Billings

A bastion of civilization on an otherwise empty prairie, Billings is a classic Western city, full of the kind of history that shaped the frontier. The Minnesota and Montana Land and Improvement Company founded the town simply to serve as a shipping point along the Northwestern Railroad. In the spring of 1882 the settlement consisted of three buildings—a home, a hotel, and a general store—but before six months passed 5,000 city lots had been sold and more than 200 homes and businesses had been erected. The city's immediate and consistent growth earned Billings the nickname "the Magic City."