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==History== For much of prehistory, no permanent settlements existed at or near Great Falls, though [[Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation|Salish Indians]] seasonally hunted bison in the region.<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. {{ISBN|0-295-97129-0}}</ref> Around 1600, [[Piegan Blackfeet]] Indians, migrating west, entered the area, pushing the Salish back into the [[Rocky Mountains]] and claiming the area now occupied by Great Falls.<ref name="TwoCenturies" /> The area remained territory of the Blackfeet until long after the United States claimed the region in 1803 as part of the [[Louisiana Purchase]].<ref name="Federal">Federal Writers' Project. ''Montana: A State Guide Book.'' Washington, D.C.: Federal Works Agency, Work Projects Administration, 1939. {{ISBN|1-60354-025-3}}</ref><ref name="Fleming">Fleming, Thomas J. ''The Louisiana Purchase.'' Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley and Sons, 2003. {{ISBN|0-471-26738-4}}</ref> [[Meriwether Lewis]] and [[William Clark]] led the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] into the newly purchased territory from 1804 to 1806. The expedition came upon the "Great Falls of the Missouri River" 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. {{ISBN|0-684-82697-6}}; Gilman, Carolyn. ''Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide.'' Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2003. {{ISBN|1-58834-099-6}}; Lavender, David. ''The Way to the Western Sea: Lewis and Clark Across the Continent.'' New York: Harpercollins, 1988. {{ISBN|0-06-015982-0}}</ref><ref name="Pritchett">Pritchett, Michael. ''The Melancholy Fate of Capt. Lewis.'' Columbia, Mo.: Unbridled Books, 2007. {{ISBN|1-932961-41-0}}</ref> [[File:MT Great Falls 1891.jpg|thumb|right|1891 bird's-eye illustration of Great Falls]] Politically, the future site of Great Falls passed through numerous hands in the 19th century. It was part of the unincorporated [[American frontier|frontier]] until May 30, 1854, when Congress established the [[Nebraska Territory]].<ref>Luebke, Frederick C. ''Nebraska: An Illustrated History.'' 2d ed. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 2005. {{ISBN|0-8032-8042-4}}</ref> On March 2, 1861, the site became part of the [[Dakota Territory]].<ref>Lamar, Howard Roberts. ''Dakota Territory, 1861–1889: A Study of Frontier Politics.'' New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1956; ''History of Southeastern Dakota.'' Sioux City, Iowa: Western Publishing Company, 1881.</ref> The Great Falls area was incorporated into the [[Idaho Territory]] on March 4, 1863,<ref>Rees, John E. ''Idaho Chronology, Nomenclature, Bibliography.'' Chicago: W.B. Conkey Co., 1918.</ref> and then into the [[Montana Territory]] on May 28, 1864.<ref name="TwoCenturies" /> It became part of the state of Montana upon that territory's admission to statehood on November 8, 1889.<ref name="TwoCenturies" /> ===Founding and early years=== The founding of Great Falls was the brainchild of [[Paris Gibson]], a Maine-born entrepreneur who became acquainted with railroad magnate [[James Jerome Hill|James J. Hill]] in Minneapolis, Minnesota. By the 1880s, Gibson was a sheep man in [[Fort Benton, Montana]]. He visited the Great Falls of the Missouri River in 1880 and was deeply impressed by the possibilities for building a major industrial city near the falls with power provided by [[hydroelectricity]].<ref name="RoederGreatFalls">Roeder, Richard B. "Paris Gibson and the Building of Great Falls". ''Montana: Magazine of Western History.'' 42:4 (Autumn 1992).</ref><ref name="Wishart">"Great Falls, Montana". In ''Encyclopedia of the Great Plains.'' [[David J. Wishart]], ed. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0-8032-4787-7}}</ref><ref name="JJHill" /><ref name="Broadwater">Myers, Rex C. and Fritz, Harry W. ''Montana and the West: Essays in Honor of K. Ross Toole.'' Boulder, Colo.: Pruett Publishing Co., 1984. {{ISBN|0-87108-229-2}}; Martin, Albro. ''James J. Hill and the Opening of the Northwest.'' St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1991. {{ISBN|0-87351-261-8}}</ref> He returned in 1883 with friend [[Robert Vaughn (Montana rancher)|Robert Vaughn]] and some surveyors and [[plat]]ted a permanent settlement on the south side of the river.<ref name="Federal" /><ref name="RoederGreatFalls" /><ref name="Wishart" /> The city's first citizen, Silas Beachley, arrived later that year.<ref name="Federal" /> With investments from Hill and from [[Helena, Montana|Helena]] businessman [[Charles Arthur Broadwater]], houses, a store, and a flour mill were established in 1884.<ref name="Federal" /><ref name="RoederGreatFalls" /><ref name="Wishart" /><ref name="JJHill">Malone, Michael P. ''James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest.'' Reprint ed. Stillwater, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. {{ISBN|0-8061-2860-7}}</ref><ref name="Broadwater" /> The Great Falls post office was established on July 10, 1884, and Gibson was named the first postmaster.<ref name="Lutz">Lutz, Dennis J. ''Montana Post Offices & Postmasters'', p 24, p. 200. (1986) Minot, ND: published by the author & Montana Chapter No. 1, National Association of Postmasters of the United States.</ref> A [[planing mill]], lumber yard, bank, school, and newspaper were established in 1885.<ref name="RoederGreatFalls" /><ref name="Broadwater" /> By 1887 the town had 1,200 citizens, and the arrival of Hill's [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]] in October of that year helped cement the city's future.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Malone|first=Michael P|title=James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=1996|isbn=0-8061-2860-7|location=Stillwater, OK}}</ref><ref name="RoederGreatFalls" /><ref name="JJHill" /><ref name="Broadwater" /> Great Falls was incorporated on November 28, 1888. Great Falls quickly became a thriving industrial and supply center. A ground-breaking for a smelter in nearby [[Black Eagle, Montana|Black Eagle]] took place in 1890, the same year that construction of a hydroelectric dam atop Black Eagle Falls was completed. The dam provided the fledgling city with electricity and marked the first major instance of hydroelectric power in Montana.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gibson|first=Paris|title=The Founding of Great Falls|publisher=Brigham Young University}}</ref> In 1894, naturalist [[Vernon Orlando Bailey|Vernon Bailey]] passed through and described Great Falls as "a very good town, appears prosperous and booming & I should judge contains 15000 inhabitants".<ref>{{citation | title = Journal | year = 1894 | first = Vernon | last = Bailey | author-link = Vernon Orlando Bailey | chapter = Belt to Great Falls | chapter-url = https://transcription.si.edu/transcribe/11076/SIA-MODSI4149_12-443_bailey_v_o_066 | quote = Aug. 31, Climbed out of the Otter Creek valley and struck N.W. across rolling prairie to Great Falls. Could see the smelter Chimneys as soon as we reached the top of prairie 3 miles from Belt. Struck no water till we reached Great Falls city. This is a very good town, appears prosperous and booming & I should judge contains 15000 inhabitants.}}</ref> By the early 1900s, Great Falls was en route to becoming one of Montana's largest cities. The rustic studio of famed [[American Old West|Western]] artist [[Charles Marion Russell]] was a popular attraction, as were the famed Great Falls of the Missouri. Among structures built in the early years were the sandstone Central High School (completed in 1896), now the [[Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art]]; the ornate copper-domed [[Cascade County Courthouse]] (1903); and railroad passenger depots of the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]] (1909) and the Milwaukee Road (1915), both overlooking the Missouri River.<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Register Database and Research - National Register of Historic Places (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/database-research.htm|access-date=2021-04-26|website=www.nps.gov|language=en}}</ref> ===Railroad and hydroelectric expansion=== [[James Jerome Hill]], president and primary stockholder of the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]], established a subsidiary, the [[Montana Central Railway]], on January 25, 1886. The mines in [[Butte, Montana|Butte]] were eager to get their metals to market. Gold and silver had been discovered near Helena, and coal companies in Canada sought to transport their fuel to Montana's smelters. Hill's close friend and business associate, Paris Gibson, promoted Great Falls as a site for the development of cheap hydroelectricity and heavy industry. As Hill was building the Great Northern across the northern tier of Montana, it made sense to also build a north–south railroad through central Montana to connect Great Falls with Helena and Butte. Surveyors and engineers had begun grading a route between Helena and Great Falls in the winter of 1885–1886, and by the end of 1886 had surveyed a route from Helena to Butte. Construction on the Great Northern's line westward began in late 1886, and on October 16, 1887, the link between [[Devils Lake, North Dakota]], [[Fort Assinniboine]] (near the present-day city of [[Havre, Montana]]), and Great Falls was complete. Service to Helena began in November 1887, and Butte followed on November 10, 1888. Hill organized the Great Falls Water Power & Townsite Company in 1887, with the goal of developing the town of Great Falls; providing it with power, sewage, and water; and attracting commerce and industry to the city. To attract industry to the new city, he offered low rates on the Montana Central Railway. On September 12, 1889, the [[Boston and Montana Consolidated Copper and Silver Mining Company|Boston and Montana]] ("B & M") signed an agreement with Great Falls Water Power & Townsite Company in which the power company agreed to build a dam that would supply the mining firm with at least 1,000 horsepower (or 0.75 MW) of power by September 1, 1890, and 5,000 horsepower (or 3.73 MW) of power by January 1, 1891. In exchange, B & M agreed to build a $300,000 copper smelter near the dam. [[Black Eagle Dam]] began generating electricity in December 1890. Water was permitted to flow over the crest of the dam on January 6, 1891, and the dam was considered complete on March 15, 1891. By 1912, [[Rainbow Dam]] and Volta Dam (now [[Ryan Dam]]) were all operating.<ref name="Federal" /><ref name="RoederGreatFalls" /><ref name="Broadwater" /> [[Morony Dam]] was built in 1930 and [[Cochrane Dam]] in 1957–1958. ====Smelting operations==== On April 7, 1908, construction began on a masonry/brick chimney measuring {{convert|506|ft|m}} tall on the B & M's (now the city's largest employer) smelting site at Black Eagle by the Alphonse Custodis Construction Co. of New York, for dispersal of fumes from B & M's copper smelting process. B & M would soon merge with the Amalgamated Copper Company and become the [[Anaconda Copper]] Mining Company or "ACM". The B & M smelter stack was completed on October 23, 1908. The chimney had an interior measurement of {{convert|78.5|ft|m}} in diameter at the base and {{convert|50|ft|spell=in}} in diameter at the top. At the time of its completion, it was the tallest chimney in the world (see [[List of tallest chimneys]]). With the moniker "The Big Stack", it immediately became a landmark for the community; after over 70 years of operation, the smelter closed in 1980. The Big Stack's [[Anaconda Smelter Stack|"sister" stack]] in [[Anaconda, Montana|Anaconda]], also of masonry/brick construction, completed in 1919, and slightly taller at {{convert|585|ft}}, began to suffer from cracking and the ACM decided to remove the support bands from the upper half of the Big Stack in 1976 and send them to Anaconda. This action proved to be the Big Stack's ultimate demise, since the cracks it was also suffering from rapidly worsened such that the ACM, citing concern for public safety (due to the continual deterioration of the stack's structural integrity), slated the Big Stack's demolition for September 18, 1982. In an interesting twist of fate, the demolition crew failed to accomplish the task on the first try; the two worst cracks in the stack ran from just above ground level to nearly {{convert|300|ft|round=5}} up. The demolition team's intent was to create a wedge in the base so the stack's rubble would fall almost vertically into a large trench, but as the {{convert|600|lb|abbr=on}} of explosives were set off the cracks "completed themselves" all the way to the ground—effectively severing the stack into two-thirds and one-third pieces. Much to the delight of the spectating community, the smaller of the two pieces remained standing, but the failed demolition only solidified the safety issue whereas the community cited the event as the stack's defiance. The demolition team who had planted the charges was recalled and later the same afternoon they returned and finished the demolition, after packing another {{convert|400|lb|abbr=on}} of explosives into the smaller wedge.<ref name=stackun>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w5dfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QjEMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4405%2C1224206 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |last=Van Swearingen |first=Hugh |title=Historic Anaconda Co. stack withstands first dynamite blast |date=September 19, 1982 |page=4B}}</ref> ===1930–present=== During the first two decades of the 20th century, Great Falls prospered from a homesteading boom, strong agricultural markets and favorable weather. It also became a financial center and regional shopping hub. In the late 1930s, the federal government's [[New Deal]] programs provided Great Falls with a new Civic Center building, and the city's business sector expanded with the arrival of military installations during World War II, helping Great Falls become the state's largest city from 1950 to 1970.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home Page {{!}} City of Great Falls Montana|url=https://greatfallsmt.net/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=greatfallsmt.net}}</ref> During World War II, the [[Northwest Staging Route]] passed through Great Falls, along which planes were delivered to the [[USSR]] according to the [[Lend-Lease]] program. Great Falls prospered further with the opening of a nearby military base in the 1940s, but as rail transportation and freight slowed in the later part of the century, outlying farming areas lost population, and with the closure of the smelter and cutbacks at [[Malmstrom Air Force Base]] in the 1980s, its population growth slowed. Great Falls was the location of the [[Mariana UFO incident]] in 1950, one of the earliest widely publicized [[UFO]] incidents. On February 11, 2013, the residents of Great Falls [[2013 Emergency Alert System hijackings|were met with a false]] [[Emergency Alert System]] message during an afternoon broadcast of ''[[The Steve Wilkos Show]]'' on [[CBS]] affiliate television station [[KRTV]], which simply stated that "[[Zombie|the bodies of the dead are rising from their graves]] and attacking the living. Do not attempt to approach these bodies, as they are considered extremely dangerous."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-12-16 |title=Several Montana TV stations hit by cyberattack |url=https://www.krtv.com/news/montana-and-regional-news/several-montana-tv-stations-hit-by-cyberattack |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=KRTV NEWS Great Falls |language=en}}</ref> It was revealed that a default password for the networks was being used, and a few minutes later, the station sent an official on-screen message apologizing for any confusion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hackers Broadcast Zombie Emergency Alert on TV |url=https://www.govtech.com/security/hackers-broadcast-zombie-emergency-alert-on-tv.html |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=GovTech |language=en}}</ref> In recent years, the economy of Great Falls has suffered from the decline of heartland industry, much like other cities in the [[Great Plains]] and [[Midwest]].
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