About us
Great Falls is centrally located in the state and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana. As of the 2011 census reportedly had 58,950 residents and has an international airport. The city was named after the five waterfalls that are near the city and is home to the Montana State University Great Falls. This was the largest city in the state between 1950 and 1970, until Billings population outgrew Great Falls, but remains the third largest city. In September of 2011 the city was rated as having the shortest commutes in the United States going to and from work.
This area of Montana was home to the Paleo, Salish and later the Blackfoot Indians and remained tribal territory long after it was claimed by the United States in 1803. The Lewis and Clark Expedition brought the first white visitors to this part of Montana, in June of 1805. The first recorded white people to inhabit the area of Great Falls was trapper Jim Bridger in 1822, Major Andrew Henry in April 1823, and Margaret Harkness Woodman, who was the first woman in the area in 1862. By 1884 with investments by railroad owner James J. Hill and businessman Charles Arthur Broadwater, a flour mill, store, and houses were established.
In the early 1900’s Great Falls became an industrial supply center and had the world’s tallest smokestack, used in the smelting of copper. During World War II the city was part of the Northwest Staging Route, which delivered planes in the USSR in accordance with the Lend-Lease. It also became home to the Malstrom Air Force Base and the 341st Missile Wing, until it was closed in the 1980’s. The city is now home to the Air National Guard’s 120th Fighter Wing, which is composed of F-15 Eagles, other aircraft and support personnel and the 889th Army Reserve Unit.
The Great Falls Metro area is comprised of Belt, Black Eagle, Cascade, Fort Shaw, Malmstrom AFB, Simms, Sun Prairie, Sun River, Ulm, and Vaughn. This is where the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art is located, the Russell Museum, the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and the First Peoples Buffalo State Parks is located. There is the Children’s Museum, which is educational and has interactive activities, the Mansfield Center of Performing Arts, Western Art Week, and the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit Finals are held.
The Great Falls Metro area is comprised of Belt, Black Eagle, Cascade, Fort Shaw, Malmstrom AFB, Simms, Sun Prairie, Sun River, Ulm, and Vaughn. This is where the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art is located, the Russell Museum, the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and the First Peoples Buffalo State Parks is located. There is the Children’s Museum, which is educational and has interactive activities, the Mansfield Center of Performing Arts, Western Art Week, and the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit Finals are held.
The City has the advantages of a large city, with the small town feel for residents and visitors of Great Falls. Visitors can find fun and excitement on the Lazy River, the Flow Rider, Electric City Water Park and the Little Squirts Soak Zone. They can visit the Holiday Village Mall and the boutiques in the historic part of downtown Great Falls. This is an area of Montana that has more than 57 parks and 40 miles of River’s Edge Trail along the Missouri River. The resident or Great Falls immigration resident to the city will find a variety of business and employment opportunities in a city filled with history and a growing metropolis.