Havre, Montana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Havre, Montana
City
View of Havre looking south to the Bears Paw Mountains
Nickname(s):  Heart of the Hi-Line
Location of Havre, Montana
Country	United States
State	Montana
County	Hill
Area
• Total	3.71 sq mi (9.61 km2)
• Land	3.71 sq mi (9.61 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	2,536 ft (773 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	9,362
• Density	2,523.45/sq mi (974.19/km2)
Time zone	UTC−7 (Mountain [MST])
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
ZIP code	59501
Area code(s)	406
FIPS code	30-35050
GNIS feature ID	0772203

Havre ( HAV-ər) is the county seat and largest city in Hill County, Montana, United States. Havre is nicknamed the crown jewel of the Hi-Line. It is said to be named after the city of Le Havre in France. As of the 2020 census the population was 9,362.

History

Havre was incorporated in north central Montana in 1893. It was founded primarily to serve as a major railroad service center for the Great Northern Railway (built by James J. Hill) with its location midway between Seattle and Minneapolis-St. Paul. A statue of Hill stands near the Havre Amtrak station to commemorate the key contributions his railroad has made to Havre's and Montana's history.

Originally named Bullhook Bottoms, the town met in a series of meetings to determine a new name. The original settlers were given the final decision, and due to a strong French influence, the town was renamed Havre.

Simon Pepin (1840–1914), the "Father of Havre", was born in Quebec and emigrated to Montana in 1863, where he became a contractor, furnishing supplies for the construction of Fort Custer, Fort Assinniboine, and Fort Maginnis. Pepin purchased ranch land near Fort Assinniboine. When James J. Hill built the Great Northern Railway across northern Montana, he built locomotive shops on property Pepin owned at the site of Havre. Pepin became a major contributor to Havre's economic growth through his cattle, real estate, and banking enterprises.

Havre is the eighth-largest city in Montana, and the largest city in the Montana section of the Hi-Line. With the nearest larger city, Great Falls, about 120 miles (190 km) to the south, Havre serves as a medical and business center for the Montana section of the Hi-Line. U.S. Highway 87 has its northern terminus at Havre. U.S. Highway 2, running east-west, is the city's main street. The largest employers are Northern Montana Hospital, Montana State University – Northern, and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF). Throughout much of the twentieth century, BNSF was the most prominent employer in the city, but the company scaled back its workforce in Havre in the 1990s. The Milk River (tributary of the Missouri River) runs through the town, and the Bear's Paw Mountains can be seen to the south.

Small grids of purple squares can be seen in some of the sidewalks downtown. These are skylights for an underground mall built in the city at least a hundred years ago. Throughout its history, this underground area has been host to a Chinese laundromat, a saloon, a drugstore and rooms used for smuggling alcohol during Prohibition. When fire destroyed Havre's business district in 1904, legitimate above-ground businesses joined the illicit businesses operating in the underground while the new brick buildings were built in the streets above. The underground area, now designated "Havre Beneath the Streets", currently operates as a tourist attraction.

The Wahkpa Chu'gn buffalo jump, or bison kill, is located behind the Holiday Village Shopping Center near the northwest corner of Havre. Over 2,000 years old, it is one of the largest and best preserved buffalo jumps anywhere. In prehistoric times, Native Americans would drive bison over the edge of the cliff, killing or severely injuring the animals. Afterwards, the Native Americans skinned the animals and preserved the meat. The buffalo jump is now an archaeological site and a small tourist attraction.

The buffalo jump is located at the southern edge of the Havre Badlands, a badlands formation that runs alongside the Milk River to the west of the city. Small fossils, including seashells and petrified wood, can be found in the limestone sediment in this area.

Hill County Courthouse in downtown Havre

Six miles (9.7 km) southwest of Havre is Fort Assinniboine, which served as one of Montana's principal military posts from 1879 through the Prohibition era. The fort was one of many used by the United States to protect against potential attacks from Native Americans and to block incursions from Canada. At its peak, the fort housed and employed 489 soldiers in 104 buildings.

Also near Havre is the Bear's Paw Battlefield site of the Battle of Bear Paw, where the Nez Perce were attacked and defeated by the U.S. Cavalry. Chief Joseph surrendered to the Cavalry and made a famous speech ending with the line, "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Geography

Havre is located at 48°33′N 109°41′W / 48.550°N 109.683°W / 48.550; -109.683 (48.5454, -109.6775).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.28 square miles (8.50 km²), all of it land.

Climate

Havre experiences a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with long, cold, dry winters and hot summers with cool nights. Winter weather can vary greatly from brutal cold when Arctic air moves in from Canada, to temperatures far above 32 °F or 0 °C due to chinook winds – for instance the coldest month (and only one to never top freezing) of January 1916 averaged −13.3 °F or −25.2 °C and February 1936 during a notorious cold wave −12.8 °F or −24.9 °C, but February 1954 averaged as high as 37.1 °F or 2.8 °C and January 1919, 34.1 °F or 1.2 °C. The hottest temperature recorded in Havre is 111 °F or 43.9 °C on August 5, 1961, and the coldest −57 °F or −49.4 °C on January 27, 1916.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,310 people, 3,900 households, and 2,293 families living in the city. The population density was 2,838.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,095.9/km²). There were 4,285 housing units at an average density of 1,306.4 per square mile (504.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.6% White, 0.4% African American, 13.0% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.3% from other races, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.5% of the population.

There were 3,900 households, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.3% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.2% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.98.

The median age in the city was 33.9 years. 25.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.5% were from 25 to 44; 25.2% were from 45 to 64; and 13.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.8% male and 50.2% female.

Points of interest

• LORAN-C transmitter Havre
• Big Bud 747, the world's largest farm tractor
• Too Close for Comfort Site, a Buffalo jump archaeological site, open to visitors

Education

The city is served by Havre Public Schools, which operates Havre High School, S.U.N.S. Alternative High School, Havre Middle School, and three elementary schools.

Higher education is provided at the Montana State University-Northern campus.

Cowan Hall, Montana State University-Northern.

Havre has a public library, the Havre-Hill County Library.

The city hosts one private school within city limits, Saint Judes Thaddeus School; it is affiliated with the Catholic Church.

Saint Jude Thaddeus Church, Havre

Transportation

Havre is located on the Northern Transcon of the BNSF Railway; Amtrak's Empire Builder stops at Havre station daily. Havre City–County Airport is a public use airport located three miles (4.8 km) west of Havre. North Central Montana Transit provides limited bus service to Great Falls, Montana, the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, Harlem, Montana, and Fort Belknap, Montana.

Notable people

Remarks by FDR on a balanced budget on 1937 visit to Havre

• Philip Aaberg, pianist and composer
• John Ahern, Washington state legislator and businessman
• Jeff Ament, musician, Pearl Jam's bassist
• Karan Armstrong, opera singer
• Harriet Bossnot, social and civic worker
• T.V. Buttrey, academic and numismatist
• Ryan Divish, journalist for the Seattle Times
• Jeff Doyle, Major League Baseball player
• William Hulett, actor in Cirque du Soleil, Zumanity
• Marc Mariani, former NFL football player
• Larry Maze, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas, 1994–2006
• Jill McLain, Miss Montana USA 2006
• Karl Ohs, former lieutenant governor of Montana
• Flint Rasmussen, professional rodeo clown
• Rob Ryan, Major League Baseball player
• Rick Rydell, radio talk show host and outdoors author
• Brian Schweitzer, governor of Montana 2005–2013
• Stan Stephens, governor of Montana 1989–1993
• Jon Tester, incumbent U.S. senator
• Mike Tilleman, former NFL football player
• Jacob Bachmeier, one of the youngest state legislators in the United States

Images for kids

• 

  Gussenhoven House, Havre, Hill County, Montana

See also

In Spanish: Havre (Montana) para niños