Martinsdale, Montana

Census-designated place in Montana, United States

46°27′30″N 110°18′48″W / 46.45833°N 110.31333°W / 46.45833; -110.31333CountryUnited StatesStateMontanaCountyMeagherArea

^[1]

• Total0.87 sq mi (2.3 km²) • Land0.87 sq mi (2.3 km²) • Water0.0 sq mi (0 km²)Elevation

^[2]

4,820 ft (1,470 m)Population

(2020)^[3]

• Total43 • Density49.3/sq mi (19.0/km²)ZIP Code

59053

FIPS code30-48175GNIS feature ID773906^[2]

Martinsdale is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in southeastern Meagher County, Montana, United States.^[2] As of the 2020 census, the population was 43.^[3] The town was a station stop on the now-abandoned transcontinental main line of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad ("the Milwaukee Road"), and is a community center for nearby ranches and farms. Martinsdale was the home of the poet Grace Stone Coates, author of Black Cherries, Mead & Mangel-Wurzel, and Portulacas in the Wheat. It was also the home of Charles M. Bair, one of the largest and most successful sheep ranchers in the United States, and the former Bair family home is now a museum.

The Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Project is a planned pumped hydroelectric power plant that will be constructed in Martinsdale.^[4]

Martinsdale is on Highway 294, just south of U.S. Route 12, and 36 miles (58 km) east of White Sulphur Springs, the Meagher county seat.

History

Originally named "Gauglersville", the town changed to Martinsdale in 1878. The name was after Martin Maginnis, Montana Territory's delegate to Congress, who assisted the town in getting a post office.^[5]

Notes

^ "2023 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Montana". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Martinsdale, Montana
^ ^a ^b "P1. Race – Martinsdale CDP, Montana: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
^ "License Issued for $1B Montana Power Storage Project". ABC News. December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
^ "Martinsdale". Montana Place Names Companion. Montana Historical Society. Retrieved April 7, 2021.