Livingston, Montana (Images of America)

In January 1883, barely a month after the Northern Pacific Railroad (NPRR ) finished laying tracks to the "last crossing of the Yellowstone River," Minnesota's Winona Daily Republican proclaimed Livingston as the "future great city of the Yellowstone." With the arrival of the NPRR in 1882, the town boomed as it became the division headquarters for the railroad. Its future secured by the largest machine shops and roundhouse west of Minnesota, Livingston rapidly grew from frontier town to progressive city. By late 1883, its downtown area of substantial brick buildings housed more than 100 businesses, and supported a residential area of 2,000 stalwart citizens. Situated at the junction of the Northern Pacific branch to Yellowstone National Park, Livingston hosted the majority of the early tourist trade to "America's Wonderland of the West."