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DHistory
History · Colstrip

Colstrip dates to 1924

More historic than 7% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Colstrip was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1971 on, and the census since 2000.

1924founded
0on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Colstrip’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Colstrip began

When was Colstrip founded?

1924

Colstrip dates its founding to 1924 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 2000.

First census: 2,346 in 20002020 census: 2,096102 years

How historic is Colstrip?

D

More historic than 7% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1925.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Colstrip’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Colstrip is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Colstrip’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19401.1% of homes (±1.5) · typical MT town 13.1% · U.S. 8.4%DNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical MT town 12.7 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 7%
NewerOlder

Montana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Montana town has 12.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Colstrip’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1924.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Colstrip’s past

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

A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1933–1973.
★ What stands out · By decade

Colstrip, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s6 items
'SCARFING' (ANGLED JOINTS, CENTER AND TOP LEFT) OF LOGS ON FRONT OF HOUSE - Doc Taylor Place, House, East Fork of Armel…1933'SCARFING' (ANGLED JOINTS, CENTER AND TOP LEFT) OF LO…DETAIL OF CENTER 'SCARF' JOINT - Doc Taylor Place, House, East Fork of Armells Creek1933DETAIL OF CENTER 'SCARF' JOINT - Doc Taylor Place, Ho…DETAIL OF DOVETAIL CORNER NOTCHING AT NORTHWEST CORNER OF HOUSE - Doc Taylor Place, House, East Fork of Armells Creek, …1933DETAIL OF DOVETAIL CORNER NOTCHING AT NORTHWEST CORNE…DETAIL OF DOVETAIL CORNER NOTCHING AT SOUTHWEST CORNER OF HOUSE - Doc Taylor Place, House, East Fork of Armells Creek, …1933DETAIL OF DOVETAIL CORNER NOTCHING AT SOUTHWEST CORNE…FRONT (EAST) AND SOUTH SIDE OF BARN - Doc Taylor Place, Barn, East Fork of Armells Creek1933FRONT (EAST) AND SOUTH SIDE OF BARN - Doc Taylor Plac…FRONT (WEST) AND NORTH SIDE OF HOUSE - Doc Taylor Place, House, East Fork of Armells Creek1933FRONT (WEST) AND NORTH SIDE OF HOUSE - Doc Taylor Pla…
1940s–1960snothing 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
1970s12 items
350 MEGAWATT POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT1973350 MEGAWATT POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT350 MEGAWATT POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT1973350 MEGAWATT POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION ATA 350 MEGAWATT POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT COLSTRIP OVERLOOKS 20-YEAR OLD STRIP MINE SPOIL PILES1973A 350 MEGAWATT POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT COLS…A 350-MEGAWATT POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT COLSTRIP--ONE OF FOUR POWER PLANTS PROPOSED FOR THE AREA1973A 350-MEGAWATT POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT COLS…A TRAINLOAD OF COAL FROM THE WESTERN ENERGY MINE NEAR COLSTRIP PASSES THROUGH A LANDSCAPE OF OLD STRIP MINING SPOIL PIL…1973A TRAINLOAD OF COAL FROM THE WESTERN ENERGY MINE NEAR…A WATER POLLUTION CONTROL FACILITY IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT COLSTRIP. THE FOUR POWER PLANTS (ONE ALREADY UNDER... - NAR…1973A WATER POLLUTION CONTROL FACILITY IS UNDER CONSTRUCT…IN 20 YEARS NOTHING HAS GROWN ON THIS OLD SPOIL PILE FROM A STRIP MINE NEAR1973IN 20 YEARS NOTHING HAS GROWN ON THIS OLD SPOIL PILE …NO VEGETATION GROWS ON THIS 20-YEAR OLD SPOIL PILE FROM A STRIP MINE AT1973NO VEGETATION GROWS ON THIS 20-YEAR OLD SPOIL PILE FR…PEABODY COAL COMPANY STRIP MINE, SOUTH OF1973PEABODY COAL COMPANY STRIP MINE, SOUTH OFPEABODY COAL COMPANY STRIP MINE, SOUTH OF1973PEABODY COAL COMPANY STRIP MINE, SOUTH OFPEABODY COAL COMPANY STRIP MINE, SOUTH OF1973PEABODY COAL COMPANY STRIP MINE, SOUTH OFPEABODY COAL COMPANY STRIP MINE, SOUTH OF1973PEABODY COAL COMPANY STRIP MINE, SOUTH OF
1980s–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
The story

How Colstrip came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Colstrip.

Read it all →

Colstrip was established by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1924 as a company town to provide coal for their steam locomotives. The mining at Rosebud Mine, two miles south of the town, is open pit strip mining, where draglines remove soil above the layer of bituminous coal from the Fort Union Formation.

During The Second World War, the Colstrip mine was identified as strategically important because it supplied coal for the Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotives hauling military equipment for the war effort. The mine was guarded from sabotage, and the employees were not allowed to quit their jobs.

In 1958, the railroad switched to using diesel locomotives and the Colstrip mine was shut down.

Chapters20th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Colstrip, 1924 to 1973

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1924
    FoundingColstrip is established
  3. 1925Post officeThe Colstrip post office opens
  4. 1933In the archive'SCARFING' (ANGLED JOINTS, CENTER AND TOP LEFT) OF LOGS ON FRONT OF HOUSE - Doc Taylor Pl…
  5. 1971On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1973In the archive350 MEGAWATT POWER PLANT UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT
On the map

Colstrip on the map, 1971 to 1980

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

Colstrip on the 1971 USGS mapColstrip on the 1980 USGS map1971Colstrip East 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 Colstrip.

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.

'SCARFING' (ANGLED JOINTS, CENTER AND TOP LEFT) OF LOGS ON FRONT OF HOUSE - Doc Taylor Place, House, East Fork of Armel…
Retake this view'SCARFING' (ANGLED JOINTS, CENTER AND TOP LEFT) OF LOGS ON FRONT OF HOUSE - Doc Taylor Place, House, East Fork of Armel…, 1933

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Colstrip, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50020002020Peak: 2,346

Between 2,096 and 2,346 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Colstrip

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

See all →
N
Norma BixbyAmerican politician · b. 1941
Wally McRaeAmerican writer · b. 1936
S
Samuel Russell BarrAmerican politician – Minnesota -- "Sam, S.R." … · b. 1914
Help out

Finish Colstrip’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view'SCARFING' (ANGLED JOINTS, CENTER AND T…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Colstrip’s history

What year was Colstrip founded?

In 1924, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Colstrip’s post office opened in 1925, and the census of 2000 counted 2,346 people here.

How does Colstrip rank for history?

Colstrip is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Colstrip?

1% of Colstrip’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1983.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (18), 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.