Great Falls

Settled in the heart of Montana, the Big Sky Country, Great Falls is surrounded by spectacular natural wonders and scenery. It is nestled between rich, productive farm land only miles away from the majestic Rocky Mountains to its west and Little Belt Mountains to the east.
Great Falls is the county seat of Cascade County and is the third largest city in Montana. Situated on the Missouri River in central Montana, the City lies approximately 50 miles east of the Continental Divide, 120 miles south of the Canadian border and 180 miles northwest of Billings, the largest city in Montana. The City encompasses an area of over 17 square miles with a population of 56,690 according to the 2000 census report of the United States Census Bureau.
The City is a municipal corporation, organized under the laws of the State of Montana in 1888. The City Charter was adopted June 3, 1986, and became effective July 1, 1986. The City's executive, legislative, and policy-making body is the City Commission. The City Commission composed of a mayor and four commissioners who serve overlapping four-year terms. The mayor is elected at-large for a term of two years.
The rich history of Great Falls began in the year 1882 when the Honorable Paris Gibson first came to the present site of Great Falls. Great Falls was founded two years later and incorporated in 1888. Within a distance of 10 miles the Missouri River drops 512 feet over perpendicular falls and many cascades: Great Falls had the first fire bell in the State of Montana in 1887. Great Falls was the first known community in Montana to elect an African American. In 1894, William M. Morgan was elected to one of two open constable positions. Great Falls had the first woman newspaper editor in Montana. Martha Edgerton Rolfe became editor of the Great Falls Leader in 1895, when her husband died of typhoid fever. Mrs. Rolfe, daughter of the first territorial governor of Montana, was also the first white woman to live in Great Falls arriving in May of 1884