Toston, MT

Toston is a Broadwater County community on the Missouri River along Montana Highway 287, between Townsend and Three Forks. Thomas Toston settled here in 1871 and ran a ferry across the river; the post office opened in 1882. Gold and silver ore then brought another chapter, as the Toston Smelting Company processed material from nearby mines between 1883 and 1899. The river, ferry crossing, and smelter gave the small settlement a role larger than its current size.

Today the Missouri remains the clearest way to read Toston’s geography. Highway 287 follows the river corridor toward Helena, Townsend, and Three Forks, while farms, cottonwoods, open range, and the nearby Toston Dam Recreation Site fill the broader valley. Toston students attend Townsend Elementary and Broadwater High School, tying the community to the county seat’s school network. The old ferry has become a historical memory, but river access, highway travel, and ranch-country roads still organize daily life. Toston is a compact Montana place built around a crossing, a river, and the long view of the valley.