Editing Great Falls, Montana (section)

===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>