Formed December 14, 1860 (1st county)
Missoula County (117,924), Missoula (74,131)
A clock tower tops the nice cinder block building built in 1908 and renovated in 2016. A gazebo graces the front lawn and a small rotunda with local art is inside the facility. The structure is located on a square at Broadway, Woody, Pine and Ryman streets. Interstate Highway 90 Business is Broadway passing through the city. This is the only courthouse in Missoula. The county was created on December 14, 1860 as the first county. Hell’s Gate was the county seat until 1866. A. J. Gibson is the architect for this Neo-Classical facility. A Courthouse Annex was built in 1966 and connected to the courthouse. Missoula was the name of an ancient glacial Lake Missoula. Missoula County was the birthplace for 1 Montana Governor, Stephen C. Bullock.
Missoula County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners. Three District Court Judges serve Missoula and Mineral counties. The county is located in the western part of the state near the west border with Idaho. The county center is 28 miles Northeast of Missoula nearer Potomac. The county is surrounded clockwise by Lake, Flathead, Powell, Granite, and Ravalli counties and Idaho and Mineral and Sanders counties. Although the county is shaped like a “J”, there are “steps” along the east and west borders.
The area of the county is 2598 square miles. It is 24 out of 56 in the state. It ranks 3 out of 56 in population in the state. It has a density of 45.4 persons per square mile making it 4 out of 56 in the state. Missoula County has 62.9% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 90 enters from the west and exits to the southeast. United States Highway 12 enters from the southwest, joins United States Highway 93 to Missoula, then joins Interstate Highway 90 heading east. United States Highway 93 goes north to south through the county. Missoula is in the southwest part of the county. Missoula is the county seat and the largest city since it is the only incorporated city. It is 62.9% of the county population. The county and seat are pronounced MI-ZOO-LA. This county is in the Missoula Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Missoula
