Did ‘Sundown’ Towns Ever Exist in Montana? It’s Interesting

This news could be a piece of history you didn't know about Montana.

Montana's History

Montana has been a state for less than 150 years, but we have a lot of history.

Montana saw the Wild West, fur trading, rushes of gold and copper, and elected the first woman to Congress. History is still happening in Montana to this day.

It's been a wild ride, but it's not entirely spotless.

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Montana and Native Americans

Montana has had a turbulent history with Native Americans.

There are several Native American reservations across the state and several battlefields that detail the 19th-century fights between these tribes and the U.S. Army.

These history lessons are important to locals and many Native Americans to know where we came from and how our history isn't spotless.

It's crucial to make sure things like this never happen again and to foster a better relationship with each other.

You would think that era in history would be the only problem with race Montana has had, but you might be wrong.

'Sundown' Towns in Montana

Sundown towns are terrifying.

Don't know what a sundown town is? Here's a quick lesson.

A sundown town was where people of color weren't allowed after the sunset. It was to keep communities all-white.

It was a disgusting part of history and sundown towns primarily existed in the south or east coast states.

What if we told you Montana had a few of these sundown towns?

History & Social Justice used historical data to make a nifty map of every possible and confirmed sundown town in the United States.

Looking at Montana, there are only a handful, but it's still surprising to see.

These towns aren't considered current sundown towns, but history tells a different story.

We hope this is another part of history we can leave behind and move towards a brighter future.