111-577: The Missoula County Courthouse is located in Missoula, Montana , in the center of Downtown Missoula . It is located at 200 West Broadway, Missoula Montana . It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings on September 1, 1976. It is a two-story building on an elevated basement, with walls of native sandstone . It was designed by Missoula architect A.J. Gibson and built during 1908-10 by Spokane contractor Williams & Oliver Co. on
222-516: A progressive , emphasizing her support of suffrage, social welfare, and prohibition. Before her election she spoke on several occasion in favor of proportional representation . In the Republican primary, Rankin received the most votes of the eight Republican candidates. In the at-large general election on November 7, the top two vote-getters won the seats. Rankin finished second in the voting, defeating Frank Bird Linderman , among others, to become
333-535: A song cycle about Rankin called Fierce Grace that premiered in 2017. In 2018, the Kalispell Brewing Company commissioned a mural on the side of its building in Kalispell, Montana , featuring a Rankin caricature and quotation. Rankin is the subject of the musical We Won't Sleep (formerly Jeannette ) with music and lyrics by Arianna Afsar and a book by Lauren Gunderson . Under the title Jeannette ,
444-569: A 150-mile radius, and Missoula's location as the railway's division point and repair shops provided hundreds of jobs. When the railway began expanding again in 1898, increased freight shipments came through the city, and with the arrival of the Milwaukee Road and regional office for the U.S. Forest Service, as well as the opening of the Flathead Indian Reservation to settlement all within a couple years of each other beginning in 1908,
555-508: A Clark Fork Market run concurrently. Downtown hosts "First Friday Missoula", a gallery walk on the first Friday of the month to feature local art from museums and galleries, such as that of Monte Dolack . Missoula celebrates "First Night Missoula" on New Year's Eve, which includes food and live entertainment. The "Festival of the Book" to celebrate the literature of the American West was rebranded
666-476: A children's recreational area adjacent to the carousel. Missoula's system of government has changed four times since 1883, when an aldermanic form of government was approved with the town charter. The city adopted a commission-council form of government in 1911 with the opening of new City Hall and a council–manager government in 1954 before returning to an aldermanic form of government in 1959. Since January 1, 1997, Missoula has been governed in accordance with
777-497: A higher honor and loyalty." Over the next twenty years, Rankin travelled the world, frequently visiting India, where she studied the pacifist teachings of Mahatma Gandhi . She maintained homes in both Georgia and Montana. In the 1960s and 1970s, a new generation of pacifists, feminists, and civil rights advocates found inspiration in Rankin and embraced her efforts in ways that her generation had not. She mobilized again in response to
888-552: A joint session, asked Congress to "make the world safe for democracy" by declaring war on Germany . After intense debate, the war resolution came to a vote in the House at 3:00 am on April 6; Rankin cast one of 50 votes in opposition. "I wish to stand for my country," she said, "but I cannot vote for war." Years later, she would add, "I felt the first time the first woman had a chance to say no to war, she should say it." Although 49 male Representatives and six Senators also voted against
999-516: A letter to the Missoulian , he stressed his interest in having the park remain in as close to a native state as possible. That request, along with the discovery that non-native Norway maples were inhibiting the growth of native trees and shrubs such as cottonwoods, ponderosa pines, and Rocky Mountain maples, led to the controversial decision to remove Norway maples from the park with the hope of returning it to its natural state. In 1924, Bonner Park
1110-559: A massive protest strike over working conditions. Rankin tried to intervene, but mining companies refused to meet with her or the miners, and her proposed legislation to end the strike was unsuccessful. She had greater success pushing for better working conditions in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing . Rankin listened to the grievances of federal workers in the bureau, which included long hours and an excessively demanding work pace. She hired investigative reporter Elizabeth Watson to investigate. As
1221-464: A municipal government as a town, the same year. In 1885, Missoula reincorporated its government as a city. In 1893, Missoula was chosen as the location for the first state university, the University of Montana . The need for lumber for the railway and its bridges spurred the opening of multiple saw mills in the area, and in turn, the beginning of Missoula's lumber industry, which remained the mainstay of
SECTION 10
#17330853444891332-530: A permanent pavilion was constructed. The park is a hub of city festivities including include "Out to Lunch", the International Wildlife Film Festival , First Night Missoula, Garden City BrewFest and offered intimate concert settings for artists such as Jewel , Chris Isaak , Santana , Ziggy Marley , and B.B. King . Located next to Caras Park is A Carousel for Missoula , a wooden, hand-carved and volunteer-built carousel; and Dragon Hollow,
1443-408: A result of her efforts to draw attention to the working conditions of the bureau, Treasury Secretary William McAdoo convened his own investigation and ultimately limited the work day to eight hours. By 1917, women had been granted some form of voting rights in about forty states. Rankin continued to lead the movement for unrestricted universal enfranchisement. She was instrumental in the creation of
1554-467: A significant aspect of the Missoula economy, Missoula also is home to a vibrant sector of alternative healthcare. As of 2013 , Missoula ranked 299 nationally in gross metropolitan product with an output of $ 5 billion, while the city's total personal income ranked 333 at $ 4.18 billion, an increase of more than 47% since 2003. As of 2013 , per capita personal income ranked 239 at $ 37,397
1665-566: A similar suffrage bill in that state's legislature. During this period, Rankin also traveled to Washington to lobby Congress on behalf of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Rankin returned to Montana and rose through the ranks of suffrage organizations, becoming the president of the Montana Women's Suffrage Association and the national field secretary of NAWSA. In February 1911, she became
1776-676: A simple life there, without electricity or plumbing, although she also maintained a residence in Montana. Rankin made frequent speeches around the country on behalf of the Women's Peace Union and the National Council for the Prevention of War (NCPW). In 1928 she founded the Georgia Peace Society, which served as headquarters for her pacifism campaign until its dissolution in 1941, on the eve of
1887-449: A splinter group of activists from the women's liberation movement created a protest within the Brigade's protest by staging a "Burial of True Womanhood " at Arlington National Cemetery to draw attention to the passive role allotted to women as wives and mothers. In 1972, Rankin—by then in her nineties—considered mounting a third House campaign to gain a wider audience for her opposition to
1998-662: A trading post in the 1860s situated along the Mullan Military Road to take advantage of the first route across the Bitterroot Mountains to the plains of Eastern Washington. Its designation as county seat in 1866 and location of the hastily built Fort Missoula in 1877 ensured Missoula's status as a regional commercial center, a status further consolidated in 1883 with the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway. The railroad expanded Missoula's trade area to cover
2109-540: A year, 84% of the national average. The Missoula metropolitan area's unemployment rate was 3.7% as of June 2015 , dropping nearly 0.8% in the twelve months prior. As of the city's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report , Missoula's top employers are: Missoula, often considered the cultural center of Montana, is the location of the state's first university, and an eclectic mix of loggers, hippies, college students, sports fans, and retirees. Community events generally take place downtown either outdoors or in one of
2220-570: Is 100 percent against you." A wire-service photo of Rankin sequestered in the phone booth, calling for assistance, appeared the following day in newspapers across the country. While her action was widely ridiculed in the press, Progressive leader William Allen White , writing in the Kansas Emporia Gazette , acknowledged her courage in taking it: Probably a hundred men in Congress would have liked to do what she did. Not one of them had
2331-423: Is 117 miles (188 km) south of Kalispell , 118 miles (190 km) northwest of Butte and 165 miles (266 km) southeast of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho . The city is at an elevation of 3,209 feet (978 m) above sea level , with nearby Mount Sentinel and Mount Jumbo steeply rising to 5,158 feet (1,572 m) and 4,768 feet (1,453 m), respectively. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 's 2023 figures,
SECTION 20
#17330853444892442-523: Is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana , United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five mountain ranges, and thus it is often described as the "hub of five valleys". The 2020 United States census recorded the city's population at 73,489 and the population of
2553-790: Is a memorial stone dedicated to her in the Missoula Cemetery. She bequeathed her estate, including the property in Watkinsville, Georgia , to help "mature, unemployed women workers". Her Montana residence, known as the Rankin Ranch , was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The Jeannette Rankin Foundation (now the Jeannette Rankin Women's Scholarship Fund), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, awards annual educational scholarships to low-income women 35 and older across
2664-779: Is housed in a former Carnegie library ; it features contemporary art and annually features 20–25 group and solo exhibits. Fort Missoula is home to the Historic Museum, dedicated to preserving the history of Western Montana, and to the Rocky Mountain Museum of Military History and the Northern Rockies Heritage Center . The National Museum of Forest Service History is constructing the National Conservation Legacy and Education Center in Missoula, too. Opened in 1987, Missoula's Bayern Brewing
2775-675: Is one of Missoula's fastest growing industries with St. Patrick Hospital (western Montana's only level-II trauma center) and the Community Medical Center , already the city's second- and third-largest employers behind the university. About 55% of employment in Missoula is made up of the service and retail sectors. Export industries are concentrated in heavy and civil engineering, construction, beverage production, technical services, truck transportation, and forestry-, logging-, and wood-related industries. In addition to nearly 4 million out-of-state visitors annually, which makes tourism
2886-638: Is the oldest active brewery in Montana. Big Sky Brewing opened in 1995 and with a production over 38,000 barrels in 2008 , it is by far Montana's largest brewery, and produces the best-selling beer brewed in Montana, Moose Drool Brown Ale. Missoula has also been home to Kettle House Brewing since 1995 and Draught Works opened in 2011. Big Sky, Bayern, and Kettlehouse represent the first-, second-, and third-largest breweries, respectively, in Montana. Also in 2011, Tamarack Brewing and Flathead Lake Brewing Company from nearby Lake County opened pub houses at downtown Missoula locations. The city also holds annually
2997-628: Is the second-largest in the Montana Legislature and is represented by districts 91–100 in the Montana House of Representatives and districts 46–50 in the Montana Senate . Having 14 Democrats and only one Republican in its state legislative delegation, Missoula is known as a more liberal area than the rest of the state. Though Missoula's political leanings may not be unique for a college town, its initiative to make marijuana possession
3108-548: The 19th Constitutional Amendment , granting unrestricted voting rights to women nationwide. She championed a multitude of diverse women's rights and civil rights causes throughout a career that spanned more than six decades. In 1920, she helped found the American Civil Liberties Union and served as a vice president. Rankin was born on June 11, 1880, near Missoula in Montana Territory , nine years before
3219-546: The LGBT community. The marijuana repeal was vetoed by then-Governor Brian Schweitzer and the attempt to repeal the anti-discrimination ordinance died in the State Senate. In 2020, Missoula County became the first county in Montana to adopt a county sales tax on gasoline (an option afforded to counties in Montana that had gone unused for several decades). The Montana Legislature and Governor Greg Gianforte blocked this decision
3330-740: The Missoula Maggots Rugby Club the first weekend in May. The non-elimination tournament focuses on the fun aspect of the game, attracting 36 teams (male and female) from around the United States and Canada. In regular-season play, the Missoula Maggots compete as part of the Montana Rugby Union alongside another local rugby team, the University of Montana Jesters . The Thomas Meagher Hurling Club are also based in Missoula and play in
3441-482: The Missoula Metropolitan Area at 117,922. As of 2023, the estimated city population was 77,757. Missoula is the second largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Montana. Missoula is home to the University of Montana , a public research university . The Missoula area began seeing settlement by people of European descent in 1858, including William T. Hamilton , who set up a trading post along
Missoula County Courthouse - Misplaced Pages Continue
3552-592: The Mullan Road . The establishment of Fort Missoula in 1877 to protect settlers further stabilized the economy. The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883 brought rapid growth and the maturation of the local lumber industry. In 1893, the Montana Legislature chose Missoula as the site for the state's first university. Along with the U.S. Forest Service headquarters founded in 1908, lumber and
3663-523: The University of Washington , and became involved in the women's suffrage movement. In November 1910, Washington voters approved an amendment to their state constitution to permanently enfranchise women, the fifth state in the Union to do so. Returning to New York, Rankin became one of the organizers of the New York Woman Suffrage Party, which joined with other suffrage organizations to promote
3774-699: The Vietnam War . In January 1968, the Jeannette Rankin Brigade, a coalition of women's peace groups, organized an anti-war march in Washington, D.C.—the largest march by women since the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913 . Rankin led 5,000 participants from Union Station to the steps of the Capitol Building , where they presented a peace petition to House Speaker John McCormack . Simultaneously,
3885-586: The conference level, where they both rank at or near the top in attendance, about 4,000 and 3,000, respectively, and play their home games at Dahlberg Arena . Missoula is home to the Missoula PaddleHeads who play in the Rocky Mountain-based Pioneer Baseball League . They play their home games at Ogren Park at Allegiance Field . Since 1977, Missoula has also held "Maggotfest", a festival-style rugby tournament hosted by
3996-483: The declaration of war on Germany in 1917 . In 1941, she was the sole member of Congress to vote against the declaration of war on Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor . A suffragist during the Progressive Era , Rankin organized and lobbied for legislation enfranchising women in several states, including Montana, New York, and North Dakota. While in Congress, she introduced legislation that eventually became
4107-568: The interwar period, she said, "The peace problem is a woman's problem." Rankin's campaign for one of Montana's two at-large House seats in the congressional election of 1916 was financed and managed by her brother Wellington, an influential member of the Montana Republican Party . She traveled long distances to reach the state's widely scattered population. Rankin rallied support at train stations, street corners, potluck suppers on ranches, and remote one-room schoolhouses. She ran as
4218-507: The ponderosa pine , also being prevalent. Other native plants include wetland species such as cattails and beaked sedge , as well as shrubs and berry plants such as Douglas hawthorn , chokecherry , and western snowberries . To the chagrin of local farmers, Missoula is also home to several noxious weeds , which multiple programs have set out to eliminate. Notable ones include Dalmatian toadflax , spotted knapweed , leafy spurge , St. John's wort , and sulfur cinquefoil . Controversially,
4329-875: The " Montana Book Festival " in 2015. Missoula's two historic theatres both hold annual film festivals: the Roxy hosting the International Wildlife Film Festival , established in 1977 as the first juried wildlife film festival in the world; and since 2003, the Wilma accommodating the largest film event in Montana, the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival . In performance arts, the Missoula Community Theatre has held performances of musical and nonmusical plays since 1977, with its affiliated Missoula Children's Theatre also acting as an international touring program that visits nearly 1,000 communities per year around
4440-470: The 1890s western frontier labored side by side as equals with men, they did not have an equal political voice—nor a legal right to vote. Rankin graduated from high school in 1898. She studied at the University of Montana and, in 1902, received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. Before her political and advocacy career, she explored a variety of careers, including dressmaking, furniture design, and teaching. After her father died in 1904, Rankin took on
4551-567: The 1940 race, Rankin—at age 60—defeated incumbent Jacob Thorkelson , an outspoken antisemite , in the July primary, and former Representative Jerry J. O'Connell in the general election. She was appointed to the Committee on Public Lands and the Committee on Insular Affairs . While members of Congress and their constituents had been debating the question of U.S. intervention in World War II for months,
Missoula County Courthouse - Misplaced Pages Continue
4662-568: The 1980s until most were under control of Plum Creek Timber , all the while demand in timber dropped. In 2007, a downward spiral of Missoula's lumber industry began with the closure of a plywood plant in Bonner, the closure of Bonner's sawmill in 2008, and the closing of the Smurfit-Stone Container pulp mill in 2010. Since opening in 1895, the University of Montana has had a major impact on
4773-454: The 1980s. Likewise, the University of Montana grew 50% and built or renovated 20 buildings from 1990 to 2010. These industries, as well as expansions in business and professional services, and retail are expected to be the main engines of future growth. Missoula is located at the western edge of Montana, less than 25 miles (40 km) from the Idaho border as the crow flies . By highway it
4884-558: The Committee on Woman Suffrage and became one of its founding members. In January 1918, the committee delivered its report to Congress, and Rankin opened congressional debate on a Constitutional amendment granting universal suffrage to women. The resolution passed in the House but was defeated by the Senate. The following year—after Rankin's congressional term had ended—the same resolution passed both chambers. After ratification by three-fourths of
4995-570: The Garden City Airport's Hale Field, which was gradually being replaced by the Missoula County Airport , which was then southwest of town. The new school (now Sentinel High School ) was opened in 1957. Initially, the two campuses were separated between upper and lower classmen with upper classmen in the new school, but in 1965, the two campuses became separate high schools. In 1974, the private Loyola Sacred Heart Catholic High School
5106-556: The Garden City Brewfest and Winterfest, and periodically hosts the Montana Brewers Festival. The Clay Studio of Missoula is a non-profit ceramic-arts center, which provides education and a community access clay studio. Missoula plays host to a variety of intercollegiate, youth, and amateur sports organizations in addition to a minor league baseball team. The Montana Grizzlies ' football and basketball teams of
5217-511: The Hoerner-Waldorf pulp mill in 1956, which resulted in protests over the resultant air pollution. An article in Life 13 years later speaks of Missoulians sometimes needing to drive with headlights on during the day to navigate through the smog . In 1979, almost 40% of the county labor income still came from the wood and paper-products sector. The lumber industry was hit hard by the recession of
5328-523: The House of Representatives. Rankin began her campaign for Congress in 1939 with a tour of high schools in Montana. She arranged to speak in 52 of the first congressional district's 56 high schools to reestablish her ties to the region after years of spending much of her time in Georgia. Once again, Rankin enjoyed the political support of her well connected brother Wellington, even though the siblings had increasingly divergent lifestyles and political views. In
5439-458: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, galvanized the country and silenced virtually all opposition. On December 8, Rankin was the only member of either chamber of Congress to vote against the declaration of war on Japan . Hisses could be heard in the gallery as she cast her vote; several colleagues, including Rep. (later Senator) Everett Dirksen , asked her to change it to make
5550-538: The MRL into BNSF, integrating MRL operations, technology and personnel. All 1,200 employees were offered employment with BNSF. As of 2009 , education and healthcare were Missoula's leading industries; the University of Montana, Missoula County Public Schools, and the two hospitals in the city were the largest employers. St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center , founded in 1873, is the region's only Level II trauma center and has undergone three major expansions since
5661-660: The Missoula City Charter, which calls for a mayor–council system of government. The current system comprises a mayor and city treasurer elected in a citywide vote and 12 city council members who must reside in and are elected from one of six wards, with each ward having two council members. All positions are nominally nonpartisan. Council members and the mayor are elected to four-year terms with council-member elections being staggered to allow only one member from each ward to up for re-election. No term limits exist for either position. Missoula's state legislative delegation
SECTION 50
#17330853444895772-626: The Montana State veterans' memorial rose garden; Waterwise Garden, a "living laboratory" garden utilizing water conservation techniques; and Splash Montana Waterpark at Playfair Park. Caras Park is located just south of the historic Wilma Theatre downtown. It is located on land reclaimed when the Higgins Avenue Bridge was widened from two lanes to four in 1962. Before the reclamation, the Clark Fork River divided to create an island with
5883-679: The Montana Technology Enterprise Center, and several start-up businesses. Missoula is the hub of its Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) economic area, which includes the Montana counties of Flathead , Lake , Lincoln , Mineral , Missoula , Ravalli , and Sanders . As of 2011 , the BEA listed the economic area population at 306,050. Key businesses sectors serving the area include health care, retail shopping, transportation, financial services, government and social services, education, events, arts and culture. Health care in particular
5994-597: The Northern Rockies, Missoula has a typical Rocky Mountain ecology . Local wildlife includes populations of white-tailed deer , moose , grizzly bears , black bears , osprey , and bald eagles . During the winter, rapid snowmelt on Mount Jumbo due to its steep slope leaves grass available for grazing elk and mule deer . The rivers around Missoula provide nesting habitats for bank swallows , northern rough-winged swallows , and belted kingfishers . Killdeer and spotted sandpipers can be seen foraging for insects along
6105-571: The Northwestern division of the USGAA . The club are named after the late Irish nationalist and former acting Territorial Governor of Montana , Thomas Francis Meagher . The city has over 400 acres (160 ha) of parkland, 22 miles (35 km) of trails, and nearly 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of conserved open space. Located at the confluence of three rivers (the Clark Fork, Bitterroot, and Blackfoot),
6216-459: The Norway maples that line many of Missoula's older streets have also been declared an invasive species. Missoula has a humid continental climate ( Köppen climate classification Dfb ), with cold and moderately snowy winters, hot and dry summers, and short, crisp springs and autumns. Winters are usually milder than much of the rest of the state due to Missoula's location west of the Rockies, allowing it to receive mild, moist Pacific air and avoid
6327-429: The Rattlesnake Creek; Captain Richard Grant, who settled near Grant Creek; and David Pattee, who settled near Pattee Canyon. Missoula was founded in 1860 as Hellgate Trading Post while still part of Washington Territory . By 1866, the settlement had moved east, 5 miles (8 km) upstream, and had been renamed "Missoula Mills", later shortened to Missoula. The mills provided supplies to western settlers traveling along
6438-540: The U.S. involvement in World War II . In 1937, Rankin opposed President Franklin Roosevelt's proposals to intervene on the British side against Germany and its allies, arguing that both sides wished to avoid a second European war and would pursue a diplomatic solution. She testified before multiple Congressional committees in opposition to various preparedness measures. When it became clear that her lobbying efforts were largely ineffective, Rankin resigned from her NCPW position and declared her intention to regain her seat in
6549-541: The United States. Beginning with a single $ 500 scholarship in 1978, the fund has since awarded more than $ 1.8 million in scholarships to more than 700 women. A statue of Rankin by Terry Mimnaugh, inscribed "I Cannot Vote For War", was placed in the United States Capitol 's Statuary Hall in 1985. At its dedication, historian Joan Hoff-Wilson called Rankin "one of the most controversial and unique women in Montana and American political history." A replica stands in Montana's capitol building in Helena . In 1993, Rankin
6660-435: The United States. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Montana in 1916 for one term, then was elected again in 1940 . Rankin remains the only woman ever elected to Congress from Montana . Each of Rankin's congressional terms coincided with the initiation of U.S. military intervention in one of the two world wars . A lifelong pacifist , she was one of 50 House members who opposed
6771-412: The University of Montana have the highest attendance. The Montana Grizzlies football team has a successful program within the NCAA D-1 FCS level. Their home games at Washington–Grizzly Stadium have a near 90% winning percentage and average over 25,000 spectators in attendance. All games are televised throughout Montana. The Grizzlies men's and Lady Griz basketball teams have also been successful at
SECTION 60
#17330853444896882-514: The Vietnam War, but longstanding throat and heart ailments forced her to abandon that final project. Rankin never married. While she maintained a lifelong, close friendship with the noted journalist and author Katherine Anthony , the women were never romantically involved. Rankin's biographers disagree on her sexual orientation, but generally agree that she was too consumed by her work to pursue committed personal relationships. Rankin died on May 18, 1973, at age 92, in Carmel, California . There
6993-418: The area economy for the next 100 years. The United States Forest Service work in Missoula began in 1905. Missoula is also home of the smokejumpers ' headquarters and will be the site of the National Museum of Forest Service History. Nationally, there are nine Forest Service regions; Region 1 is headquartered in Missoula. Logging remained a mainstay of industry in Missoula with the groundbreaking of
7104-659: The area is also popular for white water rafting and, thanks largely to the novel and subsequent film A River Runs Through It by Missoula native Norman Maclean , is well known for its fly fishing . Additionally, Missoula has two aquatic parks, multiple golf courses, is home to the Adventure Cycling Association , and hosts what Runner's World called the "best overall" marathon in the U.S. There are also three ski areas within 100 miles (160 km): Montana Snowbowl , Discovery Ski Area , and Lost Trail Powder Mountain . Slightly farther away are Lookout Pass , Blacktail Mountain , and Big Mountain . A system of public parks
7215-410: The city had a total area of 35.0 square miles (90.6 km ), of which 34.8 square miles (90.1 km ) were land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km ), or 0.54%, were covered by water. Around 13,000 years ago, the entire valley was at the bottom of Glacial Lake Missoula . As could be expected for a former lake bottom, the layout of Missoula is relatively flat and surrounded by steep hills. Evidence of
7326-416: The city of Missoula's lake-bottom past can be seen in the form of ancient horizontal wave-cut shorelines on nearby Mount Sentinel and Mount Jumbo. At the location of present-day University of Montana, the lake once had a depth of 950 feet (290 m). The Clark Fork River enters the Missoula Valley from the east through Hellgate Canyon after joining the Blackfoot River 5 miles (8 km) east of downtown, at
7437-549: The city was 92.1% White, 0.5% African American, 2.8% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.6% from other races , and 2.8% from two or more races. Latinos of any race were 2.9% of the population. Of the 29,081 households, 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 51.9% were not families. About 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who
7548-419: The courage to do it. The Gazette entirely disagrees with the wisdom of her position. But Lord, it was a brave thing! And its bravery someway discounted its folly. When, in a hundred years from now, courage, sheer courage based upon moral indignation is celebrated in this country, the name of Jeannette Rankin, who stood firm in folly for her faith, will be written in monumental bronze– not for what she did but for
7659-458: The declaration, Rankin was singled out for criticism. Some considered her vote a discredit to the suffragist movement and her authority in Congress; but others applauded it, including Alice Paul of the National Woman's Party and Representative Fiorello La Guardia of New York. Rankin used her office to push for better working conditions for laborers. On June 8, 1917, the Speculator Mine disaster in Butte left 168 miners dead. Workers called
7770-471: The development of Missoula's economy. In addition to the economic advantage from accommodating the student body, it gave the city an educated workforce not available in most of the state. The university has a close relationship with the city as Missoula's largest employer and with the millions of dollars the school brings into the city through visitors of school-sponsored sporting and cultural events. The university also houses Missoula's only business incubator,
7881-625: The early 1980s , and Missoula's economy began to diversify. By the early 1990s, the disappearance of many of the region's log yards, along with legislation, had helped clean the air dramatically. In 1883, the Northern Pacific Railroad arrived in Missoula, spurring rapid growth in the town, which by then had about 500 residents. In March 1970, the Northern Pacific, along with three other closely affiliated railroads ( Chicago, Burlington & Quincy , Great Northern and Spokane, Portland & Seattle ) merged to form Burlington Northern . In 1987, BN decided to lease, for an initial term of 60 years,
7992-468: The economic power of the valley and replaced it as the county seat in 1866. The name "Missoula" came from the Salish name for the Clark Fork River , nmesuletkw , which roughly translates as "place of frozen water". Fort Missoula was established in 1877 to help protect further arriving settlers. Growth accelerated with the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883, and by charter, Missoula incorporated
8103-482: The economy began to expand rapidly. Lumber mills were originally built to provide construction-grade materials for homes and businesses, but then expanded to entice and then meet the demands of the railroad; they profited from an increase in demand from railroad expansion and the nation at large. The Bonner mill, owned the Northern Pacific and Copper King Marcus Daly , became the largest producer of lumber in
8214-488: The ex-NP route to entrepreneur Dennis Washington , who formed Montana Rail Link . MRL established its headquarters in Missoula. In January 2022, BNSF agreed to pay MRL $ 2 billion for an early lease termination. The return to BNSF control required the approval of the Surface Transportation Board , and this was later approved on March 8, 2023. BNSF took over operations on January 1, 2024. This absorbed
8325-498: The first Montana-born woman to pass the bar exam in Montana and was an early social activist for access to birth control . As an adolescent on her family ranch, Rankin had many tasks, including cleaning, sewing, farm chores, outdoor work, and helping care for her younger siblings. She helped maintain the ranch machinery and once single-handedly built a wooden sidewalk for a building her father owned so it could be rented. Rankin later recorded her childhood observation that while women of
8436-520: The first federal social welfare program created explicitly for women and children. The legislation was enacted in 1921 but repealed eight years later, though many of its key provisions were incorporated into the Social Security Act of 1935 . In 1920, Rankin helped found the American Civil Liberties Union and served as a vice president. In 1924, Rankin bought a small farm in Georgia . She lived
8547-548: The first woman elected to Congress. During her victory speech, she said, "I am deeply conscious of the responsibility resting upon me" as the only woman in the nation with voting power in Congress. Her election generated considerable nationwide interest, including, reportedly, several marriage proposals. Shortly after her term began, Congress was called into an extraordinary April session in response to Germany declaring unrestricted submarine warfare on all Atlantic shipping. On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson , addressing
8658-523: The first woman to speak before the Montana legislature, arguing in support of enfranchisement for women in her home state. In November 1914, Montana became the seventh state to grant women unrestricted voting rights. Rankin coordinated the efforts of a variety of grassroots organizations to promote her suffrage campaigns in New York and Montana (and later in North Dakota as well). Later, she would draw from
8769-485: The following year, repealing the sales tax provision from state law. Missoula's first school was opened in late 1869 with 16 students from around the region and their teacher Emma C. Slack, who had come to Missoula by a two-month trip by horseback, railroad, and boat from Baltimore at the invitation of her brother. She resigned two years later upon marrying William H. H. Dickinson (the first couple married in Missoula) and
8880-500: The gravel bars. Other species include song sparrows , catbirds , several species of warblers , and the pileated woodpecker . The rivers also provide cold, clean water for native fish such as westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout . The meandering streams also attract beaver and wood ducks . The parks also host a variety of snakes such as racers , garter snakes , and rubber boa . Native riparian plant life includes sandbar willows and cottonwoods , with Montana's state tree,
8991-689: The land were primarily the Salish , Kootenai , Pend d'Oreille , Blackfeet , and Shoshone people. Located at the confluence of five mountain valleys, the Missoula Valley was heavily traversed by local and distant native tribes that periodically went to the Eastern Montana plains in search of bison . This led to conflicts. The narrow valley at Missoula's eastern entrance was so strewn with human bones from repeated ambushes that French fur trappers later referred to this area as Porte de l'Enfer , translated as " Gate of Hell ". Hell Gate would remain
9102-470: The lowest priority of law enforcement in 2006, and symbolic resolutions calling on Congress to withdraw from Iraq in 2007, and to amend the U.S. Constitution to declare that "corporations are not human beings" in 2011, often put it at odds with the rest of the state. In 2011, the Montana legislature, with a Republican House majority, attempted to overturn Missoula's marijuana law and revoke its ability to have an anti-discrimination ordinance that included
9213-678: The musical was part of the 2019 summer series at the National Music Theater Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut. Although her legacy rests almost entirely on her pacifism, Rankin told the Montana Constitutional Convention in 1972 that she would have preferred otherwise. "If I am remembered for no other act," she said, "I want to be remembered as the only woman who ever voted to give women
9324-662: The name of the area until it was renamed "Missoula" in 1866. The Lewis and Clark Expedition brought the first U.S. citizens to the area. They twice stopped just south of Missoula at Traveler's Rest . They camped there the first time on their westbound trip in September 1805. When they stayed there again, on their return in June–July 1806, Clark left heading south along the Bitterroot River and Lewis traveled north, then east, through Hellgate Canyon. In 1860, Hell Gate Village
9435-595: The nomination of the National Party and finished third in the general election behind Lanstrum and incumbent Democrat Thomas J. Walsh . After leaving Congress, Rankin worked as a field secretary for the National Consumers League and as a lobbyist for various pacifist organizations. She argued for the passage of a Constitutional amendment banning child labor and supported the Sheppard–Towner Act ,
9546-665: The north channel's bank extending to nearby buildings such as the Wilma Theatre. The south channel was deepened for the increased water flow and the infilled land later became Caras Park. Events in the park were not common until the early 1980s and permanent fixtures such as "Out to Lunch", which began in 1986. The Missoula Downtown Association took over from Parks and Recreation to manage the park and made improvements to make Caras Park more event-friendly. Seating, event circles, brick plazas, restrooms, and storage structures were added. Large temporary tents were used for events until 1997, when
9657-492: The northwest. In 1908, Missoula's location as both a major lumber producer and a regional commercial center helped land the city the regional office for the newly establish U.S. Forest Service, created to help manage the nation's timber supply. Over the next century, Missoula's various lumber industries was consolidated under various entities such as the Anaconda Company in the 1970s and Champion International Paper through
9768-484: The population were below the poverty line , including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over. About 40.3% of Missoula residents age 25 and older have a bachelor's or advanced college degree. As of 2010 's census, 66,788 people, 29,081 households, and 13,990 families resided in the city. The population density was 2,427.8 inhabitants per square mile (937.4/km ). The 30,682 housing units averaged 1,115.3 per square mile (430.6/km ). The racial makeup of
9879-417: The record cold maximum is −13 °F (−25 °C), last recorded on February 2, 1989, while, conversely, the record warm minimum is 72 °F (22 °C) on July 27, 1939. The median income for a household in the city was $ 30,366, and for a family was $ 42,103. Males had a median income of $ 30,686 versus $ 21,559 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 17,166. About 11.7% of families and 19.7% of
9990-593: The relative aridity. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 23.9 °F (−4.5 °C) in December to 68.6 °F (20.3 °C) in July. On average, annually, there are 24 days with temperatures at or above 90 °F (32 °C), 45 days where the temperature does not rise above freezing, and 7.8 days with temperatures reaching at or below 0 °F (−18 °C). Record temperatures range from −33 °F (−36 °C) on January 26, 1957, up to 107 °F (42 °C), most recently on June 30, 2021;
10101-441: The resolution unanimous—or at very least, to abstain—but she refused. "As a woman I can't go to war," she said, "and I refuse to send anyone else." After the vote, a crowd of reporters pursued Rankin into a cloakroom. There, she was forced to take refuge in a phone booth until Capitol Police arrived to escort her to her office, where she was inundated with angry telegrams and phone calls. One cable from her brother read, "Montana
10212-561: The responsibility of caring for her younger siblings. At the age of 27, Rankin moved to San Francisco to take a job in social work, a new and developing field. Confident that she had found her calling, she enrolled in the New York School of Philanthropy in New York City from 1908 to 1909. After a brief period as a social worker in Spokane, Washington , Rankin moved to Seattle to attend
10323-428: The same grassroots infrastructure during her 1916 congressional campaign. Rankin later compared her work in the women's suffrage movement to promoting the pacifist foreign policy that defined her congressional career. She believed, as did many suffragists of the period, that the corruption and dysfunction of the United States government resulted from a lack of women's participation. At a disarmament conference during
10434-720: The several downtown buildings listed on the National Historic Registry . Since 2006, the River City Roots Festival has been an event each August with music, beer, food, and art, and generally attracts crowds of 15,000. The longest-standing event downtown has been the Missoula Farmers Market that was founded in 1972, which provides an outlet for Western Montana produce on Saturday mornings from May to October as well as Tuesday evenings from July to early September. An arts and crafts People's Market and
10545-524: The site of the former Milltown Dam . The Bitterroot River and multiple smaller tributaries join the Clark Fork on the western edge of Missoula. The city also sits at the convergence of five mountain ranges: the Bitterroot Mountains , Sapphire Range , Garnet Range , Rattlesnake Mountains , and the Reservation Divide, and thus is often described as being the "hub of five valleys". Located in
10656-527: The site of the previous county courthouse. This article about a property in Montana on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Missoula, Montana Missoula ( / m ɪ ˈ z uː l ʌ / mih- ZOO -lə ; Séliš : Nłʔay , lit. 'Place of the Small Bull Trout';; Kutenai : Tuhuⱡnana )
10767-635: The states, it became the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution . During Rankin's term, Montana's state legislature voted to replace the state's two at-large Congressional seats with two single-member districts. With little chance of reelection in the overwhelmingly Democratic western district, Rankin chose instead to run for the Senate in 1918 . After losing the Republican primary to physician Oscar M. Lanstrum, she accepted
10878-519: The territory became a state, to school teacher Olive ( née Pickering) and Scottish-Canadian immigrant John Rankin, a wealthy mill owner. She was the eldest of six children, including five sisters (one of whom died in childhood) and a brother, Wellington , who became Montana's attorney general and later, a justice on the Montana Supreme Court . One of her sisters, Edna Rankin McKinnon , became
10989-647: The university remained the basis of the local economy for the next 100 years. By the 1990s, Missoula's lumber industry had gradually disappeared, and as of 2009 , the city's largest employers were the University of Montana, Missoula County Public Schools, and Missoula's two hospitals. The city is governed by a mayor–council government with 12 city council members, two from each of the six wards. In and around Missoula are 400 acres (160 ha) of parkland, 22 miles (35 km) of trails, and nearly 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of open-space conservation land, with adjacent Mount Jumbo being home to grazing elk and mule deer during
11100-537: The way she did it. Three days later, a similar war declaration against Germany and Italy came to a vote; Rankin abstained. With her political career effectively over, she did not run for reelection in 1942. Asked years later if she ever regretted her action, Rankin replied, "Never. If you're against war, you're against war regardless of what happens. It's a wrong method of trying to settle a dispute." John F. Kennedy would write about Rankin's decisions, "Few members of Congress have ever stood more alone while being true to
11211-481: The winter. The city is also home to both of Montana's largest and its oldest active breweries, as well as the Montana Grizzlies . Notable residents include the first woman to serve in the U.S. Congress, Jeannette Rankin . Archaeological artifacts date the earliest inhabitants of the Missoula Valley to 12,000 years ago , with settlements as early as 3500 BCE . From the 1700s until the 1850s, those who used
11322-517: The world. Missoula is also home to a number of modern dance companies, including Bare Bait Dance and Headwaters Dance Company . Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre and Garden City Ballet are also based in Missoula. The Montana Museum of Art & Culture , which became a state museum in 2001, is one Montana's oldest cultural reserves, having begun in 1894; its permanent collection houses more than 10,000 original works. The Missoula Museum of Art
11433-425: The worst of cold snaps; however, it also gets more precipitation in winter. Winter snowfall averages 39.5 inches (100 cm), typically occurring between October 30 and April 20, with an annual average of 120 days of snow on the ground. As with the rest of the state, summers are very sunny, and the average diurnal temperature variation is more than 30 °F (17 °C) from late June through late September, due to
11544-431: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.82. In the city, the population was distributed as 17.9% of residents under 18, 19.7% between the ages of 18 and 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age in the city was 30.9 years. The gender makeup of the city was 49.9% male and 50.1% female. Missoula began as
11655-486: Was created from a merger of the all-girls Sacred Heart Academy ( est . 1873) and the all-boys Loyola High School ( est . 1912). In 1980, Missoula's third public high school, Big Sky , was established. Jeannette Rankin Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was an American politician and women's rights advocate who became the first woman to hold federal office in
11766-464: Was created out of John L. Bonner's estate near the university. Today's park has multiple athletic fields and courts, and band shell used by the Missoula City band through the summer. The Kiwanis club set up a Kiwanis Park downtown in 1934, making it the first of a string of parks that line both sides of the Clark Fork River. One of those parks on the southern bank of the river is McCormick Park, which
11877-615: Was created with WPA funds out of surplus highway land, a parcel from the American Hide and Fur Company, and land donated from the Kate McCormick estate. The 26-acre (11 ha) park, named for Washington J. McCormick and his wife, is home to a skate park, aquatics center, a free bike check-out, and a children's fishing pond. Other popular parks include the Jacobs Island Bark Park, a designated area for dogs to play off-leash;
11988-419: Was developed in Missoula in 1902 with the donation by lumber baron Thomas Greenough and his wife Tessie. They gave a 42-acre (17 ha) tract of land along Rattlesnake Creek for Greenough Park, on the condition that "the land forever be used as a park and for park purposes to which the people of Missoula may . . . find a comfortable, romantic and poetic retreat". In a follow-up nine years later in
12099-603: Was established 5 miles (8 km) west of present-day downtown by Christopher P. Higgins and Frank Worden as a trading post to serve travelers on the recently completed Mullan Road , the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to the inland of the Pacific Northwest . The desire for a more convenient water supply to power a lumber and flour mill led to the movement of the settlement to its modern location in 1864. The Missoula Mills replaced Hell Gate Village as
12210-524: Was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame . In 2004, peace activist Jeanmarie Simpson produced and starred in the one-woman play A Single Woman , based on the life of Rankin, to benefit peace organizations. Simpson also starred in a film adaptation that was directed and produced by Kamala Lopez , narrated by Martin Sheen , and featuring music by Joni Mitchell . Opera America commissioned
12321-500: Was replaced by Elizabeth Countryman, who later married Missoula's first mayor, Frank H. Woody . The first public high school was opened in 1904, but was converted back to a grade school after the A. J. Gibson -designed Missoula County High School (now Hellgate High School ) was opened in 1908. After several expansions, Stanford University was commissioned in 1951 to create a master building plan to manage future growth. It suggested purchasing land and building an additional campus at
#488511