Townsend, MT

Townsend is the Broadwater County seat and the only incorporated city in the county, set in the Missouri River valley between the Big Belt and Elkhorn Mountains. The river opens into Canyon Ferry Lake just beyond town, and the 2020 census counted 1,787 residents. Lewis and Clark passed through in 1805; a railroad stop arrived in 1883 as nearby gold mining brought businesses and the town took its name from the Northern Pacific president's wife. Broadwater County was created in 1897, making Townsend the civic center of a wide mountain-and-valley county. Townsend's present-day life still spreads in several directions.

Canyon Ferry Lake supplies the big water on the map, with boat launches, fishing, camping, and a seasonal Walleye Festival near the Silos Recreation Area. The Broadwater County Museum on North Walnut Street holds local agricultural, mining, and Native American history, while downtown shops and city parks keep the county seat grounded in town. The Missouri River, the lake, the museum, and the surrounding public lands give Townsend a clear local rhythm: government in town, recreation at the water, and mountain country in every direction.