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Points of Interest - In and Around Billings

Coulson
Coulson was an "oasis of joy" for bullwackers, cowboys, sheepherders, gamblers and renegades. In its saloons and sod-roofed gambling houses they caroused and fought. The coming of the Northern Pacific Railroad established Billings in 1882 marked the beginning of the end for Coulson. The Conoco Refinery and Coulson Park now occupy the town site.

Boothill Cemetery Monument
This monument is a burial ground for two score residents of Coulson. Nearly all of those interred at Boothill met with violent deaths. The most famous person to be buried here is Muggins Taylor, the scout who carried the news of Custer's Last Stand to the world.

Yellowstone Kelly Gravesite
Yellowstone Kelly, who lived from 1849 to 1928, was the epitome of frontiersman, army scout, dispatch rider and hunter. He represented the highest type of American spirit and character that settled the old west. At his request, he was buried on Kelly Mountain overlooking the Yellowstone River, where his most interesting days were lived.

Black Otter Trail
A scenic drive starting from U.S. 10 at the east end of the city, the roadway passes Boothill Cemetery, climbs Kelly Mountain, and follows the edge of the Rimrocks, where it descends to the valley. Black Otter trail is named after a Crow chief who was killed there by a Sioux war party.

Sacrifice Cliff
Historians report that a group of Crow Indians were camped on this high cliff above the Yellowstone River across from the Black Otter Trail, awaiting the return of a war party. When the warriors returned, they found their village decimated by smallpox. Among the warriors were two young men whose families and friends were among the dead. To appease the gods and halt the smallpox, the two young men blindfolded their ponies and rode them over the cliff.

Pictograph Indian Caves
One of Montana's most significant historic landmarks, Pictograph Cave State Monument bears the images of shield-bearing warriors, human-like figures, and animals painted on rock walls by aboriginal people, and offers visitors a glimpse of life thousands of years ago.

Sturgis Battlefield
Chief Joseph out-smarted the U.S. Calvary at a site about 15 miles west of Billings, reached by driving out Grand Avenue. Here, along the Rimrocks above Canyon Creek, the Nez Perce Indians out-shot and out-maneuvered Colonel Sturgis' force of 400 men. Chief Joseph with a small band of warriors and a following of elders and children pinned down the Army with gunfire on a bright September day in 1877. The Canyon Creek battle was one of 11 engagements which the retreating Nez Perce fought. It is marked with a huge boulder bearing a bronze plaque.

ZooMontana
ZooMontana, Montana=s only wildlife park, is home to native and exotic animals, including two Siberian tigers.

Peter Yegen Jr. Museum / Range Rider of the Yellowstone
Fascinating relics of pioneer and Indian life may be seen at the Peter Yegen Jr. Museum, located near the airport. Specimens of birds, animals, rocks and fossils native to this region are also on display. The life-size bronze statute, done by Charles Christadora, was posed by William Hart of Early Hollywood movie fame. It stands on the edge of the Rimrocks. Nearby is an old Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive, donated by the railroad after it had traveled 700,000 miles in service of the area.

Moss Mansion
Designed in 1901 by famous American architect, Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, the Moss Mansion is an exuberant mixture of various architectural styles. From the ornate Moorish entry, to the Shakespearean library, to the formal French parlor, the Moss Mansion offers an unusual blend of periods and styles. Rich tapestries, oak and mahogany millwork, finely woven Aubuson carpets and original furniture and artifacts add warmth and authenticity to this historic home.

Western Heritage Center
The Western Heritage Center is a nonprofit regional museum of history which strives to preserve the past through exhibits, educational programs and special events illustrative of the rich cultural heritage of this area.

Yellowstone Art Museum
The Yellowstone Art Museum is located in downtown Billings. Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Art Museum annually mounts 16 to 20 exhibitions of national and regional art, from contemporary to historic. Drawing its audiences from a four-state region, the Art Museum's dynamic program also includes a lecture series featuring nationally known artists, critics and art historians; film and video programs; literature reading and writers' workshops; chamber concerts; and an extensive children's education program.

The Castle Corner
622 North 29th Street
One of the most unusual houses in Billings, the Castle was built in 1902 as a replica of the Potte Palmer Mansion in Chicago which was itself patterned after an English castle. The three-story building has a medieval appearance with its steep, pitched roof, crow-stepped gable, and a round turret capped by a battlement. Today it houses two art galleries.

Billings Historic District
Montana Avenue - North 26th to North 21st
Billings' original business district, which grew up around the railroad depot, is experiencing new life again. The City Council declared the area a Historic District in 1977. Since then the Historic District has been accepted by the National Register of Historic Places and the emphasis is on "recycling" the fine old structures in the area.

Points of Interest - Nearby

Little Big Horn National Monument - 65 miles SE of Billings
Little Big Horn National Monument in southeastern Montana memorializes one of the last armed efforts of the Northern Plains Indians to preserve their ancestral way of life. Here in the valley of the Little Bighorn River on June 25 and 26, 1876, more than 260 soldiers and attached personnel of the U.S. Army met defeat and death at the hands of several thousand Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. Among the dead were Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and every member of his immediate command.

Plenty Coups State Monument - 35 miles south of Billings
Situated within the Crow Reservation in south central Montana, Chief Plenty Coups State Monument represents an effort to preserve one of the state's significant historic sites. Once the home of Plenty Coups, last chief of the Crows, the area offers a variety of recreational activities for visitors, including excellent picnic facilities.

Yellowstone National Park
The nation's first and foremost national park is just a few hours' drive southwest of Billings. Leaving Billings, the visitor has three routes to the Park from which to choose, including the breathtaking 11,000 foot high Beartooth Highway, referred to by CBS newsman, Charles Kuralt, as the most scenic highway in America.

Yellowtail Dam & Big Horn Reservoir
This massive dam and 72-mile scenic reservoir are located two hours south of Billings near Hardin off I-90. It provides great fishing, boating and water skiing opportunities. The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range extends along the reservoir.

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Bighorn Canyon in southeastern Montana is rich in historic, scenic and recreational value. The Pryor Mountains, Crow Indian Reservation - the entire area - is a geologist's delight, and only a few hours drive from Billings.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center- Cody, Wyoming
Sometimes called the "Smithsonian of the West," the Center is actually four museums in one location: The Buffalo Bill Museum, the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, the Cody Firearms Museum and the Plains Indian Museum. Only two hours' drive from Billings and a frequent stopping point for people traveling to or from Yellowstone National Park.

Pompeys Pillar
The only known physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's passage is Captain Clark's signature carved into the rock of this massive sandstone pillar in 1908. Pompeys Pillar is a short half-hour drive east of Billings.