{"id":5756,"date":"2023-07-15T13:16:29","date_gmt":"2023-07-15T13:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=5756"},"modified":"2026-08-20T23:24:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T23:24:35","slug":"broadwater-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/broadwater-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Broadwater County, Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Broadwater County is a county in Montana, United States, ringed by the Big Belt Mountains, the Elkhorn Mountains, and the Horseshoe Hills. It had a population of 6,774 at the 2020 census and covers 1,193 square miles (3,090 km2) of land, centred near 46\u00b020\u2032N 111\u00b030\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Townsend is the county seat, and its postal code is 59644. The county has one incorporated city, six census-designated places, and several unincorporated communities, all in the Mountain time zone. Montana has no civil townships.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Broadwater County<\/h2>\n<p>Fourteen named places appear on modern maps and gazetteers across the county: one incorporated city (the seat), six census-designated places, and seven unincorporated communities and rail sidings, several now abandoned mining camps. Type legend: City &middot; seat, CDP, Unincorp.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Townsend<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>1,787<\/td>\n<td>59644<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Radersburg<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>59641<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Toston<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>59643<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Winston<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>59647<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Wheatland<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Spokane Creek<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>The Silos<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Canton<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Copper City<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Diamond City<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Eustis<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Holker<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lombard<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Three Forks Junction<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Diamond City and Copper City are 1860s gold-rush camps in the Confederate Gulch mining district; both are now abandoned. Lombard and Three Forks Junction were Milwaukee Road and Northern Pacific rail junctions on the Missouri River and are unpopulated today.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>59644 &mdash; Townsend<\/li>\n<li>59641 &mdash; Radersburg<\/li>\n<li>59643 &mdash; Toston<\/li>\n<li>59647 &mdash; Winston<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Wheatland, Spokane Creek, and the smaller mining and rail sites use Townsend or a neighboring county&#8217;s ZIP code rather than one of their own.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Broadwater County sits in west-central Montana at the confluence of the Missouri, Madison, and Jefferson rivers near Toston, and it contains Canyon Ferry Lake, a reservoir on the Missouri formed by Canyon Ferry Dam. The Big Belt Mountains rise along the eastern and northern county line, the Elkhorn Mountains along the west, and the Horseshoe Hills along the south, leaving the Townsend Valley as the main farmed and settled lowland.<\/p>\n<p>The county borders Meagher County to the east, Gallatin County to the south, Jefferson County to the west, and Lewis and Clark County to the northwest. Only <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/gallatin-county-montana\/\">Gallatin County<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/jefferson-county-montana\/\">Jefferson County<\/a> have live pages on this site; Meagher County and Lewis and Clark County are named without a link.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Broadwater County had 6,774 residents at the 2020 census, a density of about 5.7 people per square mile. Townsend, the seat, holds roughly a quarter of the county&#8217;s population at 1,787; Toston and Winston are its next-largest named communities, though the Census Bureau does not publish separate population counts for them. Census 2010 estimated median household income here was $44,667, well below the Montana median of $70,804 reported in the 2023 American Community Survey.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Agriculture drives the county economy, with cattle ranching and irrigated hay, wheat, and barley in the Townsend Valley. RY Timber and Wheat Montana Bakery, both based in or near Townsend, are the county&#8217;s largest private employers. Canyon Ferry Lake draws boating, fishing, and camping traffic from the Helena and Bozeman metro areas each summer, supporting a seasonal tourism trade.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Broadwater County organized in 1897, carved from Meagher and Jefferson counties, and was named for Charles Arthur Broadwater, a Montana railroad, banking, and real-estate figure. The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through the area in 1805. Gold discovered in the Confederate Gulch of the Big Belt Mountains in 1864 built the boomtowns of Diamond City and Copper City, both now abandoned. The Northern Pacific Railway reached Townsend in 1881, cementing it as the county seat and commercial center.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>US Highway 12 and US Highway 287 cross at Townsend; Montana Highway 285 and Montana Highway 284 also run through the county. Interstate 90 passes just south of the county line near Three Forks.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Helena &mdash; 33 miles northwest<\/li>\n<li>Bozeman &mdash; 45 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Three Forks &mdash; 25 miles southwest<\/li>\n<li>White Sulphur Springs &mdash; 50 miles east<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The nearest commercial airport is Helena Regional Airport (HLN).<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Broadwater County?<\/strong><br \/>It is in west-central Montana, along the Missouri River between Helena and Bozeman.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Broadwater County?<\/strong><br \/>6,774 people at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Broadwater County?<\/strong><br \/>1,193 square miles (3,090 km2) of land, plus 46 square miles (120 km2) of water in Canyon Ferry Lake and the Missouri River.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Broadwater County?<\/strong><br \/>Townsend is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Broadwater County?<\/strong><br \/>One incorporated city, six census-designated places, and several small unincorporated communities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Broadwater County?<\/strong><br \/>59644 (Townsend), 59641 (Radersburg), 59643 (Toston), and 59647 (Winston).<\/p>\n<p><strong>What lake is in Broadwater County?<\/strong><br \/>Canyon Ferry Lake, a Missouri River reservoir behind Canyon Ferry Dam, forms much of the county&#8217;s eastern shoreline.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/montana\/\">Towns and villages in Montana<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Broadwater County is a county in Montana, United States, ringed by the Big Belt Mountains, the Elkhorn Mountains, and the Horseshoe Hills. It had a population of 6,774 at the 2020 census and covers 1,193 square miles (3,090 km2) of land, centred near 46\u00b020\u2032N 111\u00b030\u2032W. Townsend is the county seat, and its postal code is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Broadwater County, Montana","_seopress_titles_desc":"Broadwater County, Montana: population, Townsend and 13 other towns, ZIP codes, Canyon Ferry Lake geography, demographics, economy, history and FAQ.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-5756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-montana","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5756"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10824,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5756\/revisions\/10824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}