Ismay, Montana
Ismay is a town in Custer County, Montana, United States. There is a post office at Ismay, and a church, and no other businesses or services. The population was 17 at the 2020 census. The town is the least-populous incorporated municipality in the state of Montana.
Ismay, Montana | |
|---|---|
Town | |
Location of Ismay, Montana | |
Ismay, Montana Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 46°29′58″N 104°47′37″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Montana |
| County | Custer |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.42 sq mi (1.09 km2) |
| • Land | 0.42 sq mi (1.09 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,526 ft (770 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Total | 17 |
| • Density | 40.48/sq mi (15.64/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP code | 59336 |
| Area code | 406 |
| FIPS code | 30-38950 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0794947 |
The town's name is an amalgamation of Isabella and May, the names of the daughters of Albert J Earling, division superintendent (later president) of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway. Other communities with related names include Earling, Iowa; Marmarth, North Dakota; and Alberton, Montana. As a publicity stunt coordinated by Kansas City radio station KYYS in 1993, the town unofficially took the name of Joe, Montana, after the NFL quarterback Joe Montana.
The town's history and contemporary state (circa 1995) is discussed at length in travel writer Jonathan Raban's book, Bad Land: An American Romance. According to Raban, Ismay's story is emblematic of the settlement and depopulation of the northern Great Plains.