Rudyard, Montana

Rudyard, Montana
—  CDP  —
Location of Rudyard, Montana
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Montana
County Hill
Area
 • Total 0.9 sq mi (2.4 km2)
 • Land 0.9 sq mi (2.4 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 3,114 ft (949 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 275
 • Density 295.8/sq mi (114.2/km2)
Time zone Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code 59540
Area code(s) 406
FIPS code 30-64900
GNIS feature ID 0776006

Rudyard is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hill County, Montana, United States. The population was 275 at the 2000 census.

Contents

History

Rudyard is a small agricultural community founded March 30, 1910 on the Hi-line of northern Montana. It is said that it was named after Rudyard, Kipling. Railroads were the catalyst for developing the towns along the Hi-line. Rudyard is a shipping and storage point for wheat grown in the area. When entering town you are greeted with a sign reading "Rudyard, 596 nice people and 1 old sore head!, rip snorting and raring for business". The most popular attraction in town is the well-appointed Rudyard Depot Museum. The museum is made up of an old train depot, a country school, a homesteaders tar paper shack, an outhouse, a working windmill, farm implements, and a blacksmith shop. The buildings have been restored to house local artifacts and history. There's also a memorial wall for veterans and homesteaders. The museum is an affiliate of the Museum of the Rockies and features permanent and changing dinosaur displays. The museum also operates a car museum in a large fieldstone building on main street known as the Hi-line Vintage Motors Museum. The museum's website is rudyardmuseum.com where you can find more information and pictures. Rudyard's main street features a bowling alley, movie theater, bank and other businesses. In the southeast corner of town is the park which has a baseball field, playground and picnic shelter. The community is well kept and has great character. Rudyard recently celebrated its centennial in 2010.

School

Rudyard Schools original mascot was the Rudyard Panthers and orange, black, and white as their colors. Due to loss in enrollment schools in the area they had to consolidate with neighboring towns to maintain a school. In 1981 Hingham and Rudyard schools consolidated creating Blue Sky Schools with the Eagles as their mascot with dark and light blue, and white as their colors. Consolidation occurred again in 2005, combining Blue Sky (Hingham, Rudyard) and KG (Kremlin, Gildford) schools, creating North Star Schools. North Star High School is in Rudyard with the Knights as their mascot and royal blue, black, and white as their colors. North Star Elementary is located in Gildford twelve miles east.

Geography

Rudyard is located at (48.560633, -110.554737)[1].

Rudyard has the distinction of being the only community in the United States that sits atop a non-oceanic antipode, that being Kerguelen Island.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 275 people, 126 households, 71 families, and one old sorehead residing in the CDP. The population density was 295.8 people per square mile (114.2/km²). There were 155 housing units at an average density of 166.7 per square mile (64.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.18% White, 0.73% Native American, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.36% of the population.

There were 126 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were non-families. 38.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 2.9% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.3 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $28,393, and the median income for a family was $34,844. Males had a median income of $25,694 versus $15,833 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $16,889. About 7.2% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.

References