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Bearcreek is an incorporated town in Carbon County, Montana, United States. It is part of the Billings, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 79 at the 2010 census. Bearcreek uses the Mayor/Council form of government. The town of Bearcreek was named for Bear Creek, which runs through the middle of town. Bearcreek came into existence due to coal mines in the vicinity, and grew rapidly following the building of a short line railroad connecting the Bearcreek mines to the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1906. Between 1906 and 1953, the mines at Bearcreek produced large volumes of coal, which was a higher grade than other regional sources, from extensive underground coal mining deposits. The mines were located along the creek and in the surrounding coulees. At one time in the 1920s and 1930s Bearcreek had a population of close to 3,000 persons, many of them recent immigrants to America. The miners who came from America, Serbia, Montenegro, Germany, Scotland and Italy build ethnic-based communities in the steep coulees that run down into Bearcreek, with names like Washoe, New Caledonia, Chickentown, Scotch Coulee, International, and Stringtown. The town had seven mercantiles, a bank, two hotels, two billiard halls, a brickyard, numerous saloons and sported concrete sidewalks and their own water system. The town had no churches. The economy of Bear Creek was based on coal. The Smith Mine Disaster in 1943, followed by the decline in demand for coal in the late 1940s and 1950s caused the closure of the connecting railroad in 1953 and subsequently most of the coal mines, and the population declined steadily to less than 100 persons. Many buildings in Bearcreek were moved to other communities or demolished, and only a few structures remain. Currently, the town is home to the Bear Creek Saloon which hosts fundraising pig races throughout the year. In addition, Bearcreek plays host every autumn to Montana Falconer Symposium, the state's largest gathering of falcon trainers and birds of prey enthusiasts. When the legality of betting on pig races was challenged, a law was passed—Montana Code Annotated 23-5-502(b) -- stating that "Only a licensee of premises that are located in an incorporated city or town with a population of less than 100 or located outside the boundaries of an incorporated city or town and that are appropriately licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises under 23-5-119 may conduct a race between animals and conduct one or more sports pools on the race. The race may be conducted only if it is between pigs, gerbils, or hamsters and is conducted on the premises but outside of interior areas of the establishment where food and beverages are usually stored, prepared, or served."〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=State of Montana )〕 Bearcreek is the only incorporated city or town in Montana with a population of less than 100. ==Geography== Bearcreek is located at (45.159849, -109.156322). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bearcreek, Montana」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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