Looking down Livingston's Main Street, the historic, Western atmosphere of this frontier town remains intact in many of the city's buildings.

In the city's residential neighborhoods and the downtown commercial district, several perfect examples of the town's early buildings still stand, preserved and restored - appearing as they did a century ago.

Historic preservation has been the cornerstone of Livingston's restoration efforts. Nowhere in town is it more evident than in the downtown business district, where the facades of about 20 buildings have been restored to their original design.

Two Livingston architects relied on old photographs of each building to recreate the original appearance.

Buildings throughout the downtown area date back to the turn of the century, when fancy brickwork and decorative cornices were popular. Names like Orschel, Danforth, Garnier and Frank - early Livingston businessmen who helped build the town - still mark the buildings.

Some old, faded signs - vestiges of early-day businesses - are still visible on some of the buildings (be on the lookout for cigar and Coca-Cola ads). Many of the downtown buildings were once hotels to accommodate the tourists that came to Livingston.

Livingston was the original entrance to Yellowstone National Park, and it was here that rail passengers on the old Northern Pacific Railroad changed trains to catch the Park Branch Line to Gardiner.

Passengers in that era boarded the Park Branch Line at the Northern Pacific Depot in Livingston, a building that has always been the most impressive piece of architecture in the city.

Built by the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1902, the building served as a passenger depot until rail passenger service was eliminated in the late 1970s. After serving as office space for the Burlington Northern Railroad, the depot was restored to its original condition and transformed into a museum.

The depot is just one of several hundred buildings in Livingston listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1979 the entire city was surveyed to determine which buildings and homes qualified to be listed on the register. In all, more than 430 structures in several districts have qualified.

In addition to the downtown commercial district, three residential areas are listed on the register.

Three blocks west of Main Street is one historic residential neighborhood. Located on Yellowstone Street, the area was once home to many of the town's founding fathers.

Another district listed on the register is located in the 300 block of South B Street. Once known as the infamous red light district, this area consists of the four look-alike houses on the east side of the street.

Another historic residential district is located on the east side of town in what was once the heart of the blue-collar area. It was here, in the area around G and Callender streets, that the majority of the Northern Pacific workers once lived.

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The history of the Livingston and Park County area was shaped by the early settlers who had dreams of building a city - and by the famous and colorful characters who passed through this area before and after the town's founding in the late 1880s.

For at least 5,700 years, though, American Indians had moved along the upper Yellowstone River corridor. The name of the mountains in southern Park County, the Absaroka Mountains, is in fact taken from the name the Crow Indians called themselves.

In 1806, Capt. William Clark was one of the first white men to travel through what is now Park County. On Lewis and Clark's return trip home, Clark separated from Lewis to explore the Yellowstone River valley. He camped near the mouth of the Shields River.

Later, in 1844, famed trapper and mountain man Jim Bridger wintered up Emigrant Gulch on the east side of the Paradise Valley, according to historical documents based in part on Bridger's own accounts.

He and the group of Crow Indians he was with are said to have left a pile of buffalo, elk, deer and antelope skulls to mark the site. Miners who found the monument in the 1860s learned only later it had been left by Bridger.

Decades later, the crews building the Northern Pacific Railroad pushed through the area, setting up camp in Livingston. By 1889 - the year of Montana's statehood - Livingston had become a bustling railroad town complete with a thriving locomotive repair shop, an impressive downtown area and electric lights.

The year 1889 also saw a building boom to meet the demands for homes and businesses.

Also, Yellowstone River water rights were claimed for manufacturing and processing ore.

A group of Livingston workers pose with a train engine in an early photo.

The seed that became Livingston was planted in 1882. In July of that year, the first permanent settlers came in search of a location for a railroad store.

A small community had already been established a few miles downriver at a place called Benson's Landing, but when a man named Joseph J. McBride arrived, he came with orders to find another site to build a store.

It was to be a supply store for the Northern Pacific Railroad construction crew that was paving the way west for the iron horse. According to historical accounts, McBride arrived on July 14, 1882. Two days later, George H. Carver, who would later become one of the city's leading businessmen and a prominent figure in local politics, arrived at what is the present-day site of Livingston.

Carver and McBride pitched their tent on the 16th, making them the first local residents. Also arriving that day were 30 freight wagons drawn by 140 oxen and loaded with 140,000 pounds of merchandise.

The supply trade began in tents and then, according to the 1900 Livingston Enterprise newspaper souvenir edition, "On the first of August, 1882, this germ of a future city took on a business-like appearance."

Mountain man Jim Bridger spent one winter near what is now Chico.

Photo courtesy of University of Nebraska Press

The early settlement was called Clark City. According to "The History of the Yellowstone Valley," the entire encampment at Benson's Landing moved upstream to the new community within 10 days of the freight train's arrival. The original Clark City was located on Livingston's southeast side.

B.F. Downen is credited with building the first permanent residence, and soon after that a saloon owned by Frank White was built.

Gradually, wooden buildings began to replace the tents and the population began to grow. By fall, the town was well established. An election poll in November of that year counted 348 votes for delegates to Congress.

Clark City boasted a total of six general stores, two drug stores, two hotels, one hardware store, two restaurants, two watchmakers, three blacksmiths, two wholesale liquor dealers, two meat markets and 30 saloons.

Clark City had begun to flourish, but the town's residents were unaware that Northern Pacific officials had marked on their maps a town called Livingston at the same place. According to "The History of the Yellowstone Valley," the city was named for Crawford Livingston, a director of the Northern Pacific Railroad. In October, a post office was chartered for Clark City. In November, Livingston received its charter.

Also in November, the Livingston town site was surveyed and platted. "The platting of the new town site was the death knell of the town of Clark City," according to historic accounts in "The History of the Yellowstone Valley."

In December 1882, the "new" town of Livingston sprang up a little northwest of Clark City near the railroad tracks. The site of Clark City is now within Livingston's city limits but at the time, the distance between the two communities was thought to be considerable, so the Clark City businessmen moved to the new settlement to take full advantage of being near the railroad.

The first issue of the city's first newspaper - the Livingston Gazette - was published on Dec. 19, 1882.

Livingston, along with Deadwood, S.D., were both the home of Calamity Jane, whose given name was Martha Canary. Known as a straight-shootin', whip-crackin' frontier woman, she at one time lived in a local hotel and ... in the local jail.

The future of the town was assured when the Northern Pacific Railroad decided to build its locomotive repair shops here in the late 1880s.

A huge repair shop complex was built here to service the railroad's fleet of locomotives. Hundreds of men worked in the shops and still more worked on the trains as engineers, brakemen and conductors. At one time, more than 2,200 men worked for the railroad in Livingston.

Subsequent shop owner Burlington Northern Railroad closed the shops in 1986, but a regional railroad, Montana Rail Link, purchased the main line through southern Montana and established the repair facility Livingston Rebuild Center at the shops. Freight service was expanded and the shops reopened.

Later, Livingston Rebuild Center was bought by Talgo-LRC and the buildings were subsequently repurchased by Montana Rail Link.

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When Yellowstone National Park was created in 1872, the town site of Gardiner began to bustle and soon became a hub of activity for both tourists and seekers of fortune.

Despite its unassuming look, Gardiner has played the part of a rough-and-tumble boomtown in Park County's colorful history, with gold rushes, the railroad and destructive fires each leaving an imprint.

Fire has swept through Gardiner several times, sometimes taking most of the buildings in town with it. Gardiner was officially put on the map in the 1880s, when the Northern Pacific Railroad began delivering tourists on the Park Branch Line, which ran south from Livingston through the Paradise Valley.

For the first few years, those tourists had to switch to stagecoaches for the last few miles to Gardiner, thanks to one of the area's gold rushes. A mining claim dispute arose and land the Northern Pacific Railroad bought for its line to Gardiner was reputedly a jumped claim.

The fight required several years of wheeling and dealing and political maneuvering, during which time Cinnabar, a smaller town three miles north of Gardiner, served as the end of the line.

Elk roam near and in Gardiner much of the year.

The dispute was finally settled and Robert Reamer, architect of the Old Faithful Inn, designed a depot that once and for all established Gardiner as the gateway to the park.

The Roosevelt Arch, inscribed "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people," has marked the park entrance road since 1903. President Teddy Roosevelt delivered the dedication speech for the arch to an estimated 5,000 people.

As the only year-round entrance to the park, Gardiner is growing and so, too, is its assortment of motels, restaurants, stores and curio shops, art galleries and book stores.

Many campgrounds and trailer parks offer overnight services with all hookups and can serve as home base for travelers who want to leave their trailers or RVs and tour the park on the bus system. And adventurous visitors may be interested in taking locally guided rafting trips down the Yellowstone River or taking a float/fishing trip.

For anglers, the Yellowstone River is a blue-ribbon trout stream, with float trips available to accommodate any size party. Numerous other small streams, a short drive from town, provide excellent fishing.

The summer also means rodeo time, and Gardiner's is among the state's finest. The Gardiner Rodeo is set for June 15 and 16.

Northeast of Gardiner, the tiny town of Jardine rests in a nook in the mountains. The place has a long history of gold mining. The last mining operation closed there in September 1996.

Gardiner is also a popular spot with winter travelers who wish to view Yellowstone in its snow-clad splendor. The National Park Service keeps the road from Gardiner to Cooke City open all winter, while the other roads in the park disappear beneath many feet of snow.

The streets of Gardiner are ablaze each fall with the orange vests of hunters who come to the area for the excellent big-game hunting.

Numerous outfitters use the town as a base during the hunting season.

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Historic Cooke City was born more than a century ago in the midst of the Western gold rush, when miners searched for instant wealth in the mountains and streams of the Absaroka and Beartooth mountain ranges. One look at its buildings, homes and other features, and it quickly becomes evident Cooke City is rich in mining history and a part of the boom and bust cycles that beset such towns.

But there is much more to this sparsely populated hamlet than its resource industry roots. In fact, the Cooke City/Silver Gate area provides some of the best outdoor recreational opportunities Montana has to offer. Pinched between Yellowstone National Park and the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, the area is rich in wildlife. Thick forests cover the mountainsides, while crystalline streams and creeks abound.

During the warmer months, there are numerous campgrounds and havens for backcountry living. Breathtaking hiking trails crisscross the landscape. There are also dozens of prized trout streams and creeks for the serious and novice anglers.

During the peak summer months, Cooke City's streets, rustic bars, hotels and restaurants are bustling with tourists passing through on their way to Yellowstone or recovering from backpack trips through the federally protected wilderness.

Weather permitting, the nationally-renowned Beartooth Highway, linking Cooke City with Red Lodge 68 miles to the east, opens around Memorial Day. The winding, high-altitude highway, which crosses the 11,000-foot Beartooth Pass, ranks as one of the most beautiful roadways in America, according to the late CBS News correspondent Charles Kuralt.

Cooke City is also minutes away from the scenic Chief Joseph Highway, which takes motorists on a dazzling tour along the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River and Sunlight Basin toward Cody, Wyo.

During the winter months, cross-country and telemark skiers and snowmobilers flock to the area to delight in snow-filled trails, upper mountain ranges, passes and coulees.

September is another busy time of the year, due to the throngs of hunters that converge on the elk- and deer-rich forests and meadows.

Hunters can also bag moose, black bear and mountain sheep in the surrounding wilderness.

Another wonder of this area is its community spirit. When fire tore through Yellowstone Park 18 years ago, residents banded together to save Cooke City and Silver Gate. The dead trees mark how close the fire came - a line of burned timber lies just feet from some buildings.

The trees serve as a reminder of Cooke City's isolation and its communion with the wilderness.

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Located about 36 miles east of Livingston along Interstate 90, the city of Big Timber and surrounding Sweet Grass County offer a wide variety of places to visit.

Downtown Big Timber

On a stroll down Main Street, you'll find friendly people and inviting shops filled with everything needed for a stay in Sweet Grass County. Visit Gusts of Big Timber, with its 12-foot ceilings and displays of vintage clothing. Say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Gust, who have run the store for more than 50 years.

The Grand Hotel is a registered historical building complete with fine dining, Victorian guest rooms and a Western bar.

Enjoy small-town pleasures such as a 1930s soda fountain, antique shops or just a shady bench to watch the world go by.

Natural Bridge and Falls

A 30-minute drive south of Big Timber brings you to Natural Bridge Falls. The paved paths start at the parking lot and meander along the Boulder River. There are several viewing points with signs telling about the area, the falls and wildlife. In the spring there are actually three separate falls. Later in the year, the river flows underground to reveal the limestone bedrock. Toilet facilities and picnic tables are available.

Half Moon Park Campground

North of town, follow Big Timber Creek into the fabled Crazy Mountains. Half Moon Park Campground is equipped with vault toilets, picnic area, water and a parking area for day hikes. Then fish, picnic, lie in the sun, splash in the crystal-clear water or hike into the high country. Big Timber Falls is an easy half-mile walk from the campground. Blue Lake, which is a great fishing hole, is 5 1/2 miles farther up the trail.

Crazy Mountain Museum

There are several new exhibits in place for 2007. They include Pearl Moore's doll exhibit, a porcelain china and crystal collection, Dornix, a town of the past, New Cremer Rodeo photos, antique hand tools, a new Gene Barbieri collection, antique baptismal gowns and new artwork by Bev Josephson.

The Lewis and Clark exhibit, which opened last year, can still be viewed. It includes paintings and stories about plants Lewis and Clark encountered on their travels.

Older collections include the Cremer Rodeo exhibit, a display for the Sweet Grass County Veterans, Cobblestone City, a diorama of Big Timber in 1907, and others.

Prairie Dog Town State Park

Located off Interstate 90 at Exit 377 just east of Big Timber is a "town" inhabited by a large colony of prairie dogs. Loved and hated by Westerners, these perky, burrowing creatures can be seen from spring to fall and on warm days in the winter. The town is easily accessible with informational signs and a picnic area.

Yellowstone Fish Hatchery

The fish hatchery is a short stroll from downtown Big Timber. A biologist is usually on hand to explain the life cycle of Yellowstone cutthroat trout. The fish can be seen at all stages, from tiny fingerlings to mature breeding stock.

Melville Church

Located a country mile from the little town of Melville in northern Sweet Grass County, you will find one of the earliest churches in Montana. In 1885, a hard-working, self-sufficient group of pioneers organized the first Lutheran congregation in Montana.

Hiking and fishing

The Gallatin National Forest surrounds Sweet Grass County. There are numerous public campgrounds and maintained trails available. You can enjoy a day hike or pack in for a week.

South of Big Timber is the spectacular Boulder Valley. Travel on State Highway 298 to the Forest Service road that will take you to natural and man-made wonders.

Near Natural Bridge is the Lion's Head. It is a rock outcropping that can be seen on the way to Box Canyon. Indian caves with pictographs are an easy hike from the Main Boulder Ranger Station.

About an hour hike beyond Box Canyon is the abandoned mining town of Independence nestled in a breathtaking mountain valley.

The East Boulder and West Boulder rivers flow into the Main Boulder 10 to 15 miles south of Big Timber. All three rivers are pristine mountain streams with excellent fishing and lying-in-the-sun opportunities.

The Yellowstone River flows east past Big Timber. It offers excellent fishing, along with boating. There are public accesses along the river.

For more information, contact the Sweet Grass County Chamber of Commerce at (406) 932-5131 or e-mail info@bigtimber. com. Log on to the Chamber's Web site at www.bigtimber. com.

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