Hamilton, MT

Hamilton, Montana
Location of Hamilton, Montana
Coordinates: 46°14′54″N 114°9′35″W / 46.24833, -114.15972
Country	United States
State	Montana
County	Ravalli
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	59840
Area code(s)	406
FIPS code	30-33775
GNIS feature ID	0784496

Hamilton is a city in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,705 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ravalli County⁶.

History

Hamilton was founded by copper king Marcus Daly in the late 19th century. Daly is said to have wanted to begin business in the then county seat of Grantsdale, MT, but was denied the opportunity. He supposedly founded Hamilton out of his own pocket as a reaction to being rebuffed at Grantsdale.

In the summer of 2000, Hamilton made international headlines when forest fires throughout the Bitterroot Valley filled the area with smoke and prompted the evacuation of many residents. President Clinton declared a state of emergency in the area and dispatched National Guardsmen to assist with fighting the fires.

Hamilton is, as of 2004, home to two microbiological research and production facilities: the government-run Rocky Mountain Laboratories, and a branch of the Corixa Corporation (bought in the late 1990s from Ribi ImmunoChem Research, Inc.). The Corixa Corporation was bought by GlaxoSmithKline in 2005. In the early 2000's, the government began a case study of the possibility of constructing a Level 4 biohazard laboratory in the Rocky Mountain Laboratories facility, which would be one of two civilian-run Bio-Safety Level 4 labs in the United States (all others are operated by military personnel). Although met with much local opposition, the facility is currently being constructed.

Geography

Hamilton is located at 46°14′54″N, 114°9′35″W (46.248412, -114.159852)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.0 km² (2.3 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 3,705 people, 1,772 households, and 855 families residing in the city. The population density was 619.3/km² (1,603.6/mi²). There were 1,915 housing units at an average density of 320.1/km² (828.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.22% White, 0.11% African American, 0.89% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.65% of the population.

There were 1,772 households out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.3% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.7% were non-families. 47.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 24.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 28.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 82.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,013, and the median income for a family was $30,665. Males had a median income of $25,795 versus $22,138 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,689. About 14.3% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.4% of those under age 18 and 15.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• Willy Burgdorfer, the scientist who discovered the cause of Lyme disease, lived here.
• Marcus Daly, one of the "Copper Kings" of Butte, Montana, owned the Bitter Root Stock Farm near Hamilton.
• Jimmy Gabriel, former soccer midfielder and coach, resides here.
• Henry L. Myers, United States Senator from Montana, lived here.
• Jerry J. O'Connell, United States Representative from Montana, was the editor and publisher of the newspaper here.

External links

• Ravalli County Republic Newspaper
• Hamilton, Montana community website
• Thebitterrootvalley.com A connection to other towns in the Bitterroot Valley

Coordinates: 46.248412° N 114.159852° W

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