Havre, Montana

Havre (IPA [hævɚ]) is a city in Hill County, Montana, is said to be named after the city of Le Havre in France, although this is disputed by some inhabitants . The area was originally known as Bullhook Bottoms. The population was 9,621 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hill CountyTemplate:GR.

Located in north central Montana, it was incorporated in 1893. It was founded primarily to serve as a major railroad service center for Great Northern Railroad (built by James J. Hill) with its location midway between Seattle and Minneapolis-St. Paul. A statue of Hill stands near the Havre Amtrak station to comemorate the key contributions his railroad has made to Havre's and Montana's history.

Havre is the largest city on the Hi-Line and the eighth largest city in Montana. With the nearest major city, Great Falls, about 120 miles to the south, Havre serves as a medical and business center for the Hi-Line. U.S. Highway 87 has its northern terminus at Havre. U.S. Highway 2, running east-west, is the city's main street. The largest employers are Northern Montana Hospital, Montana State University Northern, and the BNSF Railway. Throughout much of the twentieth century, BNSF was the most prominent employer in the city, but the company scaled back its workforce in Havre in the 1990's. The Milk River (tributary of the Missouri River) runs through the town, and the Bears Paw Mountains can be seen to the south.

Small grids of purple colored squares can be seen in some of the sidewalks in the downtown area (on the north side of the city). These are skylights for a sort of underground "mall" built in the city at least a hundred years ago. Throughout its history, this underground area has been host to a brothel, a Chinese laundromat, a saloon, a drugstore, at least three opium dens, and rooms used for smuggling alcohol during Prohibition. The underground area, now designated "Havre Beneath the Streets", currently operates as a small tourist attraction.

The Wahkpa Chu'gn buffalo jump, or bison kill, is located behind the Holiday Village Shopping Center near the northwest corner of Havre. Over 2,000 years old, it is one of the largest and best preserved buffalo jumps anywhere. In prehistoric times, Native Americans would drive bison over the edge of the cliff, killing or severely injuring the animals. Afterwards, the Native Americans skinned the animals and preserved the meat. The buffalo jump is now an archaeological site and a small tourist attraction.

The buffalo jump is located at the southern edge of the Havre Badlands, a badlands formation that runs alongside the Milk River to the west of the city. Small fossils, including seashells and petrified wood, can be found in the limestone sediment in this area.

Six miles southwest of Havre is Fort Assiniboine, which served as one of Montana's principal military posts from 1879 through the Prohibition era. The fort was one of many used by the United States to protect against potential attacks from Native Americans and to block incursions from Canada. At its peak, the fort housed and employed 489 soldiers in 104 buildings.

Also near Havre is the Bears Paw Battlefield site of the Battle of Bears Paw Mountain, where the Nez Perce were attacked and defeated by the U.S. Cavalry. Chief Joseph surrendered to the Cavalry and making a famous speech ending with the line, “From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.”

Notable Residents

• Jill McLain, Miss Montana USA 2006
• Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana 2005-
• Stan Stephens, Governor of Montana 1989-1993
• Jeff Ament, Bassist, Pearl Jam. Born in Havre

Geography

Location of Havre, Montana

Havre is located at 48°32′43″N 109°40′39″W (48.545367, -109.677536)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.0 km² (3.5 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 9,621 people, 4,015 households, and 2,449 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,073.6/km² (2,778.2/mi²). There were 4,400 housing units at an average density of 491.0/km² (1,270.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.08% White, 0.11% African American, 9.01% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 2.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.48% of the population.

There were 4,015 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,944, and the median income for a family was $38,870. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $19,189 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,847. About 14.8% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Trivia

• Two Major League Baseball players were born in Havre, Jeff Doyle (1956) and Rob Ryan (1973).

See also

• Hill County
• Fort Assinniboine
• Rocky Boys Indian Reservation
• Havre Daily News
• Great Falls Tribune

External links

• Havre History on the Web
• Wahkpa Chu'gn Bison Kill
• The Havre Daily News
• Montana State University Northern
• Official city web site
• Havre Chamber of Commerce
• City profile from State of Montana