Livingston Commercial Historic District
As the Northern Pacific Railroad pushed its tracks westward in 1882, representatives arrived at this bend in the Yellowstone River to open a company store. They pitched a tent, stocking it with 140,000 pounds of goods hauled by ox-drawn wagons. Other merchants set up shop as track-laying crews spilled into Clark City. By 1883, Northern Pacific surveyors had platted a townsite nearby for their division headquarters, and Clark City's tents moved to the new town of Livingston. Named after a company director, Livingston's early Main Street was a muddy track bordered by wooden sidewalks, and the false-fronted wooden stores, offices, and many saloons did a lucrative business. Madame Bulldog's Bucket of Blood Saloon served a rowdy and transient clientele, among them the notorious Martha "Calamity Jane" Cannary. In 1885-86, fires destroyed much of downtown prompting reconstruction of more substantial, permanent brick buildings. Advertising painted on downtown buildings boasted all manner of goods and services while local cigar factories, mills, brickyards, and breweries further assured Livingston's survival. By the 1890s, the town had become essential to tourists as the departure point for Yellowstone Park. Finally, the construction of the grand Northern Pacific depot in 1901-02 displayed the railroad's promotion of Park tourism and commitment to Livingston's future.
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