Hardin in Big Horn County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Hardin Commercial Historic District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, July 19, 2021
1. Hardin Commercial Historic District Marker
Inscription.
Hardin Commercial Historic District. . Long before fur trappers entered the Bighorn Valley, Crows, Sioux, and Cheyennes vied for the area’s abundant game. In 1876, Sioux and Cheyenne warriors defeated the U.S. Army at the Battle of the Little Bighorn; the following year, the Army established Fort Custer just across the river. After the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad laid its tracks into the Crow Indian Reservation in 1894, the tribe faced enormous pressure to open the reservation to homesteaders. In its last and smallest land cession, the Crows relinquished territory south of the Yellowstone River in 1904. To serve the anticipated flood of settlers, the Lincoln Land Company platted Hardin in 1907. Owned by the same men who owned the railroad, the land company founded some three hundred towns across the West. It gave Hardin a variation of its T-town plat, with Center Street forming a T with the tracks. Forty men arrived from Billings to place bids the morning town lots were sold. Edwin Spencer bought the first lot for $900, where he built a general store and post office. In the 1910s architectural fashion dictated restrained, symmetrical buildings, and solid brick business blocks, some designed by Billings architects, came to dominate Hardin’s commercial district. After World War I, low commodity prices slowed the growth of this agricultural shipping point. However, Hardin continued to serve as Big Horn county seat, a role represented by its 1937 Moderne style courthouse.
Long before fur trappers entered the Bighorn Valley, Crows, Sioux, and Cheyennes vied for the area’s abundant game. In 1876, Sioux and Cheyenne warriors defeated the U.S. Army at the Battle of the Little Bighorn; the following year, the Army established Fort Custer just across the river. After the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad laid its tracks into the Crow Indian Reservation in 1894, the tribe faced enormous pressure to open the reservation to homesteaders. In its last and smallest land cession, the Crows relinquished territory south of the Yellowstone River in 1904. To serve the anticipated flood of settlers, the Lincoln Land Company platted Hardin in 1907. Owned by the same men who owned the railroad, the land company founded some three hundred towns across the West. It gave Hardin a variation of its T-town plat, with Center Street forming a T with the tracks. Forty men arrived from Billings to place bids the morning town lots were sold. Edwin Spencer bought the first lot for $900, where he built a general store and post office. In the 1910s architectural fashion dictated restrained, symmetrical buildings, and solid brick business blocks, some designed by Billings architects, came to dominate Hardin’s commercial district. After World War I, low commodity prices slowed the growth of this agricultural shipping point. However,
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Hardin continued to serve as Big Horn county seat, a role represented by its 1937 Moderne style courthouse.
Location. 45° 43.858′ N, 107° 36.346′ W. Marker is in Hardin, Montana, in Big Horn County. Marker is on North Central Avenue near West 3rd Street (Old U.S. Highway 87), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 203 North Central Avenue, Hardin MT 59034, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 1, 2022. It was originally submitted on January 1, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 132 times since then and 7 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 1, 2022, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.