Cascade County, Montana

From Vero - Wikipedia
Revision as of 02:31, 28 October 2025 by imported>WikiOriginal-9 (caps)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county

Aerial view of Cascade County and Sun River

Cascade County (cascade means waterfall in French) is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 84,414,<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> making it the fifth-most populous county in Montana. Its county seat is Great Falls.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cascade County comprises the Great Falls, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Early history

Cascade County was historically uninhabited throughout most of prehistory, with no permanent settlements aside from the occasional Salish hunting party.<ref name="TwoCenturies">Malone, Michael P.; Roeder, Richard B.; and Lang, William L. Montana: A History of Two Centuries. 2d rev. ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2003. Template:ISBN</ref> In roughly 1600, the Blackfeet pushed the Salish out, establishing the first permanent settlements in the area.<ref name="TwoCenturies" /> Despite being claimed by France, the area remained unexplored by European settlers until the United States acquired the region in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

At the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Cascade County was the territory of the Blackfeet.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The county was named for the falls on the Missouri River,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Lewis and Clark are believed to have first discovered the area on June 13, 1805.<ref name="CorpsofDiscovery">Ambrose, Stephen. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Template:ISBN; Gilman, Carolyn. Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2003. Template:ISBN; Lavender, David. The Way to the Western Sea: Lewis and Clark Across the Continent. New York: Harpercollins, 1988. Template:ISBN</ref> Despite this, the area remained uninhabited by Americans until later in the century.

Founding

After changing hands between several territories throughout the decades, Cascade County finally was placed under the jurisdiction of the Montana Territory on May 28, 1864.<ref name="TwoCenturies" /> In 1887, territorial representative T.E. Collins proposed the creation of Cascade County from several surrounding counties including Lewis and Clark, Meagher, and Chouteau, and his bill was signed. Two years later, Montana was granted full statehood.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1880, entrepreneur Paris Gibson explored the area and was impressed with the possibility to harness the hydroelectric potential of the massive waterfalls in order to power and sustain a large industrial city.<ref name="Wishart">"Great Falls, Montana". In Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. David J. Wishart, ed. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 2004. Template:ISBN</ref> He returned in 1883, establishing Great Falls at the bank of the river.<ref name="RoederGreatFalls">Roeder, Richard B. "Paris Gibson and the Building of Great Falls". Montana: Magazine of Western History. 42:4 (Autumn 1992).</ref> By 1887, the city had over 1000 residents, and the arrival of the Great Northern Railway cemented the city's position.<ref name="RoederGreatFalls" />

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.5%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Missouri River and the Sun River flow through the county, and meet at the city of Great Falls. A portion of the Adel Mountains Volcanic Field is in the county's southwest corner. The Rocky Mountains are in the western part of the county, with the Little Belt and Highwood Mountains in the southeast.

Adjacent counties

Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

National protected areas

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, 84,414 people were living in the county.Template:Citation needed

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, 81,327 people, 33,809 households, and 21,403 families in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 37,276 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The county's racial makeup was 89.2% white, 4.3% American Indian, 1.2% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.6% other races, and 3.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 28.5% were German, 17.1% were Irish, 12.3% were English, 10.3% were Norwegian, and 4.5% were American.

Of the 33,809 households, 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.7% were non-families, and 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age was 38.9 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,389, and the median income for a family was $53,540. Males had a median income of $37,904 versus $27,944 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,963. About 10.9% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.4% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Government

Cascade County is represented in the United States Senate by Republicans Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy. It is represented in the United States House of Representatives as part of Montana's 2nd congressional district by Republican Troy Downing. At the state level, Cascade County is represented in the Montana House of Representatives as part of house districts 19 through 26, represented by 7 Republicans and 1 Democrat. It is represented in the Montana Senate as part of senate districts 10 through 13, represented by 4 Republicans. Cascade County has an elected county commission and several elected county offices.

County Commissioners

Office<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Name Party
  Commissioner, District 1 Joe Briggs Republican
  Commissioner, District 2 James Larson Republican
  Commissioner, District 3 Eric Hinebauch Republican

County Officials

Office<ref name=":0" /> Name Party
  County Attorney Josh Racki Republican<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
  Clerk of Court/Jury Commissioner Tina Henry Republican
  Treasurer Diana Heikkila Republican
  Sheriff Jessie Slaughter Republican
  Clerk & Recorder Sandra Merchant Republican

Politics

Like Lewis & Clark County to the west, Cascade County leans Republican but has voted for Democrats four times since Lyndon Johnson's landslide in 1964, usually during national landslides. Since 2012, however, the county has shifted steadily to the right, in 2024 giving Donald Trump the highest Republican margin of the vote in state history. This is in contrast to several of its fellow large counties, which tend to swing between candidates election to election.

At the state level, Cascade County often acts as a bellwether county. It has been friendlier to Democrats - Senator Max Baucus carried the county in all of his elections, and Governors Brian Schweitzer and Steve Bullock carried it in all four elections in 2004–2016. Since at least 1984, no Democrat has won in Montana without winning Cascade County,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> however, Republicans have occasionally won statewide without carrying the county. Cascade County frequently votes alongside Montana's larger counties in social issues, having voted to legalize abortion and recreational marijuana. In recent years, however, Republicans have made massive gains locally, sweeping Cascade County in the state legislature and flipping the county commission and several county offices in 2022, and the county is now fully Republican at the local level after further party switches.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cascade's shift, uncommon among larger counties in the state, was largely attributed to Republican gains among union workers and concerns from local fossil fuel industry workers, who believed that Democrats were abandoning them as the national party has shifted to the left on energy policy and gun policy. The fossil fuel industry is especially important in Cascade County, and the growth of the county has come mainly from rural conservative voters moving to the area as opposed to more left-wing voters moving into other parts of Montana from Democratic-leaning states.<ref name=":2" />

Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

Economy

Malmstrom Air Force Base is a driving force in the regional economy.<ref name="dli">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2009, Benefis, Great Falls Clinic, National Electronics Warranty and Walmart were the largest private employers.<ref name=dli/>

Education

The Apollos University, the University of Great Falls, and the MSU College of Technology—Great Falls are all located in Great Falls.

K-12 education

Public school districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

Secondary:

Elementary:

There is also a state-operated school, Montana School for the Deaf & Blind.

Communities

City

Towns

Census-designated places

Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Unincorporated communities

Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Several motion pictures have been filmed in Great Falls. Many have filmed in Cascade County and Great Falls, and a few in Cascade County (outside the Great Falls city limits). Those films shot in the county and outside Great Falls city limits include: Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

See also

References

Notes

Template:Notelist

Citations

Template:Reflist

Bibliography

Template:Geographic location

Template:Cascade County, Montana Template:Montana Template:Authority control Template:Coord

Retrieved from "https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Cascade_County,_Montana&oldid=63620"