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History · Miles

A history of Miles,
then and now

Postcards, papers and photographs of Miles from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

15old images & papers
15historic places
0recent photos
From Miles’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

After the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the U.S. Army created forts in eastern Montana, including one where the north-flowing Tongue River flowed into the east-flowing Yellowstone River. The first fort was known as the Tongue River Cantonment or the Tongue River Barracks and was founded on August 27, 1876. A second, permanent fort was constructed on higher ground two miles to the west of the mouth of the Tongue and this became Fort Keogh.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1877A General Store in Miles City, MontanaCommons
1880s3 items · Miles city cowboys saloon 1880Commons
1890–1929Nothing in the archives yet
1930s11 items · 600 Bar and Café, Miles City, Montana…Commons
1940–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Miles’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view600 Bar and Café, Miles City, Mon…, c. 1930: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from MilesWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Miles.Meet them →
By decade

Miles, decade by decade

1870s1 item
A General Store in Miles City, MontanaCommonsA General Store in Miles City, Montana1877
1880s3 items
Miles city cowboys saloon 1880CommonsMiles city cowboys saloon 18801880MilesCityMontana-Haynes1881CommonsMilesCityMontana-Haynes18811881Bird's eye view of Miles City, c.s. of Custer County, Montana 1883CommonsBird's eye view of Miles City, c.s. of Custer County, Monta…1883
1890s–
1920s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
1930s11 items
600 Bar and Café, Miles City, Montana (85740)Commons600 Bar and Café, Miles City, Montana (85740)c. 1930 · postcardAir view of business section, Miles City, Montana, looking southeast 121 (83127)CommonsAir view of business section, Miles City, Montana, looking …c. 1930 · postcardEntrance arch to the beautiful city park in Miles City, Montana (72696)CommonsEntrance arch to the beautiful city park in Miles City, Mon…c. 1930 · postcardGreetings from Miles City, Montana (74961)CommonsGreetings from Miles City, Montana (74961)c. 1930 · postcardHammill Tourist Court and Park Standard Service, Miles City, Montana (82990)CommonsHammill Tourist Court and Park Standard Service, Miles City…c. 1930 · postcardLake Scanlan or swimming pool, Miles City, Mont (72695)CommonsLake Scanlan or swimming pool, Miles City, Mont (72695)c. 1930 · postcardLive stock auction saleyards, Miles City, Montana (84371)CommonsLive stock auction saleyards, Miles City, Montana (84371)c. 1930 · postcardLooking West on Main Street of Miles City, Mont (72697)CommonsLooking West on Main Street of Miles City, Mont (72697)c. 1930 · postcardMiles City Veterans Memorial Hospital, Miles City, Montana (83126)CommonsMiles City Veterans Memorial Hospital, Miles City, Montana …c. 1930 · postcardRange Rider's Bar and Café, Miles City, Montana (82993)CommonsRange Rider's Bar and Café, Miles City, Montana (82993)c. 1930 · postcardRange Riders Museum, Miles City, Montana (84369)CommonsRange Riders Museum, Miles City, Montana (84369)c. 1930 · postcard
1940s–
1990s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

15 historic places in Miles

Miles has 15 listings on the National Register, and they protect 176 historic buildings, because Main Street Historic District alone counts 62.

#15
In Montanaby listings · most towns there have none
15places listed12 buildings · 3 districts
0National Historic LandmarksNone here yet
176historic buildings protectedcounting each building in a district
1979first listedMiles City Steam Laundry · newest: Northern Pacific Railway Depot, 2010

Where they are

Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
Miles City Steam LaundryMiles City Waterworks Building and Pumping Plant ParkGeorge M. Miles HouseUS Post Office-Miles City MainWilliam Harmon HouseMountain States Telephone and Telegraph CompanyOlive HotelMain Street Historic DistrictEast Main Street Residential Historic DistrictUrsuline Convent of the Sacred HeartWalrond and Elizabeth Snell HouseThomas and Beulah Shore HouseHoly Rosary HospitalNorthern Pacific Railway DepotCarriage House Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles

From each listing’s National Archives record · 5 of 15 name a style
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals2
Queen Anne1
Folk Victorian1
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movements1
Bungalow1
Mission Revival1

When they were listed

The Register began in 1966. Miles’s busiest decade was the 1980s.
Miles City Steam LaundryListed 1979Miles City Steam LaundryBuildingCommerceMiles City Waterworks Building and Pumping Plant ParkListed 1979Miles City Waterworks Building and Pumping Plant ParkBuildingEngineeringGeorge M. Miles HouseListed 1982George M. Miles HouseQueen AnneExploration/SettlementArchitectureUS Post Office-Miles City MainListed 1986US Post Office-Miles City MainBuilt 1916PoliticsArchitectureWilliam Harmon HouseListed 1986William Harmon HouseBuildingCommerceArchitectureMountain States Telephone and Telegraph CompanyListed 1988Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph CompanyBuilt 1914ArchitectureCommunicationsOlive HotelListed 1988Olive HotelBuilt 1899CommerceArchitectureMain Street Historic DistrictListed 1989Main Street Historic DistrictDistrictCommerceExploration/SettlementArchitectureEast Main Street Residential Historic DistrictListed 1990East Main Street Residential Historic DistrictDistrictExploration/SettlementArchitectureUrsuline Convent of the Sacred HeartListed 1992Ursuline Convent of the Sacred HeartBuildingEducationArchitectureReligionWalrond and Elizabeth Snell HouseListed 2003Walrond and Elizabeth Snell HouseFolk VictorianTown planningSocial historyArchitectureThomas and Beulah Shore HouseListed 2003Thomas and Beulah Shore HouseLate 19th and Early 20th Century American MovementsTown planningArchitectureHoly Rosary HospitalListed 2009Holy Rosary HospitalLate 19th and 20th Century RevivalsMedicineArchitectureNorthern Pacific Railway DepotListed 2010Northern Pacific Railway DepotLate 19th and 20th Century RevivalsTransportationTown planningArchitectureListed 1991Carriage House Historic DistrictDistrictTown planningExploration/SettlementArchitecture
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as A General Store in Miles City, Montana (1877) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Terry📜 Forsyth

From Wikimedia Commons (15) and the National Register (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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