Rudyard Map
Rudyard is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hill County, Montana, United States. The population was 275 at the 2000 census.
Rudyard is a small agricultural community founded March 30, 1910 on the Hi-line of northern Montana. It is said that it was named after Rudyard, Kipling. Railroads were the catalyst for developing the towns along the Hi-line. Rudyard is a shipping and storage point for wheat grown in the area. When entering town you are greeted with a sign reading "Rudyard, 596 nice people and 1 old sore head!, rip snorting and raring for business". The most popular attraction in town is the well appointed Rudyard Depot Museum. The museum is made up of an old train depot, a country school, a homesteaders tar paper shack, an outhouse, a working windmill, farm implements, and a blacksmith shop. The buildings have been restored to house local artifacts and history. There's also a memorial wall for veterans and homesteaders. The museum is an affiliate of the Museum of the Rockies and features permanent and changing dinosaur displays. The museum also operates a car museum in a large fieldstone building on main street known as the Hi-line Vintage Motors Museum. The museum's website is rudyardmuseum.com where you can find more information and pictures. Rudyard's main street features a bowling alley, movie theater, bank and other businesses. In the southeast corner of town is the park which has a baseball field, playground and picnic shelter. The community is well kept and has great character. Rudyard recently celebrated its centennial in 2010.
Rudyard Schools original mascot was the Rudyard Panthers and orange, black, and white as their colors. Due to loss in enrollment schools in the area they had to consolidate with neighboring towns to maintain a school. In 1981 Hingham and Rudyard schools consolidated creating Blue Sky Schools with the Eagles as their mascot with dark and light blue, and white as their colors. Consolidation occurred again in 2005 combining Blue Sky(Hingham, Rudyard)and KG(Kremlin, Gildford)schools creating North Star Schools. North Star High School is in Rudyard with the Knights as their mascot and royal blue, black, and white as their colors. North Star Elementary is located in Gildford twelve miles east.
Nearby cities include Gildford, Chester, Hingham, Inverness, Joplin.