The second City Hall was opened at 230 Woody Street The City adopted a commission-council form of government. Missoula experienced its worst natural disaster - the flood that washed away the Higgins Avenue bridge.įirst electric street cars went into service. The University of Montana opened with 50 students enrolling on the first day. Electors voted in favor of re-incorporating Missoula as a city.įirst horse drawn street cars went into service. The Northern Pacific railroad arrived.įirst City Hall was constructed at the corner of W. Frank Woody was elected as the first mayor. The first Fire Department was organizedĪ charter for the Town of Missoula was approved by voters and formed as an aldermanic form of government.

Patrick Hospital was opened.įort Missoula was established. The first Higgins Avenue bridge was constructed. Missoula first newspaper, 'The Missoula and Cedar Creek Pioneer', went to press. The construction of the mill marked the beginning of Missoula as we now know it.Įmma Stack (Dickinson) was hired as Missoula's first teacher.

In 1865, they moved their store to the new location called Missoula Mills (now the north end of the Higgins Avenue bridge). erected a saw mill and grist mill on the river four miles east of Hellgate. It was an ideal location as it was the crossroads for north-south and east-west travel. Trading Post in Hell Gate Ronde.' Hellgate was the site of the first settlement in the Missoula Valley, located approximately four miles west of the current downtown. The Washington Territorial Legislature created Missoula County, with the county seat 'temporarily located at or near Worden & Co. The Salish people treated them well and showed great kindness, not only to Lewis and Clark, but to settlers who would follow.ĭuring the expedition's return trip, Meriwether Lewis and his party passed through what is now Missoula, stopping to camp along the Blackfoot River, approximately eight miles east of Missoula. The valley's first residents, the Salish Indians had their first encounter with the Caucasian race when a party of 400 met up with the Lewis and Clark Expedition just south of what is now Darby, Montana. The following are spotlights of the major historical events that have had a lasting effect on the Missoula area.

Missoula city county library