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is a city in and the county seat of Park County, Montana, United States. The population was 6,851 at the 2000 census. Livingston is located in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park.
Livingston came into being in 1882 in consequence of planning by the Northern Pacific Railway, which deemed it a good location for railroad shops to service its steam trains before their ascent over the Bozeman Pass, the highest point on the line (approx. 5600 feet). Originally named Clark City, it took its present name after an NP executive. In addition Livingston became the original gateway to Yellowstone National Park, which the NP began promoting heavily to visitors from the East, by way of a branch running some sixty miles south to first the Cinnabar station and later Gardiner, as well as headquarters for the NP's Central Division.
Livingston is situated on the Yellowstone River where it bends from north to east toward Billings, and in proximity to Interstate 90. In 1806 Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition camped on the town's present outskirts on the return trip east, following the descending Yellowstone River. Clark's party rejoined the Lewis party at the confluence with the Missouri River, near Williston, North Dakota.
Though a small town, Livingston is home to a number of popular tourist points. The Livingston Depot, built in 1902 after two predecessors, is a restored rail station that today houses a railroad museum from approximately May through September. The Yellowstone Gateway Museum documents regional history from one of the oldest North American archaeological sites to Wild Western and Yellowstone history. The International Fly Fishing Federation's museum is an extensive introduction to a popular game sport and hosts annual enthusiasts meetings. The town was inhabited for two decades by Calamity Jane and visited by adventurous traveling members of European royalty. Today it is a small art haven, filming location (
, and others), fishing destination, railroad town, and writers' and actors' colony. In 1938, Dan Bailey, an eastern fly-fisherman, established his world famous Dan Bailey's Fly Shop and mail order fly tying business on Park Street where it still resides today. Livingston is also the home of the Fly Fishing Discovery Center, a museum operated by the Federation of Fly Fishers. Actors Peter Fonda, Margot Kidder, as well as Saturday Night Live alumnus Rich Hall and musician Ron Strykert call the town home. Jimmy Buffett mentions Livingston in multiple songs.
Its economy is booming, the unemployment rate is well below the national and state average. A small proportion of its workforce commutes to Bozeman, the destination resort Chico Hot Springs some twenty-five miles south, and various campsites and ranches in the high-value area of Paradise Valley. Recently, the town has invested much time and money into creating attractions and accommodations for tourists visiting during the Lewis and Clark bicentennial years. It has a sister-city relationship with Naganohara, Japan.