Cascade

Formed February 23, 1887 (15^th county)

Cascade County (84,413), Great Falls (60,464)

The stone French Renaissance and Beaux Arts structure was constructed in 1903.  It is located on a square at 2^nd Avenue, 4^th Street, 3^rd Avenue, and 5^th Street.  Interstate Highway 15 Business is one block south of the location.  The courthouse designers are H. N. Black and Frank Longstaff.  The county was created on February 23, 1887 as the 15^th county with Great Falls as the only county seat.  Cascade County is named for the falls on the Missouri River.  It is the same source for the county seat name. 

Cascade County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Four District Court Judges serve Cascade County.  The county is in west central Montana.  Billings, Montana is southeast and Missoula, Montana is southwest of the county.  The Missouri River flows through the county.  The county center is 5 miles Southwest of Great Falls.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Chouteau, Judith Basin, Meagher, Lewis and Clark, and Teton counties. 

The area of the county is 2698 square miles.  It is 20 out of 56 in the state.  It ranks 5 out of 56 in population in the state.  It has a density of 31.3 persons per square mile making it 5 out of 56 in the state.  Cascade County has 73.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 15 goes northwest to southwest in the county from Teton County to Lewis and Clark County.  United States Highway 87 travels northeast to southeast from Chouteau County to Judith Basin County.  United States Highway 89 passes northwest to southeast in the county from Teton County to Judith Basin County.  The county looks like a face of a person facing south.  Great Falls is located in the northern quarter of the county.  Great Falls is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 71.6% of the county population.  This county is in the Great Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Neihart