The late 1800's

It was in the late 1800's when this area came into its own as a settled community, fit for inhabitation by those tough pioneering folks who dreamed of the Great Northwest. To this day, many Montanans are the descendants of sturdy families from Minnesota and the Dakotas. It's been well over 100 years since the time of Paris Gibson's dream. With enthusiasm and never-ending optimism, Gibson planned every detail of how his city would be. Paris Gibson Founder of Great Falls. From StPaul, Minnesota. 1st mayor in 1887. Planted 5000 trees and oversaw development of 400 acres of parks. Gibson came into the Great Falls area for the first time in 1880 and he immediately appreciated the potential for water power and coal mining. With financial help from a friend, James J. Hill, builder of the Great Northern Railroad, Gibson set about the task of building a city! Within 6 years of its beginning, Great Falls grew into a sizable transportation, commercial and manufacturing center. This was no mistake or turn of good luck. It was planned that way, just as the details of the town were carefully planned. James J. Hill, builder of the Great Northern Railroad, friend of Paris Gibson. Helped finance Gibson to establish a town. "Streets and avenues were meticulously laid out on north-south and east-west axes. Central Avenue was designated a width of ninety feet, while all other streets and avenues were to be eighty feet across. Alleys 20 feet across bisected blocks, each of which was divided into 14 lots measuring 50 by 150 feet apiece. Such a regular pattern was not common to cities which sprang up on the frontier. Great Falls, unlike many other western towns, was not the spontaneous product of some sudden discovery of gold, nor the accidental result of trail herders' efforts to reach the most recent terminus of a railroad under construction. In this instance, the city was basically the calculated creation of businessmen, and in plan and character resembled very little the typical western mining camp or cattle town. (Great Falls - A Pictoral History) Robert Vaughn was prominent in Great Falls' early history. He came to Montana just after it became a territory in 1864, and after stints as a miner and a butcher at Alder Gulch and Helena, he moved to the Sun River valley where he ranched for many years. He worked closely with Paris Gibson in the planning and surveying of the city. In 1889 he sold his farm and moved to Great Falls where he financed the construction of many downtown buildings. An 1899 publication, Great Falls, Montana - Historic and Scenic, described Vaughn as "a large-heartedly generous gentleman." He was among those entrepreneurial pioneers so often associated with frontier development and was highly respected as a contributor to the growth of the city. (Great Falls - A Pictorial History) Present day Great Falls, Montana was platted in 1883 and in the spring of 1884 the settlement began. By 1887 there were rail connections, hotels, stores, lumberyards, flour mills, churches, newspapers and a school. In 1888, Gibson broke ground for the silver smelter which was located on the south bank of the Missouri River, near Giant Springs. During the 1880's the nation was recovering from the depression of the previous decade. Railroad construction was on the upswing, the eastern agricultural markets were begging for production and the 1878 remonetization of silver ran a prfitable demand for silver being processed in Great Falls by the end of that decade. Things were good. Great Falls' future was a shining star! Moving into the 1890's Great Falls continued its rapid growth. The first dam was built at Black Eagle Falls; a new iron works was started and a copper smelter was built. The community continued to thrive and prosper and the population grew with every passing year. There were bad times too however. The city's prosperity tied in with national trends in railroading, manufacturing, agriculture and the price of silver. All of these soon caused problems. After two decades of frenetic expansion, the bottom fell out of the economy and once again the nation was in for several years of high unemployment, declining prices and a shrinking market for the products of farms and factories... During the 1890s Great Falls found itself ideally situated to take advantage of opportunities offered by new technological developments. Hydroelectricity was in its infancy, and water power meant water wheels and belt-driven machinery when in the 1880s Paris Gibson first assessed the potential of a dam at Black Eagle Falls. By the end of the century hydroelectric power generation

had been introduced in Great Falls and all across the country. Lights, machines and street cars were powered by this new energy source, and electrical applications constituted a dynamic growth industry. Vital components made of copper were in demand everywhere, and a new copper works was soon busily processing ore brought from Butte via Jim Hill's railroad... (Great Falls - A Pictorial History) By 1890 Great Falls residents were enjoying shaded streets, avenues and parks. The population of this new boom town were taking advantage of new educational, cultural and entertainment opportunities. Telephones and electric lights were in place in the 1890s. This 1884 photo shows the first townsite office for Great Falls. Situated on the banks of the Missouri River at Broadwater Bay. By 1891 the Great Falls Water Power and Townsite Company had constructed a dam on the north side of Black Eagle Falls and moved its offices to Central Avenue and Third Street. Photo from The Montana Room; G.F.Public Library 1881 - Holter Lumber Co. is set up below the mouth of the Sun River. 1883 - Johnstown (present day West-side Great Falls) is established. Named after John Largent, a well-known pioneer. 1884 - Ira Myer's sawmill opened 1885 - Holter expands lumber company and moves into Great Falls. 1885 - First store in Great Falls, Charles Thompson fo Ft Benton. 1885 - new hotel, The Minneapolis House opened - $1.00per day! 1885 - First school at 3rd Ave. So. and 5th Street. Reverend James Largent was the first teacher. 1885, July 15th - Great Falls population is 100. 1886 - 1st church in Great Falls; First Presbyterian at 7th St & 1st Ave So. 1886 - First pharmacy, Alex & Ben Lapeyre, in 400 block of Central Ave. 1886 - The Park Hotel is built by Paris Gibson and H.C.Chowen. Destryoed by fire in 1915. 1886 - Herbert P. Rolfe starts The Great Falls Leader, newspaper. 1886 - First National Bank opens at Central Avenue and 2nd Street. Founded by Colonel C.A. Broadwater, James J. Hill, Paris Gibson and Robert Vaughn. 1887 - Cascade County is organized. Boundaries not fixed till 1897. 1887, July 15th - Great Falls population is 1,200. 1887 - Kenkel's Shoe Store opens. 1887 - Jim Hill starts coal mining camp at Sand Coulee. 1887 - The first train, The Manitoba, is welcomed to Great Falls. 1888 - Great Falls incorporates. 1888 - Cascade Steam Laundry opens. 1888 - Paris Gibson breaks ground for silver smelter. 1888 - Whittier School opens at 3rd Ave. No. and 8th Street. 1889 - Construction begins on Black Eagle Dam. 1889 - Great Falls Waterworks opened; T.E.Collins, Ira Myers & E.G.Maclay. 1890 - Great Falls population is 3,979. 1890 - Mountain States Telephone Compnay brings service to Great Falls. 1890 - Valeria Library opens - charges $1.00 per family. 1890 - Matt Kranz opens first floral shop in Great Falls. 1890 - Lapeyre pharmacy moves to corner of Central Ave. & 3rd St. 1890 - Great Falls Street Railway organized. 1890 - St Ann's Catholic Church has over 3,000 parishoners. 1891 - Dam at Black Eagle Falls is completed. 1891 - Great Falls National Bank (2nd bank in town) opens, founder Robert S. Ford. 1891 - Volk Brothers Brewery. Burned to the ground in 1894. 1891 - Great Falls begins using horse-drawn fire equipment. 1891 - Great Falls Iron Works opens at 8th & 9th Avenues North and 14th Street. 1891 - Construction begins on The Stack, at Boston & Montana Smelter. 1891 - Original copper reduction plant opens above the falls. 1892, Mar 15th - Great Falls population is 10,000. 1892 - Columbus Hospital opens its doors as Great Falls' only hospital. 1892 - Montana Brewing Company opens and produces "Silver Spray." 1892 - James Burns is the first paid fire chief. 1892 - Grand Opera House opens; seats 1,000 and 600 lights illuminated its interior. 1892 - City takes over Valeria Library; becomes Public Library. 1892 - Vote for Montana state capital. Great Falls came in 5th place. Helena - 14,010 votes Anaconda - 10,183 Butte - 7,752 Bozeman - 7,685 Great Falls - 5,042 Deer Lodge - 983 Boulder - 295 1893 - First Real Estate and Insurance firm; McNair & Skinner. 1893 - The Royal Milling Company opens; later to become General Mills. 1893 - Joe Matteucci opens a liquor store in Little Milwaukee. 1893 - George Helmerich opens The Home Bakery (later called White House Grocery) 1894 - The Black Eagle Band is formed, sponsored by the Boston & Montana Co. 1894 - The Paris Dry Goods Store opens, founded by R.Keller, S.Singer and F.A.Fligman. 1894 - Swedish Baptist Church is built; congregation of four. 1894 - The Tuesday Music Club was founded for the women of Great Falls. 1894 - Kaufmans Menswear store opens its doors for business. 1895 - American Brewing Company opens. 1896 - Central High School (now Paris Gibson Square) is built. Today the square houses art exhibits, a restaurant, classrooms, studios and the Cascade County Historical Society. 1896 - conflagration in the Fox Fruit Store on Central Avenue spread to other businesses causing $35,000 in loses. 1896 - new school in Black Eagle opens. 1897 - L.W.Suhr and A.D.Robinson found The Cascade Ice and Fuel Company. They operated an ice house off Park Drive South. 1898 - Great Falls School District boasts $42.00/student expenditures, 9 buildings and 45 teachers. 1898 - Montana Deaconess Hospital opens in Great Falls. 1898 - Columbus Hospital School of Nursing graduates its first class. 1898 - Company A, Great Falls, sends troops to the Philippines after Admiral Dewey secured Manila in the Spanish-American War. Captain John E. Moran who commanded the 119 soldiers of Company A was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery under fire. 1898 - Beckman's Fur Factory founded by David Beckman 1899 - homecoming for the soldiers returning from the Philippines. 1899 - H.W. Green, who lived in a shack on the West Side was arrested on a charge of stealing tools, electrical appliances, kerosene and anything else he could sell for money to buy morphine.