Absarokee, MT

Absarokee is a Stillwater County census-designated place on the eastern side of the Beartooth foothills, about 14 miles south of Columbus along Highway 78. Its name comes from the Apsáalooke, or Crow, people, and the town was founded in 1892 just north of the Second Crow Agency. That history matters here: the community grew on land tied to the Crow reservation, while the current map follows the Rosebud River watershed and the junction of the East and West Rosebud rivers with nearby creeks. The Stillwater Mine operates near town, and the Absarokee School District uses two school locations, including an elementary campus in the former high school. Absarokee is a river-valley community where Crow history, schools, and the Beartooth landscape meet.