Five Montana Town Names That Are Just Plain Weird
I've lived in Montana my entire life, but I'm always learning new things about my home state every day. For example, did you know that Billings was named for a former President of the Northern Pacific Railroad? There's always something new to learn, and when it comes to weird town names, you'd be surprised at how many Montana has. I'll only go over five, but trust me the actual list is much longer.
Nimrod, MT
Nimrod is ghost town located just outside of Glacier National Park. I couldn't find much about Nimrod but the origin of the name comes from the Bible, as Nimrod is described in the book of Genesis as a great hunter.
Coffee Creek, MT
This tiny town located in Fergus County was established in 1913 as a railroad community, and named after the creek nearby with dark-brown water. Today, the only original building that remains open is the Post Office. It's also been the setting for a series of Harlequin novels written by C.J. Carmichael.
Pray, MT
No, you don't have to pray when you enter Pray. It's a picturesque town in the middle of the Paradise Valley. Many Montanans and tourists know Pray for Chico Hot Springs. Established in 1900, Chico is a resort destination known for its beautiful views and delicious food.
Joe, MT
It sounds hilarious, right? As funny as it sounds, Joe is not the actual name of Ismay, Montana, but it is a name the town took as a publicity stunt to increase its dwindling population. The name only lasted for 3 years, but the sign still stands to this day.
Square Butte, MT
Yes, there's more than one Butte in Montana, so they had to distinguish between them. Square Butte is named for a rock formation of the same name (left in the photo above) that Meriwether Lewis described as, "...a singular appearance it is situated in a level plain, it’s sides stand nearly at right angles with each other and are each about a mile in extent."
As stated previously, Montana has way more than these five. Some of those honorable mentions include Ekalaka, Two Dot, Cowboy Heaven, Pappas Place, and Number Seven. That last one makes me want to investigate even further. Oh, and don't forget Anaconda. No, not the Nicki Minaj song.