Deer Lodge, Montana
Encyclopedia
Deer Lodge is a city in and the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Powell County
Powell County, Montana
-National protected areas:* Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest * Flathead National Forest * Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site* Helena National Forest * Lolo National Forest * Bob Marshall Wilderness Area...

, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 3,421 at the 2000 census. The city is perhaps best known as the home of the Montana State Prison
Montana State Prison
The Montana State Prison is a men's correctional facility of the Montana Department of Corrections in unincorporated Powell County, Montana, about west of Deer Lodge...

, a major local employer. The Montana State Hospital
Montana State Hospital
Montana State Hospital is located in Warm Springs, Montana, just off of I-90 between Butte and Missoula.The Hospital is the only publicly operated psychiatric hospital in the state. It was founded by the territorial government in 1877. The hospital was once Montana's largest unincorporated...

 in Warm Springs, and former state tuberculosis sanitarium is in nearby Galen are the result of the power the western part of the state held over Montana at statehood due to the copper and mineral wealth in that area. Deer Lodge was also once an important railroad town, serving as a division headquarters for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names...

 ("the Milwaukee Road") before the railroad's local abandonment in 1980.

The current Montana State Prison occupies a campus 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west of town. The former prison site, at the south end of Deer Lodge's Main Street, is now the Old Prison Museum
Montana State Prison
The Montana State Prison is a men's correctional facility of the Montana Department of Corrections in unincorporated Powell County, Montana, about west of Deer Lodge...

. In addition to a former cellblock building, the museum complex includes a theater, antique and automobile museums, and a former Milwaukee Road "Little Joe
Little Joe (electric locomotive)
The Little Joe is a type of railroad electric locomotive built by General Electric for export to the Soviet Union in 1946. The locomotives had twelve axles, eight of them powered, in a 2-D+D-2 arrangement...

" electric locomotive.

Deer Lodge is also the location of Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
Established by Canadian fur trader Johnny Grant, and expanded by cattle baron Conrad Kohrs, Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site commemorates the Western cattle industry from its 1850s inception through recent times. The park was created in 1972, and embraces 1,500 acres and 90 structures. The...

, dedicated to the interpretation of the frontier cattle ranching era. This site was the home of Conrad Kohrs
Conrad Kohrs
Conrad Kohrs, born Carsten Conrad Kohrs was a Montana cattle rancher .He was born in Holstein, a province that was ethnically and culturally German and part of the German Confederation but ruled at the time in personal union by Denmark...

, one of the famous "Cattle Kings" of Montana whose land holdings once stretched over a million acres (4,000 km²) of Montana, Wyoming, and Alberta, Canada. The Grant-Kohrs ranch was built in 1862 by Johnny Grant, a Scottish/French/Metis fur-trader and trapper who encouraged his people to settle in Deer Lodge because of its pleasant climate and large areas of bunch grass prairie, ideal for raising cattle and horses. The city's name derives from a geological formation known as Warm Springs Mound which contained natural saline that made for a natural salt lick for the local deer population, the protected valley in which Deer Lodge is located was where most of the local wildlife would winter as the temperatures lowered in the high country.

Deer Lodge was the site of the College of Montana
College of Montana
The College of Montana was a private liberal arts college that existed in Deer Lodge, Montana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1878 as the "Montana Collegiate Institute," the school was the first institution of higher learning in Montana. The College of Montana name was...

, the first institution of higher learning in the state.

Geography

Deer Lodge is located at 46°23′46"N 112°43′59"W (46.396183, -112.732922).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 3,421 people, 1,442 households, and 911 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 2,369.3 people per square mile (917.3/km²). There were 1,593 housing units at an average density of 1,103.3 per square mile (427.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.67% White, 0.03% African American, 1.02% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.61% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 2.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.84% of the population.

There were 1,442 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% 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 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,859, and the median income for a family was $36,108. Males had a median income of $27,903 versus $20,227 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $14,883. About 8.7% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Media

The Silver State Post is Powell County's only newspaper. KBCK (1400 AM) and KQRV
KQRV
KQRV is a commercial radio station in Deer Lodge, Montana, broadcasting to the Butte, Montana area. KQRV airs a country music format....

 (96.9 FM) are two local radio stations.

Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

 operates the Deer Lodge Post Office.

The Montana Department of Corrections operates the current Montana State Prison
Montana State Prison
The Montana State Prison is a men's correctional facility of the Montana Department of Corrections in unincorporated Powell County, Montana, about west of Deer Lodge...

 facility in a nearby unincorporated area
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Powell County
Powell County, Montana
-National protected areas:* Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest * Flathead National Forest * Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site* Helena National Forest * Lolo National Forest * Bob Marshall Wilderness Area...

, near Deer Lodge.

Education

Education in Powell County is served by Powell County High School located in Deer Lodge. In recent years the school has had an enrollment of about 300 students. The school currently competes athletically in the 6B conference with Superior, Missoula Loyola, Valley Christian, Darby and Florence. Although being in existence since 1903 the school won its first athletic team state championship in golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 in 2005.

Notable residents

  • John Bozeman, founder of Bozeman, Montana
    Bozeman, Montana
    Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...

  • Edgar Samuel Paxson
    Edgar Samuel Paxson
    Edgar Samuel Paxson was an American frontier painter, scout, soldier and writer, based mainly in Montana. He is best known for his portraits of Native Americans in the Old West and for his depiction of the Battle of Little Bighorn in his painting "Custer's Last Stand".- Biography :Paxson was born...

    , frontier artist
  • Neal Chase
    Neal Chase
    Neal Chase is the disputed leader of a small Bahá'í sect known as the Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant , which was last known to have fewer than 100 members in 1990, mostly concentrated in Montana, and declined rapidly in the 1990s...

    , a leader of a small Bahá'í sect, the Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant
    Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant
    The Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant is a small Bahá'í sect founded originally by Leland Jensen in the early 1970s. The claims of the BUPC focus on a dispute in leadership following the death of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, and a subsequent dispute among the followers of Mason Remey...

  • William H. Clagett
    William H. Clagett
    William Horace Clagett was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from various places in the United States. He was the uncle of Samuel B. Pettengill....

    , U.S. Representative from Montana Territory
    Montana Territory
    The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 28, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Montana.-History:...

    , lawyer
  • William Andrews Clark
    William Andrews Clark
    William Andrews Clark, Sr. was an American politician and entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking, and railroads.-Biography:...

    , United States Senator from Montana, was a banker here
  • Eric Funk
    Eric Funk
    Eric Funk is an American contemporary classical composer and conductor. Originally from Deer Lodge, Montana, he currently resides in Bozeman, Montana, where he teaches music courses at Montana State University....

    , Composer
    Composer
    A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

     and professor at Montana State University
  • Phil Jackson
    Phil Jackson
    Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach and player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association . His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998;...

    , NBA
    National Basketball Association
    The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

     coach
  • Conrad Kohrs
    Conrad Kohrs
    Conrad Kohrs, born Carsten Conrad Kohrs was a Montana cattle rancher .He was born in Holstein, a province that was ethnically and culturally German and part of the German Confederation but ruled at the time in personal union by Denmark...

    , cattle rancher
  • Jean Parker
    Jean Parker
    -Career:Born as Lois Mae Green in Deer Lodge, Montana, she appeared in 70 movies from 1932 through 1966. She was discovered by Ida Koverman, secretary to MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer, after she saw a poster featuring Parker portraying Father Time. She attended Pasadena schools and graduated from John...

    , actress born Lois Mae Green in Deer Lodge
  • Patricia Nell Warren
    Patricia Nell Warren
    Patricia Nell Warren is an openly lesbian American author and journalist.-Biography:Primarily known as an author, Warren is also commonly known as "the mother of Frontrunners" - the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender running/walking clubs that have been started in Los Angeles and other large...

    , writer

Film credits

Deer Lodge has been a filming location for a number of movies including:
  • Rancho Deluxe
    Rancho Deluxe
    Rancho Deluxe is a comedy western film that was directed by Frank Perry and released in 1975. Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston star as two cattle rustlers in modern-day Montana who plague a wealthy ranch owner, played by Clifton James....

    (1975)
  • Heaven's Gate
    Heaven's Gate (film)
    Heaven's Gate is a 1980 American epic Western film based on the Johnson County War, a dispute between land barons and European immigrants in Wyoming in the 1890s...

    (1980)
  • Fast-Walking
    Fast-Walking
    Fast-Walking is a 1982 dramatic film directed by James B. Harris. The film is based on Ernest Brawley's 1974 novel The Rap. It was also issued theatrically in the U.S. under the title The Joint....

    (1982)
  • Runaway Train
    Runaway Train (film)
    Runaway Train is a 1985 film about two escaped convicts and a female train worker who are stuck on a runaway train as it barrels through snowy desolate Alaska. It stars Jon Voight as Oscar "Manny" Manheim, Eric Roberts as Buck, John P. Ryan as Associate Warden Ranken and Rebecca De Mornay as Sara...

    (1985)
  • Diggstown
    Diggstown
    Diggstown is a 1992 movie directed by Michael Ritchie, and starring James Woods, Louis Gossett, Jr. and Bruce Dern. It also features Heather Graham, Oliver Platt and Randall "Tex" Cobb.-Synopsis:...

    (1992)
  • F.T.W.
    F.T.W. (film)
    F.T.W. is a 1994 film about Frank T. Wells, an ex-con rodeo rider who becomes involved with a woman who's a bank robber on the run.- Plot :...

    (1994)
  • Love Comes to the Executioner (2006)
  • Iron Ridge (2007)

UFO documentary

In a 2004 documentary titled The Secret of Redgate by Lynda J. Cowen and Jim Marrs
Jim Marrs
Jim Marrs is an American former newspaper journalist and New York Times best-selling author of books and articles on a wide range of alleged cover ups and conspiracies. Marrs is a prominent figure in the JFK conspiracy press and his book Crossfire was a source for Oliver Stone's film JFK...

, a number of Deer Lodge residents explain about their experiences with extraterrestrial beings
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...

and the rumours surrounding these events. These occurrences which date back some fifty years took place at a location named Redgate on the eastside of Deer Lodge.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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