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History · Broadus

Broadus’ post office opened in 1900, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1973 on, and the census since 1950.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Broadus’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Broadus began

When was Broadus founded?

1900

The Broadus post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 517 in 19502020 census: 456126 years
Founding year: the first Broadus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Broadus’ past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 799 in 1970; 456 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Broadus’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDr. Tugwell at ranch near Broadus, Mont…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Broadus, census by census

02004006008001960198020002020Peak: 799

Peaked at 799 in 1970; 456 people lived here in 2020.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Broadus’ Wikipedia page.

The story

How Broadus came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Broadus.

Read it all →

The Powder River Battles, part of the Powder River Expedition of 1865, were fought near the present-day town from September 1–15, 1865, by the U.S. Army against Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors. On March 17, 1876, the Battle of Powder River occurred about 34 miles (55 km) southwest of present-day Broadus, and on June 13, 1876, six companies of the 7th Cavalry led by Major Marcus Reno marched along the Powder River to within 10 miles (16 km) north of the town's present location before turning west toward the Little Bighorn.

ChaptersAmerican Indian WarsTown

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Broadus, 1900 to 1973

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Broadus post office opens
  3. 1936In the archiveDr. Tugwell at ranch near Broadus, Montana
  4. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 799
  5. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Broadus, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s2 items
Dr. Tugwell at ranch near Broadus, Montana1936Dr. Tugwell at ranch near Broadus, MontanaDrought committee stops for drink at artesian well on farm near Broadus, Montana1936Drought committee stops for drink at artesian well on…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Urban602011Urban60Broadus MT Powder River County Courthouse2008Broadus MT Powder River County CourthouseMTMap-doton-Broadus2005MTMap-doton-Broadus
On the map

Broadus on the map, 1973 to 1980

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

Broadus on the 1973 USGS mapBroadus on the 1980 USGS map1973Broadus sheet · 1:24,000

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Dr. Tugwell at ranch near Broadus, Montana
Retake this viewDr. Tugwell at ranch near Broadus, Montana, 1936

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Broadus’ page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners

Broadus’s post office has been open since 1900.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Town and Country Trailer Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Broadus’ history

What year was Broadus founded?

The Broadus post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.