Montana Small Towns and Downtowns

Bozeman in 1864, John Bozeman led a wagon train over Bozeman Pass into the Gallatin Valley, where his friends W. J. Beall and D. E. Rouse staked out the town site for the city of Bozeman. It is considered one of the most diverse small towns in the Rocky Mountains, with a mix of ranchers, artists, professors, ski enthusiasts and entrepreneurs drawn here by Montana’s world-class outdoor recreation.

Billings was established in 1882 with the coming of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Today it is a major shipping center for cattle and other agricultural products and is Montana's largest city. Known as Montana's Trailhead, it has access to the Beartooth Mountains, the Yellowstone River and local trails.

Missoula is nestled in the heart of the northern Rockies in the western part of the state.  Home to the country's largest smokejumper base, the historic downtown features classic early-century buildings and unique galleries, shops and restaurants. All three are excellent year-round bases to explore Montana.

Butte is a melting pot of ethnicities and culture that shape it to this day.  From all corners of the world, immigrants came to this tough mining town, created distinct neighborhoods, and brought with them the cultural heritage of their native countries of Ireland, Wales, China, Croatia, Italy, Serbia, Lebanon, England, Canada, and Finland. Butte’s very placement near the crest of the Continental Divide is unique.  The sheer elevation of nearly 6,000 feet makes the journey to the city a challenge.  The terrain of the city is a dichotomy between “the flats,” a stretch of even terrain that spreads south, and Uptown Butte, the face of the city that saw the most growth in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Book Your Montana Small Town and Downtown Travel Experience Here!

      

Beer Trail

Montana's vast farmland provides ample area for wheat and hops production and is home to 53 breweries, the most per capita in the country. Experience a walking brewery tour in historic downtown Billings where six breweries and one distillery are within walking distance of each other. Or tour the Bitterroot Valley south of Missoula and try seasonal varieties. Taste samples of brews such as Mountain Man Stout, Pigs Ass Porter or Coldsmoke throughout the state at many local craft breweries, each with their own special brews and character.

Development Projects Impact Assessment

points of reference

Traffic Safety and Congestion getting through the nearest signalized intersections in one green cycle during rush hour conditions. Standing at each proposed new intersection location, verify visibility of approaching vehicles at the minimum, safe sight-distance formula: posted speed limit + 10 mph x 11 feet/mph. Example: 30 mph + 10 = 40 x 11 = 440 feet sight - distance. Trips generated by the project on neighborhood streets are below 2,000 vehicles per day.

Safe Streets and School Overcrowding for residential areas, can the additional students resulting from the project be accommodated without exceeding the capacity of affected schools. Sidewalks are adequate to allow students to safely walk or bike to school along the streets receiving traffic from the project.

Trees and Forests complying with tree canopy or forest conservation laws.

clustered homes maximize forest preservation

Buffering and Screening of commercial and industrial projects from the view of adjacent residential homes. If the project obstructs natural views from existing homes, then the proposed landscaping must

be sufficient to preserve views.

Property Values commercial or industrial structures to be at least 300 feet from residential homes. If the project is commercial-industrial, can trucks reach the site without travelling on residential streets.

Air Quality if the project is a gas station, it must be at least 500 feet from homes, hospitals, schools, senior centers and day care facilities. The homes must be 500 feet from a highway with traffic volumes of 50,000 or more vehicles per day.

Fire and Emergency Medical Services the project must be within a four to eight-minute response time for fire and emergency medical services. In suburban-urban areas with water pressure sufficient to meet fire suppression needs.

Recreation Areas for residential projects, a minimum of 10 acres of park or other recreation areas for every 1,000 residents is recommended. For suburban-urban residential projects, there should be a neighborhood park within a ¼ mile walking distance of the site.

Water Supply for projects served by wells, verify the likelihood that area wells fail or become contaminated. If the site is served by piped-public water, the project must not exceed the safe or sustainable yield.

Flooding all proposed structures must be outside the 100-year flood plain, with runoff managed to prevent an increase in floodwater elevations downstream of the site.

Historical-Archeological Resources if a designated historic-archeological resource is present on or near the site, the local historic society must ascertain that it is adequately protected. For buildings 50 years or older slated for demolition, the local historic society should be consulted about the need for protection.

Water a buffer of native vegetation undisturbed within 100 feet of streams, wetlands or other aquatic resources. Rooftops, streets, parking lots and other impervious surfaces drain to bio-retention, infiltration or other highly effective storm water system. Project sewage is sent to a treatment plant and the pipes carrying the sewage do not overflow. The treatment plant has met pollution discharge limits for the last 3 years; If the project will be served by onsite sewage disposal, site soils should be rated for Septic Tank Absorption Fields in accordance with USDA Web Soil Survey.

Connect with Tema

to Assess the Impact of Your Development Project

Knowledge Tourism

tema@arezza.net  skype arezza1   arezza.org

Hagerstown Maryland Commercial Historic District

The Hagerstown Commercial Core Historic District consists approximately of a one and a half by two block rectangle which includes the major retail center of town. The center of the district is the public square which is formed by the junction of Potomac and Washington Streets, the two major traffic arteries in the city. The district extends one half block east of the public square, north to Franklin Street, west to Summit-Jonathan Streets and east to Antietam Street. It is made up almost entirely of commercial buildings constructed or remodeled for retail purposes during the last 20 years of the 19^th century and the first 20 years of the 20^th century.

A 40-year period representing the peak of Hagerstown's prosperity

Exceptions to the commercial character of the district but integral to it are two prominently located government structures, the Washington County Courthouse built in 1874 and listed individually in the National Register of Historic Places, and the City Hall, built in 1939. Most of the buildings within the district retain the architectural characteristics of the period of their significance and provide a showcase of late 19^th and early 20^th century commercial styles.

Hagerstown became a major manufacturing city in Maryland. This industrial prosperity led to a commercial boom period which is illustrated by this historic district, in the stylistic continuity of the buildings representative of popular commercial styles of the turn of the century. Three major building types are found in the district: late Italianate two and three-story buildings with prominent bracketed cornices; elaborate baroque and neo-classical forms associated with the Beaux Arts style; and a very simple early 20^th century commercial style featuring strongly rectilinear forms.

The topography of the district slopes from north and west to the south and east. North Potomac Street between the square and Franklin Street has a substantial change in grade, leveling as it reaches the square. West Washington Street, West Antietam Street in the blocks west of the west boundary of the district rise sharply in grade, but level as they reach Summit Avenue. At the east edge of the district East Washington and East Antietam Streets drop in elevation between North Potomac and Jonathan Streets. Much of the district, except for its northeast corner, lies in a small plateau between grades.

A commercial center since the 18^th century for Washington County and the tri-state area which includes southern Franklin County, Pennsylvania and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, Hagerstown became a leading furniture manufacturer, flour and grist mills, organs and knit goods as well as a rail center with machine shops, steam railroad repair shops

.

large hotels catering to rail and automobile travelers were built

Hotels like the Dagmar, built in 1910 and located at the southwest corner of the district, were built to serve rail travelers. Early advertisements emphasize its advantageous location opposite the B & 0 Railroad and near the Cumberland Valley and Norfolk and Western Railroad stations.

Connect with Tema

Visit the Hagerstown Historic District in Maryland

Knowledge Tourism

tema@arezza.net   skype arezza1 arezza.org 

The Potomac River

American River Trails

The Lower Potomac, Anacostia, Patuxent and Wicomico rivers are among the major waterways in the region, but hundreds of smaller streams, creeks and rivers abound providing numerous opportunities for recreational boating.

Anacostia River Watershed 176 square mile area of land encompasses most of the eastern half of the District of Columbia and large portions of Prince George’s County and Montgomery County in Maryland. The Anacostia has 13 major tributary creeks and streams many with their own sub-watershed citizen advocacy groups; it starts near Bladensburg, MD, and runs for 8.5 miles before meeting the Potomac River at Hains Point in Washington, DC.

A Watershed is where Water Flows into a River or other body of water; we all Live inside a Watershed

Anacostia River Trails and Port Towns the word is derived from the Nacotchtank Indian word anaquash; it means village trading center. In the 18th century the port at Bladensburg, Maryland, was 40 feet deep and served as a major center for colonial shipping fleets. Today, at Bladensburg Waterfront Park, site of the old port, the water often measures 3 feet deep or less. In the 18th century, the Anacostia River flowed through 2,500 acres of tidal wetlands. Today, less than 150 acres of wetland remain.

Wildlife the Anacostia River supports 188 species of birds and nearly 50 species of fish. Some of the animals you can see in and along the river include: bald eagles, beavers, white perch, ospreys, striped bass, cormorants, crayfish, herons, turtles, egrets, otters, herring, red fox, shad, kingfishers, and bullhead catfish.

Pollution and its Effect of Fish Species each year, Washington's antiquated combined sewer system dumps over 2 billion gallons of raw sewage and storm water directly into the river. Recent efforts have begun to reduce this overflow volume. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), more than 20,000 tons of trash and debris enter the Anacostia's waters each year. Between 1989 and 2009, AWS volunteers collected and removed more than 850 tons of trash from the watershed. Experts estimate that approximately two-thirds (2⁄3) of brown bullhead catfish in the Anacostia River have tumors. The bullhead is an environmental indicator species for the Anacostia.

Explore the Anacostia and Participate in Our Watershed Management Training Programs

The North Branch Allegany County, Western Maryland. Start and End Point: The route begins in Westernport and ends in Cumberland. Distance: 32 miles.

Upper Potomac River Washington, Frederick, and Allegany Maryland + Jefferson County West Virginia. Start and End Point: The route begins in Shepherdstown, West Virginia and ends in Cumberland Maryland. Distance: 115 miles.

Middle Potomac River Located in Montgomery, Frederick, an Washington Counties. Start and End Point: Georgetown, Washington D.C. to Williamsport, Maryland. Distance: 92 miles.

The Potomac River and the Chesapeake and Ohio C&O Canal feature recreational fishing, biking, hiking, kayaking, canoeing and camping.

Lower Potomac River Prince Georges, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties. 115 miles of the lower Potomac River from Washington DC to Chesapeake Bay.

Planning Your Trip assumes uniquely local dimensions in the places you visit, rooted in the local economy, history and traditions. TEMA develops personalized itineraries based on your preferences; we leverage an in-depth knowledge of your destinations with superior client service throughout your trip.

For travel in Northern Virginia, Washington DC and North Carolina your anchors are Richmond, Fredericksburg and Manassas. 

Other Southern Maryland Trails Anne Arundel, Prince Georges, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties. The region of Southern Maryland is a peninsula bordered by the Potomac River to the west and the Chesapeake Bay to the east. Predominantly rural with areas with dense population and suburban development closer to the Washington D.C. area. Steep cliffs can be found along the Chesapeake Bay shoreline and along areas of the Potomac River. Most of the streams, creeks and rivers experience tidal influences and have brackish water - a mix of fresh and salt water.

Charles County Water Trails along Mattawoman Creek, the lower Potomac River, Port Tobacco River and Nanjemoy Creek.

Point Lookout Water Trails Point Lookout State Park - the southernmost tip of St. Mary’s County where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay. The State Park offers a variety of paddling experiences that range from an hour or two to all-day excursions with overnight camping options on the Point Lookout peninsula.

Kingfisher Canoe Trail Prince Georges County, Anacostia River. Set in a very urban environment, this trail features some surprisingly natural areas as it passes by the Kenilworth Marsh and Aquatic Gardens and the National Arboretum. The trail begins at the Bladensburg public boat ramp and continues down the river to end at the Anacostia Park boat ramp.

Patuxent River Water Trail Anne Arundel, Prince Georges, Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties. 110 miles long. Many public parks and launching sites for recreational boating provide additional access for visitors to enjoy the river’s resources.

Connect with Tema for Potomac River Itineraries

Economic Development Entrepreneurs

Tourism Energy Water Transit

Knowledge Tourism

         tema@arezza.net     skype arezza1   arezza.org