South Side in Billings in Yellowstone County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Billings: The Father and the Son

Frederick and his son, Parmly Billings

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020

1. Billings: The Father and the Son Marker

Captions: (bottom left) Portrait of Frederick Billings, Billings' namesake, about 1865.; (bottom center L) Parmly Billings and cousin, Edward Bailey, opened the Bailey and Billings bank about 1886. The cousins stand at the doorway to the bank.; (bottom center R) Portrait of Parmly Billings.; (bottom right) The 1901 construction of the Parmly Billings Public Memorial Library was funded by Frederick Billings Jr. in memory of this older brother, with an east wings and west wing added in 1913 and 1923 respectively.

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

The town of Billings is named for Frederick Billings. He was a gold rush lawyer, railroad baron, and conservationist. Born and educated in Vermont, he arrived in California with his law degree during the 1849 gold rush. He was California's first Attorney General and he named the town of Berkeley after a favorite poet. His growing wealth allowed him to invest in railroads. He was president of the Northern Pacific Railway from 1879-1881. Today, the Billings' family mansion in Woodstock, Vermont is a National Park focused on conservation (Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP). The family dairy farm, across the street, is a museum interpreting Vermont's rural heritage.
Frederick married Julia Parmly in 1862, and their first child, Parmly, was born in San Francisco. Parmly grew up in Vermont and enjoyed an affluent lifestyle. In 1884, Parmly was sent to live in the new town of Billings and wrote despairingly to his father, "Prospects in Billings look as bright as the bottom of a camp fry pan."
Parmly and his cousin, Edward Bailey, operated a ranch, worked on the Big Ditch irrigation project, ran a dry goods store, and opened the Bailey and

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Billings Bank. Parmly died at age 25 from uremic poisoning.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 45° 47.048′ N, 108° 29.887′ W. Marker is in Billings, Montana, in Yellowstone County. It is in the South Side. Marker is on Montana Avenue (Business Interstate 90) near North 23rd Street. The marker is found on the fence paralleling the railroad tracks. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2400 Montana Avenue, Billings MT 59101, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Northern Cheyenne Tribe (here, next to this marker); How Billings Got Its News (here, next to this marker); The Yellowstone River (here, next to this marker); Steamboat City on the River (here, next to this marker); Billings' Chinatown (a few steps from this marker); Battle of the Little Bighorn (a few steps from this marker); The Fight or Flight of the Nez Perce (within shouting distance of this marker); Parks for the People (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Billings.

Also see . . . Frederick Billings -- American National Biography. Restless and ambitious, Billings accompanied his sister Laura, to whom he was especially close, and
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020

2. Billings: The Father and the Son Marker
The marker is located farther down on the fence line.
her husband Bezer Simmons, who owned property in California, to the West Coast early in 1849....HPB (the law firm of Halleck, Peachy, and Billings) was centrally involved in two of California’s most important land cases. The most complicated involved the world’s second richest quicksilver mine, at New Almaden, which proved to be the single most valuable mine in California, producing more than $70 million in quicksilver....By the time he was thirty Billings was a millionaire from substantial legal fees; profits from land holdings in San Francisco, Sacramento, and elsewhere in California; and joint ownership of the Montgomery Block, the largest office property west of St. Louis...Billings made his second, and greater, fortune in railroads, in particular the Northern Pacific... (Submitted on March 10, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Frederick Billings image. Click for full size.

Photographed By National Park Service

3. Frederick Billings

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 10, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 269 times since then and 110 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 10, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.