Sidney

History

Settlers began arriving in the area in the 1870s, and a post office was established in 1888. Six-year-old Sidney Walters and his parents were staying with Hiram Otis, the local justice of the peace, and Otis decided that Sidney was a good name for the town. The following year, Montana became a state and Sidney was incorporated in 1911. Sidney was originally part of Dawson County, but became the county seat of Richland County at its inception in 1914. Agriculture became an important part of the region after the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project was completed in 1909. A dam was built on the river south of Glendive, which diverted water from the river into a main canal, which runs north–south, parallel to the Yellowstone, irrigating land from Glendive north up to Fairview, where it drains into the Missouri River. This project irrigates and serves water to 450 farms, according to the manager of the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Districts. During the Great Depression, Montana artist J. K. Ralston painted a Federal Arts Project mural at the Richland County Courthouse in Sidney. The town received a boost in 1924 when the Holly Sugar Corporation opened up a sugar refinery in Sidney to process locally grown sugar beets.

Geography

Sidney is located in the northeastern part of the state. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.57%) is water. |source 2 = National Weather Service }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  221
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  205
• Yellow Warbler

  Setophaga petechia (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  142
• Ring-necked Pheasant

  Phasianus colchicus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  126
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  113
• House Wren

  Troglodytes aedon Vieillot, 1809 · Aves
  111
• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  107
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  98

Largest nearby schools

• Sidney High School
  High · Sidney · 387 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• West Side Elementary
  Elementary · Sidney · 321 students · 15.3:1 ratio
• Sidney Middle School
  Middle · Sidney · 284 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Central Elementary
  Elementary · Sidney · 251 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Rau School
  Elementary · Sidney · 69 students · 9.9:1 ratio
• Brorson School
  Elementary · Sidney · 4 students · 4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2014-05-06
  12 km NNW of Knife River, Montana
• M 3.8 — 2014-02-25
  23 km N of Brockton, Montana
• M 3.3 — 2012-09-28
  22 km ESE of Williston, North Dakota