Broadwater County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,774. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Townsend. The county was named for

Charles Arthur Broadwater Charles Arthur Broadwater (September 25, 1840 – May 24, 1892) was a wealthy and influential Montana railroad, real estate, and banking magnate. Broadwater was born in St. Charles, Missouri. He was president of the Montana Central Railway ...

, a noted Montana railroad, real estate, and banking magnate.

History

The

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

traveled through what is now Broadwater County as they traced the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

. Gold was discovered in the

Big Belt Mountains The Big Belt Mountains are a section of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. state of Montana. Situated mainly in the Helena National Forest, the mountains are used for logging and recreation for the surrounding residents. Nearby are the cities of Hel ...

in 1864 which brought several mining towns. In 1881 the

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

included a stop in what is now Townsend.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.7%) is water. The boundaries of the county are roughly formed by the

to the east and north, the

Elkhorn Mountains The Elkhorn Mountains are a mountain range in southwestern Montana, part of the Rocky Mountains and are roughly 300,000 acres (1200 km²) in size. It is an inactive volcanic mountain range with the highest point being Crow Peak at , right n ...

to the west, and the Horseshoe Hills to the south. Broadwater County is perhaps best known as the home of

Canyon Ferry Lake Canyon Ferry Lake is a reservoir on the Missouri River 20 miles east of Helena, Montana near Townsend, Montana. It is Montana's third largest body of water, covers and has of shore. It was formed by the building of Canyon Ferry Dam, which wa ...

, the third largest body of water in Montana. The lake provides essential irrigation to local farms, and serves as a recreation destination for the region, with fishing, boating, swimming, camping, and wildlife viewing opportunities.

Major highways

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

* U.S. Highway 12 * U.S. Highway 287 *

Montana Highway 2 Montana Highway 2 (MT 2) is a state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of Montana. It extends from Interstate 15 (I-15) and I-90 in Butte to I-90 in Three Forks. Previously, this roadway was a part of U.S. Route&n ...

Adjacent counties

* Meagher County - east * Gallatin County - south * Jefferson County - west * Lewis and Clark County - northwest

National protected area

Helena National Forest Helena National Forest is located in west-central Montana, in the United States. Covering , the forest is broken into several separate sections. The eastern regions are dominated by the Big Belt Mountains, and are the location of the Gates of ...

(part)

Politics

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 6,774 people living in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 5,612 people, 2,347 households, and 1,614 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 2,695 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.2% white, 1.3% American Indian, 0.3% black or African American, 0.2% Pacific islander, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 38.7% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 16.2% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, 15.5% were Irish, 7.9% were Norwegian, 6.4% were

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, and 2.3% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. Of the 2,347 households, 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.2% were non-families, and 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age was 45.4 years. The median income for a household in the county was $44,667 and the median income for a family was $46,949. Males had a median income of $34,500 versus $32,014 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,606. About 5.8% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Agriculture is one of the primary industries in Broadwater County. RY Timber and Wheat Montana Bakery were the largest private employers according to the 2000 Census.

Communities

City

* Townsend (county seat)

Census-designated places

* Radersburg * Spokane Creek *

The Silos The Silos is an American rock band formed by Walter Salas-Humara and Bob Rupe in New York City, United States in 1985. History Prior to starting the Silos, Salas-Humara had been a member of The Vulgar Boatmen, and Bob Rupe was in Florida band ...

* Toston * Wheatland * Winston

Unincorporated communities

* Canton * Copper City * Diamond City * Eustis * Holker * Lombard

Former communities

* Lombard

Education

There are three school districts: *

Townsend K-12 Schools Townsend or Townshend may refer to: Places United States *Camp Townsend, National Guard training base in Peekskill, New York *Townsend, Delaware *Townsend, Georgia *Townsend, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Townsend (CDP), Massachusetts, th ...

* Three Forks Elementary School District * Three Forks High School District The elementary and high school district are both a part of

Three Forks Public Schools 3 (three) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cul ...

References

External links

TownsendValley.com
{{Coord, 46.33, -111.50, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MT_source:UScensus1990 Montana counties on the Missouri River 1897 establishments in Montana Populated places established in 1897