• Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
Elevation | 2,661 ft (811 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 312 |
• Estimate (2012) | 321 |
• Density | 1,485.7/sq mi (573.6/km2) |
Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
• Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
ZIP codes | 59038, 59076 |
Area code(s) | 406 |
FIPS code | 30-38350 |
GNIS feature ID | 0772654 |
Hysham is a town in and the county seat of Treasure County, Montana, United States. The population was 312 at the 2010 census.
Hysham is located at 46°17′26″N 107°13′48″W / 46.29056°N 107.23000°W (46.290535, -107.229929). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.21 square miles (0.54 km2), all of it land.
It is bordered to the north by the Yellowstone River. The surrounding area is composed of rolling hills and farmland.
When the Montana Territory became the state of Montana in 1889 the future site of Hysham was just a blank spot in the rolling prairie along the Yellowstone River. At that time, the area was within sprawling Custer County, which covered much of eastern Montana, and also included the eastern part of the Crow Indian Reservation. The area was opened up to homesteading in 1906 after the federal government moved the Crow Indian Reservation boundary further west to its present location. This made possible the development of farms and ranches throughout the area and at the same time allowed the settlement of small towns like Hysham (Cheney 1984).
The location and founding of the town of Hysham is intertwined with its ranching and railroad history. A large cattle ranch, the Flying E, ran thousands of heads of cattle in the region. Charlie J. Hysham had moved from the town of Red Oak, Iowa, to manage the ranch. In order to facilitate the delivery of the large amounts of supplies the Flying E ranch required, the Northern Pacific Railroad built a siding to unload goods and materials that Hysham had ordered from Billings and Forsyth. In 1907, the siding became the nucleus for the town of Hysham. (Cheney 1984; Kimball 1976).