Red Lodge

Images of America: Montana

by John Clayton, Carbon County Historical Society

From enchanting downtown architecture to the spectacular Beartooth Highway, Red Lodge wears its vibrant history with pride. A coal-mining boom founded the city and attracted immigrant populations between 1895 and 1920. John "Liver-Eatin'" Johnston served as constable, and Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane, and Frederic Remington paid visits. Though the coal boom eventually faded, Red Lodge refused to become a ghost town. Cattle ranching thrived in the valleys and foothills, fostering such Rodeo Hall of Fame stars as Turk, Alice, and Marge Greenough and Bill and Bud Linderman. Meanwhile the road through the Beartooth Mountains to Yellowstone National Park, completed in 1936, boosted tourism. Today events such as the Fourth of July Home of Champions Rodeo and the August Festival of Nations celebrate the heritage of this unique Montana community.

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2008

About the author

John Clayton is the author of Natural Rivals: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the Creation of America’s Public Lands (Pegasus, 2019). The Wall Street Journal says, "Mr. Clayton writes with clarity, passion and insight." John's previous book, Wonderlandscape: Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon (Pegasus, 2017) arose because he has lived for 29 years on the outskirts of Yellowstone, watching how his houseguests and others react to the world's first national park. What makes Yellowstone famous? And how has that changed over the years? John is also the author of Stories from Montana's Enduring Frontier, a collection of essays on Montana history. A major previous book, The Cowboy Girl, is a biography of the Montana/Wyoming novelist, journalist, and homesteader Caroline Lockhart. John is an independent journalist and essayist who lives in Montana with his dog Chaka Khan.