Coulson Townsite

In 1877, Perry McAdow established a sawmill on property located in Sections 2 and 34 along the Yellowstone River. After the riverboat “Josephine” landed on June 7, 1877, McAdow and John Alderson named the trading post Coulson. This small town, originally consisting of tents running in a northeast direction alongside the river south of where I-90 crosses today, was located on John Alderson’s land. Coulson served as a post office site until 1882, when the town of Billings was settled.