Distinctly Montana Magazine

59 w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m G E T T O K N O W G E T T O K N O W A C O U N T Y A C O U N T Y B R O A D W A T E R C O U N T Y B R O A D W A T E R C O U N T Y A s a child, I believed that Broadwater County took its name from the Canyon Ferry reservoir, which at that point was the broadest water I had ever seen. Imagine my disappointment on learning that the county took its name from a real person, Charles Arthur Broad- water. When the Montana Legislature created Broadwater County on February 9th, 1897, as the state's twenty-fourth coun- ty, Charles Broadwater had been dead for five years. A true Montana pioneer, he got his start in Bannack, where he became involved in transportation, politics, and real estate. Today, the county that bears his name covers 1,239 square miles of which 46 are water. The 2020 census counted 6,774 residents, the highest in the county's history. The county's pop- ulation has almost tripled since 1970 when the census counted fewer people than in 1900, the first census after the county's creation. Much of this recent growth is due to census-designated places on the coun- ty's northern and southern ends. Spokane Creek, Winston and the Silos all serve as bedroom communities for Helena, while Wheatland in the south serves the same function for Bozeman. Wheatland makes for an interesting case study. Not incorpo- rated as a town, it nevertheless has the second highest population of any place in Broadwater County. The 2020 census counted 636 residents, and the 2023 estimate is 705, with a growth rate of over 10% annually. Median age is 37.3, and average earnings come in at $60,100, while Broadwater County's figures overall are 47.1 and $36,057. Average household income is $95,613. WorldPopulation- Review.com finds that there are no rental properties in Wheatland; rather 100% of local homes are owner-occupied. Over eighty-six percent of resi- dents have at least some col- lege, and over thirty-eight percent have a bachelor's or graduate degree. The largest, and only, in- corporated city in Broadwa- ter County, Townsend has served as county seat from the beginning. Founded in 1883 and named for the wife of the president of the Northern Pacific Railroad, the town served as a ship- ping point for the mines that surround the area. The 2020 census counted 1,787 residents, down 4.8% from the 2010 count (highest in the county's history). Two of Broadwater County's eleven listings on the National Register of Historic Places are in Townsend: the State Bank of Townsend at 400 Broadway, and the Valley Masonic Lodge at 131 South Spruce Street. article and photos by BRYAN SPELLMAN TOWNSEND

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