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History · Belfry

Belfry’s post office opened in 1906, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad Depot and the Kose Hall. Below: maps from 1912 on.

1906first post office
2on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Belfry began

When was Belfry founded?

1906

The Belfry post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 193120 years
Founding year: the first Belfry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Belfry’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Belfry are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Belfry’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Belfry’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Belfry, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Belfry yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Belfry is a census-designated place (CDP) in Carbon County, Montana, United States. It is an unincorporated town, and is part of the Billings, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 193 at the 2020 census, down from 218 in the 2010 census. It is located approximately 11 miles (18 km) from the Wyoming border, roughly halfway between Billings, Montana and Cody, Wyoming. Belfry is predominantly an agricultural community. The primary crops are sugar beets, alfalfa, and feed corn. Ranchers raise cattle and sheep. Water for agricultural use comes mostly from the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River through several cooperative ditch companies, with water rights dating back 100 y…

Its first post office opened in 1906. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 218 to 193 (-11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Belfry, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Kose Hall2019Kose HallBelfry Depot2019Belfry DepotBelfry Aerial Photo2016Belfry Aerial PhotoBelfry (Montana) Clark Fork Yelowstone River 12-9-2014 9-06-262014Belfry (Montana) Clark Fork Yelowstone River 12-9-201…Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 9-05-092014Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 9-05-09Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 9-04-392014Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 9-04-39Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 9-03-092014Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 9-03-09Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 8-59-212014Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 8-59-21Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 8-58-202014Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 8-58-20Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 8-58-102014Belfry (Montana) 12-9-2014 8-58-10Belfry MT Aerial2007Belfry MT AerialMTMap-doton-Belfry2005MTMap-doton-Belfry
On the map

Belfry on the map, 1954 to 1969

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Belfry. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Belfry on the 1954 USGS mapBelfry on the 1969 USGS map1954Billings sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Belfry.

Every building

Belfry, building by building, 1912–1927

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Belfry fire insurance map, 1912, sheet 11912Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Belfry

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2012
Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad Depot
Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad DepotKose Hall
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Bungalow1
Craftsman1
Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad DepotBungalow
Kose HallBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Belfry

Nobody well known was born in Belfry itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
D
Darren DaltonAmerican actor, screenwriter and film producer · b. 1965
Chris CooleyPlayer of American football · b. 1982
H
Harry Franklin VickersAmerican inventor and Industrialist · b. 1898
Laurie NiemiAmerican football player · b. 1925
S
Susie Walking Bear YellowtailAmerican nurse and Native American activist · b. 1903
A
Alan SwallowAmerican publisher & academic · b. 1915

Questions about Belfry’s history

What year was Belfry founded?

The Belfry post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Belfry?

Two places: the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad Depot (listed 2012) and the Kose Hall (2013).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.