Broadwater County was named for Colonel Charles Broadwater and made an official county by the Montana Legislature in 1897. Broadwater County is roughly defined by the Big Belt Mountains to the east and north, the Elkhorn Mountains to the west, and the Horseshoe Hills to the south.
Townsend is the county seat and the only incorporated city in the county, although we have several other communities, including the Silos area, Toston, Radersburg, the Wheatland area, and Winston.
Vital Statistics:
- Acres within Broadwater County - 796,000
- Private land - 515,000 acres
- Public land (State and Federal) - 281,000 acres
The population in 2000 was 4,385, with 1,867 living in the City of Townsend. In the 1990's Broadwater County experienced the third highest population growth in Montana, behind Ravalli and Gallatin counties.
