Red Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Carbon County, Montana, United States. It is part of the Billings Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,125 at the United States Census, 2010.GeographyRed Lodge is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.80sqmi, all of it land.HistoryOn September 17, 1851, the United States government signed a treaty with the Crow Nation, ceding the area which now contains Red Lodge to the Crow Indians. Rich coal deposits were found there in 1866, and gold was discovered nearby in 1870. An 1880 treaty between the U.S. government and the Crow allowed the area to be settled starting April 11, 1882.The Red Lodge post office was established on Dec 9, 1884 with Postmaster Ezra L. Benton. A rail line was constructed into town, and coal shipments began in June 1889. The boundaries of the Crow Reservation were redrawn October 15, 1892, opening the whole area to settlement. From then until the 1930s, coal mining defined the town.In the late 19th century, many new settlers came to Red Lodge. The majority came from Italy, Scotland, Wales, England, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Austria-Hungary. By the mid-1880s, migrants were still outnumbered by large numbers of Native Americans. By 1892 the population reached 1,180.
