The Montana Legislature took land from two of the state's original counties, Jefferson (# 51) and Meagher (# 47) to create Broadwater County on February 9, 1897, naming the county for Charles Arthur Broadwater, one of early Montana's most influential men. Broadwater, like most early Montanans, was born out of state (St. Charles, Missouri), but built his fortune and lived most of his life in the Treasure State. Cattle, transportation, real estate, banking, Broadwater had his hand in all of these. He was also responsible for building one of the grandest structures ever seen in Montana, the Hotel Broadwater and Natatorium, just west of Helena.
The U.S. Census showed 5,612 Broadwater County residents in 2010, the largest population in the county's history. This represents a 28% increase from the 2000 census, which itself showed a 32.2% increase over 1990. In fact, the lowest count for the county came in 1970, with 2,526 residents, the only time the population was lower than at the time the county was first created. Located between the Big Belt Mountains to the north and east, and the Elkhorn Mountains to the south and west, Broadwater County covers 1,239 square miles, and has a population density of 4.7 people per square mile.
The Broadwater County Courthouse
Townsend, Montana
July 30th, 2011
Almost perfectly located in the center of the county, Townsend is the seat. When the Northern Pacific Railroad came through the area in 1883, the railroad named the town for the wife of a former president of the company. The station was built to service the gold mines in the area, and the town grew up around the new commercial center. With a 2012 estimated population of 1,970, Townsend would not be considered a city in most U.S. states, but this is, after all, Montana. Townsend is the first city you come to following the Missouri River downstream from its source near Three Forks, and thus the city calls itself "The First City on the Missouri." It is the only incorporated city in the county, although there are numerous other communities, including one, Canton, that is now completely submerged under the waters of the Missouri. Today, Townsend is a thriving commercial center, servicing the needs of the many prosperous farms in Broadwater County, and welcoming those who come for the many recreational opportunities offered by Canyon Ferry, the Missouri River, and the mountains that ring the area. Montana Magazine, many years ago, wrote up an Italian restaurant located in Townsend. I ate at that restaurant many times (although at this point I have forgotten the name), and at one point I asked the owner/chef why he had left New York City for Townsend, Montana. His answer was classic. "I like to fish, and here I can get away any time I want and be on the water." Either he has since retired, or he decided he needed to make a better living, as the restaurant is long gone.
The Broad Waters of Canyon Ferry Reservoir
North East of Winston, Montana
(Scanned from a photographic print)
South of Townsend, off a county road and far from any federal highway, lies the community of Radersburg. One of the earliest of Montana towns, Radersburg got its start thanks to gold. By 1869, five years after the creation of Montana Territory, the town had a population of 1,000. Located in one of Montana's original nine counties, the town was chosen to be the seat of Jefferson County, and its namesake, Ruben Rader, was one of the first county commissioners for that county. Elsie Ralls has written a great history of the community which shows up on the website of the Broadwater County Museum. She tells how the community thrived and shriveled as gold rose and fell in value. She points out that the fall in gold prices led Jefferson County to move the seat back to its original location in Boulder. That happened in 1884, and in what might be considered kicking a town when it's down, the railroad came through at the same time and completely bypassed the community. Many Radersburg folk moved to Townsend at that point. But unlike so many other once thriving mining camps, Radersburg is not a ghost town. According to the 2010 census, 66 people still call it home.
Almost due east of Radersburg, just off U.S. Highway 287 on the banks of the Missouri, sits the community of Toston. Named for early settler Thomas Toston, the community got a post office in 1882. The post office is still operating there, but the Methodist Church, which used to be served by the Townsend minister, apparently has closed. The 2010 Census counted 108 people in Toston, so it's larger than Radersburg, but still a very small town by any definition. Six miles upstream from the town is Toston Dam, the closest dam on the Missouri to that river's headwaters. Toston Dam was built in the late 1930s (actually completed in 1940) and was the second most expensive dam of its kind to be built in Montana at that time. It is a "run-of-the-river" hydroelectric dam which means that it doesn't rely on a reservoir to generate electricity.
Clouds above the Big Belt Mountains
Northern Broadwater County
September 8th, 2007
What I have found most surprising about Broadwater County is the number of new developments that have sprung up, either as bedroom communities for the state capitol in Helena, or for the tech center of the state in Bozeman. The Silos, for example, was always one of the most recognizable features of the drive along Canyon Ferry. Two large brick silos, uncapped as far back as I remember, stand sentinel between US Highway 12 and the lake shore. There has long been a Bureau of Reclamation campground there, which today is joined by a KOA with a marina in Broadwater Bay. But according to Wikipedia, there is a Census Designated Place there as well, with a 2010 population of 506. This would make an area that I think of as campgrounds, the third largest community in the county. Wheatland, another Census Designated Place, takes in the entire southern triangle of Broadwater County, and the 2010 Census counted 568 residents, making it second only to Townsend as a population center for the county. I recall seeing beautiful large homes sprouting up on the hills above US 287 and Interstate 90 in this region, and I wondered why, but it has to be the lure of Bozeman, without the city congestion. Wheatland is also the home of WheatMontana which claims Three Forks in neighboring Gallatin County (# 6) for a mailing address, but their location is definitely on the Broadwater County side of the line. Wikipedia also claims the Spokane Creek Census Designated Place as a Broadwater County community. Located at the point where Broadwater, Jefferson and Lewis and Clark (# 5) Counties all converge, Spokane Creek is a housing development with homes priced in the millions. There must be money in government service as this can only be a bedroom community for Helena.
Old Ranch in the Wheatland Area
Southern Broadwater County
April 28th, 2012
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