The Missoula area was settled by people of European descent from 1858, includingWilliam T. Hamilton, who set up a trading post along the Rattlesnake Creek; Captain Richard Grant, who settled near Grant Creek; and David Pattee, who settled near Pattee Canyon.[10] Missoula was founded in 1860 asHellgate Trading Post while still part ofWashington Territory. By 1866, the settlement had moved east, 5 miles (8 km) upstream, and had been renamed "Missoula Mills", later shortened to Missoula.[11] The mills provided supplies to western settlers traveling along theMullan Road. The establishment ofFort Missoula in 1877 to protect settlers further stabilized the economy. The arrival of theNorthern Pacific Railway in 1883 brought rapid growth and the maturation of the local lumber industry. In 1893, the Montana Legislature chose Missoula as the site for the state's first university. Along with theU.S. Forest Service headquarters founded in 1908, lumber and the university remained the basis of the local economy for the next 100 years.[12]
By the 1990s, Missoula's lumber industry had gradually disappeared, and as of 2009[update], the city's largest employers were the University of Montana, Missoula County Public Schools, and Missoula's two hospitals.[13] The city is governed by a mayor–council government with 12 city council members, two from each of the six wards. In and around Missoula are 400 acres (160 ha) of parkland, 22 miles (35 km) of trails, and nearly 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of open-space conservation land, with adjacentMount Jumbo being home to grazing elk and mule deer during the winter.[14] The city is also home to both of Montana's largest and its oldest active breweries, as well as theMontana Grizzlies.
Teepees at the site of Missoula, south of theClark Fork River, facing northeast
Archaeological artifacts date the earliest inhabitants of the Missoula Valley to12,000 years ago, with settlements as early as 3500 BCE. From the 1700s until the 1850s, those who used the land were primarily theSalish,Kootenai,Pend d'Oreille,Blackfeet, andShoshone people. Located at the confluence of five mountain valleys, the Missoula Valley was heavily traversed by local and distant native tribes that periodically went to the Eastern Montana plains in search ofbison. This led to conflicts. The narrow valley at Missoula's eastern entrance was so strewn with human bones from repeated ambushes that French fur trappers later referred to this area asPorte de l'Enfer, translated as "Gate of Hell".[15]Hell Gate would remain the name of the area until it was renamed "Missoula" in 1866.[11]
TheLewis and Clark Expedition brought the first U.S. citizens to the area. They twice stopped just south of Missoula atTraveler's Rest.[16][17] They camped there the first time on their westbound trip in September 1805. When they stayed there again, on their return in June–July 1806, Clark left heading south along theBitterroot River and Lewis traveled north, then east, through Hellgate Canyon. In 1860,Hell Gate Village was established 5 miles (8 km) west of present-day downtown byChristopher P. Higgins andFrank Worden as a trading post to serve travelers on the recently completedMullan Road, the first wagon road to cross the Rocky Mountains to theinland of the Pacific Northwest.[11] The desire for a more convenient water supply to power a lumber and flour mill led to the movement of the settlement to its modern location in 1864.[18]
The Missoula Mills replacedHell Gate Village as the economic power of the valley and replaced it as the county seat in 1866. The name "Missoula" came from theSalish name for theClark Fork River,nmesuletkw, which roughly translates as "place of frozen water".[19]Fort Missoula was established in 1877 to help protect further arriving settlers. Growth accelerated with the arrival of theNorthern Pacific Railway in 1883, and by charter, Missoula incorporated a municipal government as a town, the same year.[20] In 1885, Missoula reincorporated its government as a city.
In 1893, Missoula was chosen as the location for the first state university, theUniversity of Montana. The need for lumber for the railway and its bridges spurred the opening of multiple saw mills in the area, and in turn, the beginning of Missoula's lumber industry, which remained the mainstay of the area economy for the next 100 years.[12] TheUnited States Forest Service work in Missoula began in 1905.[21] Missoula is also home of thesmokejumpers' headquarters and will be the site of the National Museum of Forest Service History.[21] Nationally, there are nine Forest Service regions; Region1 is headquartered in Missoula.[22]
View of downtown from Mt. Sentinel
Logging remained a mainstay of industry in Missoula with the groundbreaking of the Hoerner-Waldorf pulp mill in 1956, which resulted in protests over the resultant air pollution.[23] An article inLife 13 years later speaks of Missoulians sometimes needing to drive with headlights on during the day to navigate through thesmog.[24] In 1979, almost 40% of the county labor income still came from the wood and paper-products sector.[25] The lumber industry was hit hard by therecession of the early 1980s, and Missoula's economy began to diversify.[26] By the early 1990s, the disappearance of many of the region's log yards, along with legislation, had helped clean the air dramatically.[27]
In 1883, theNorthern Pacific Railroad arrived in Missoula, spurring rapid growth in the town, which by then had about 500 residents.[28]
In 1987, BN decided to lease, for an initial term of 60 years, the ex-NP route to entrepreneurDennis Washington, who formedMontana Rail Link. MRL established its headquarters in Missoula.[30]
In January 2022,BNSF agreed to pay MRL $2 billion for an early lease termination.[31][32] The return to BNSF control required the approval of theSurface Transportation Board,[33][34] and this was later approved on March 8, 2023.[35] BNSF took over operations on January 1, 2024.[36] This absorbed the MRL into BNSF, integrating MRL operations, technology and personnel. All 1,200 employees were offered employment with BNSF.[37]
As of 2009[update], education and healthcare were Missoula's leading industries; the University of Montana, Missoula County Public Schools, and the two hospitals in the city were the largest employers.[13]St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center, founded in 1873, is the region's onlyLevel II trauma center and has undergone three major expansions since the 1980s.[38] Likewise, the University of Montana grew 50% and built or renovated 20 buildings from 1990 to 2010.[39] These industries, as well as expansions in business and professional services, and retail are expected to be the main engines of future growth.[40]
Missoula is located at the western edge of Montana, less than 25 miles (40 km) from theIdaho borderas the crow flies. By highway it is 117 miles (188 km) south ofKalispell, 118 miles (190 km) northwest ofButte and 165 miles (266 km) southeast ofCoeur d'Alene, Idaho. The city is at an elevation of 3,209 feet (978 m)above sea level, with nearbyMount Sentinel andMount Jumbo steeply rising to 5,158 feet (1,572 m) and 4,768 feet (1,453 m), respectively. According to theU.S. Census Bureau's 2023[update] figures, the city had a total area of 35.0 square miles (90.6 km2), of which 34.8 square miles (90.1 km2) were land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km2), or 0.54%, were covered by water.[2]
Ancient wave-cut shorelines are visible on the edge ofMount Sentinel.
Around 13,000 years ago, the entire valley was at the bottom ofGlacial Lake Missoula. As could be expected for a former lake bottom, the layout of Missoula is relatively flat and surrounded by steep hills. Evidence of the city of Missoula's lake-bottom past can be seen in the form of ancient horizontal wave-cut shorelines on nearby Mount Sentinel and Mount Jumbo.[41] At the location of present-day University of Montana, the lake once had a depth of 950 feet (290 m).[42] The Clark Fork River enters the Missoula Valley from the east through Hellgate Canyon after joining the Blackfoot River 5 miles (8 km) east of downtown, at the site of the formerMilltown Dam. The Bitterroot River and multiple smaller tributaries join the Clark Fork on the western edge of Missoula. The city also sits at the convergence of five mountain ranges: theBitterroot Mountains,Sapphire Range,Garnet Range,Rattlesnake Mountains, and the Reservation Divide, and thus is often described as being the "hub of five valleys".[8]
Soils in Missoula are mostly of silty clay loam or loam texture. Some of the loams which developed on stream terraces and alluvial fans are very gravelly (Bigarm Series). Soil drainage is somewhat excessive where gravel content is high, and the less gravelly soils are well drained. Topsoils usually haveneutral pH while subsoils may be rich incalcium carbonate and therefore alkaline.[43]
Missoula has ahumid continental climate (Köppen climate classificationDfb),[47] with cold and moderately snowy winters, hot and dry summers, and short, crisp springs and autumns. Winters are usually milder than much of the rest of the state due to Missoula's locationwest of the Rockies, allowing it to receive mild, moist Pacific air and avoid the worst of cold snaps; however, it also gets more precipitation in winter. Winter snowfall averages 39.5 inches (100 cm), typically occurring between October 30 and April 20, with an annual average of 120 days of snow on the ground. As with the rest of the state, summers are very sunny, and the averagediurnal temperature variation is more than 30 °F (17 °C) from late June through late September, due to the relative aridity.[48][49] The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 23.9 °F (−4.5 °C) in December to 68.6 °F (20.3 °C) in July. On average, annually, there are 24 days with temperatures at or above 90 °F (32 °C), 45 days where the temperature does not rise above freezing, and 7.8 days with temperatures reaching at or below 0 °F (−18 °C). Record temperatures range from −33 °F (−36 °C) on January 26, 1957, up to 107 °F (42 °C), most recently on June 30, 2021; the record cold maximum is −13 °F (−25 °C), last recorded on February 2, 1989, while, conversely, the record warm minimum is 72 °F (22 °C) on July 27, 1939.
Climate data for Missoula, Montana (Missoula Airport) (1991-2020 normals,[a] extremes 1893–present)
The median income for a household in the city was $30,366, and for a family was $42,103. Males had a median income of $30,686 versus $21,559 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,166. About 11.7% of families and 19.7% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over. About 40.3% of Missoula residents age 25 and older have a bachelor's or advanced college degree.
As of 2010[update]'s census, 66,788 people, 29,081 households, and 13,990 families resided in the city.[54] The population density was 2,427.8 inhabitants per square mile (937.4/km2). The 30,682 housing units averaged 1,115.3 per square mile (430.6/km2). Theracial makeup of the city was 92.1% White, 0.5% African American, 2.8% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.6% fromother races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Latinos of any race were 2.9% of the population.
Of the 29,081 households, 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 51.9% were not families. About 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the city, the population was distributed as 17.9% of residents under 18, 19.7% between the ages of 18 and 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age in the city was 30.9 years. The gender makeup of the city was 49.9% male and 50.1% female.
Highest educational attainment Population 25 years and over (2014)
Missoula began as a trading post in the 1860s situated along the Mullan Military Road to take advantage of the first route across the Bitterroot Mountains to the plains of Eastern Washington. Its designation as county seat in 1866 and location of the hastily built Fort Missoula in 1877 ensured Missoula's status as a regional commercial center, a status further consolidated in 1883 with the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway.[56] The railroad expanded Missoula's trade area to cover a 150-mile radius, and Missoula's location as the railway's division point and repair shops provided hundreds of jobs. When the railway began expanding again in 1898, increased freight shipments came through the city, and with the arrival of theMilwaukee Road and regional office for the U.S. Forest Service, as well as the opening of theFlathead Indian Reservation to settlement all within a couple years of each other beginning in 1908, the economy began to expand rapidly.[57]: 36
Lumber mills were originally built to provide construction-grade materials for homes and businesses, but then expanded to entice and then meet the demands of the railroad; they profited from an increase in demand from railroad expansion and the nation at large. The Bonner mill, owned the Northern Pacific and Copper KingMarcus Daly, became the largest producer of lumber in the northwest. In 1908, Missoula's location as both a major lumber producer and a regional commercial center helped land the city the regional office for the newly establish U.S. Forest Service, created to help manage the nation's timber supply.[57]: 41 Over the next century, Missoula's various lumber industries was consolidated under various entities such as theAnaconda Company in the 1970s andChampion International Paper through the 1980s until most were under control ofPlum Creek Timber, all the while demand in timber dropped.[58] In 2007, a downward spiral of Missoula's lumber industry began with the closure of a plywood plant in Bonner, the closure of Bonner's sawmill in 2008, and the closing of theSmurfit-Stone Container pulp mill in 2010.[59]
Since opening in 1895, the University of Montana has had a major impact on the development of Missoula's economy. In addition to the economic advantage from accommodating the student body, it gave the city an educated workforce not available in most of the state.[56] The university has a close relationship with the city as Missoula's largest employer and with the millions of dollars the school brings into the city through visitors of school-sponsored sporting and cultural events.[60][61] The university also houses Missoula's only business incubator, the Montana Technology Enterprise Center, and several start-up businesses.[62]
Missoula is the hub of itsBureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) economic area, which includes the Montana counties ofFlathead,Lake,Lincoln,Mineral,Missoula,Ravalli, andSanders.[63] As of 2011[update], the BEA listed the economic area population at 306,050.[64] Key businesses sectors serving the area include health care, retail shopping, transportation, financial services, government and social services, education, events, arts and culture. Health care in particular is one of Missoula's fastest growing industries withSt. Patrick Hospital (western Montana's only level-II trauma center) and theCommunity Medical Center, already the city's second- and third-largest employers behind the university.[60] About 55% of employment in Missoula is made up of the service and retail sectors. Export industries are concentrated in heavy and civil engineering, construction, beverage production, technical services, truck transportation, and forestry-, logging-, and wood-related industries. In addition to nearly 4million out-of-state visitors annually, which makes tourism a significant aspect of the Missoula economy, Missoula also is home to a vibrant sector of alternative healthcare.[65][66]
Missoula, often considered the cultural center of Montana,[71] is the location of the state's first university, and an eclectic mix of loggers, hippies, college students, sports fans, and retirees.[72] Community events generally take placedowntown either outdoors or in one of the several downtown buildingslisted on the National Historic Registry.[73]
Since 2006, the River City Roots Festival has been an event each August with music, beer, food, and art, and generally attracts crowds of 15,000.[74][75] The longest-standing event downtown has been the Missoula Farmers Market that was founded in 1972,[76] which provides an outlet for Western Montana produce on Saturday mornings from May to October as well as Tuesday evenings from July to early September.[77] An arts and crafts People's Market and a Clark Fork Market run concurrently.[78] Downtown hosts "First Friday Missoula", a gallery walk on the first Friday of the month to feature local art from museums and galleries,[79] such as that ofMonte Dolack. Missoula celebrates "First Night Missoula" on New Year's Eve, which includes food and live entertainment.[80] The "Festival of the Book" to celebrate the literature of the American West was rebranded the "Montana Book Festival" in 2015.[81] Missoula's two historic theatres both hold annual film festivals: the Roxy hosting theInternational Wildlife Film Festival,[82] established in 1977 as the first juried wildlife film festival in the world;[83] and since 2003, theWilma accommodating the largest film event in Montana, theBig Sky Documentary Film Festival.[84]
Opened in 1987, Missoula'sBayern Brewing is the oldest active brewery in Montana.[94]Big Sky Brewing opened in 1995 and with a production over 38,000 barrels in 2008[update], it is by far Montana's largest brewery, and produces the best-selling beer brewed in Montana, Moose Drool Brown Ale.[95][96] Missoula has also been home toKettle House Brewing since 1995 and Draught Works opened in 2011. Big Sky, Bayern, and Kettlehouse represent the first-, second-, and third-largest breweries, respectively, in Montana.[97] Also in 2011,Tamarack Brewing andFlathead Lake Brewing Company from nearbyLake County opened pub houses at downtown Missoula locations. The city also holds annually the Garden City Brewfest and Winterfest, and periodically hosts the Montana Brewers Festival.[98][99]
The Clay Studio of Missoula is a non-profit ceramic-arts center, which provides education and a community access clay studio.[100]
Missoula plays host to a variety of intercollegiate, youth, and amateur sports organizations in addition to aminor league baseball team. TheMontana Grizzlies' football and basketball teams of the University of Montana have the highest attendance. TheMontana Grizzlies football team has a successful program within theNCAA D-1 FCS level. Their home games atWashington–Grizzly Stadium have a near 90% winning percentage and average over 25,000 spectators in attendance. All games are televised throughout Montana. TheGrizzlies men's andLady Griz basketball teams have also been successful at theconference level, where they both rank at or near the top in attendance, about 4,000 and 3,000, respectively, and play their home games atDahlberg Arena.[101][102][103]
Since 1977, Missoula has also held "Maggotfest", a festival-style rugby tournament hosted by theMissoula Maggots Rugby Club the first weekend in May. The non-elimination tournament focuses on the fun aspect of the game, attracting 36 teams (male and female) from around the United States and Canada. In regular-season play, the Missoula Maggots compete as part of theMontana Rugby Union alongside another local rugby team, theUniversity of Montana Jesters.[104]
A system of public parks was developed in Missoula in 1902 with the donation by lumber baron Thomas Greenough and his wife Tessie. They gave a 42-acre (17 ha) tract of land along Rattlesnake Creek forGreenough Park, on the condition that "the land forever be used as a park and for park purposes to which the people of Missoula may ... find a comfortable, romantic and poetic retreat".[57]: 110 In a follow-up nine years later in a letter to theMissoulian, he stressed his interest in having the park remain in as close to a native state as possible.[109] That request, along with the discovery that non-nativeNorway maples were inhibiting the growth of native trees and shrubs such as cottonwoods, ponderosa pines, and Rocky Mountain maples, led to the controversial decision to remove Norway maples from the park with the hope of returning it to its natural state.[46][110]
In 1924, Bonner Park was created out of John L. Bonner's estate near the university. Today's park has multiple athletic fields and courts, and band shell used by the Missoula City band through the summer.[111] TheKiwanis club set up a Kiwanis Park downtown in 1934, making it the first of a string of parks that line both sides of the Clark Fork River. One of those parks on the southern bank of the river is McCormick Park, which was created withWPA funds out of surplus highway land, a parcel from the American Hide and Fur Company, and land donated from the Kate McCormick estate. The 26-acre (11 ha) park, named forWashington J. McCormick and his wife, is home to a skate park, aquatics center, a free bike check-out, and a children's fishing pond.[112] Other popular parks include the Jacobs Island Bark Park, a designated area for dogs to play off-leash; the Montana State veterans' memorial rose garden;[113] Waterwise Garden, a "living laboratory" garden utilizing water conservation techniques; and Splash Montana Waterpark at Playfair Park.
Caras Park is located just south of the historicWilma Theatre downtown. It is located on land reclaimed when the Higgins Avenue Bridge was widened from two lanes to four in 1962. Before the reclamation, the Clark Fork River divided to create an island with the north channel's bank extending to nearby buildings such as the Wilma Theatre. The south channel was deepened for the increased water flow and the infilled land later became Caras Park.[114] Events in the park were not common until the early 1980s and permanent fixtures such as "Out to Lunch", which began in 1986. The Missoula Downtown Association took over from Parks and Recreation to manage the park and made improvements to make Caras Park more event-friendly. Seating, event circles, brick plazas, restrooms, and storage structures were added. Large temporary tents were used for events until 1997, when a permanent pavilion was constructed.[115] The park is a hub of city festivities including include "Out to Lunch", theInternational Wildlife Film Festival, First Night Missoula, Garden City BrewFest and offered intimate concert settings for artists such asJewel,Chris Isaak,Santana,Ziggy Marley, andB.B. King.[116] Located next to Caras Park isA Carousel for Missoula, a wooden, hand-carved and volunteer-built carousel; and Dragon Hollow, a children's recreational area adjacent to the carousel.
Missoula's system of government has changed four times since 1883, when analdermanic form of government was approved with the town charter. The city adopted acommission-council form of government in 1911 with the opening of new City Hall and acouncil–manager government in 1954 before returning to an aldermanic form of government in 1959. Since January 1, 1997, Missoula has been governed in accordance with the Missoula City Charter, which calls for amayor–council system of government.[122]
The current system comprises a mayor and city treasurer elected in a citywide vote and 12city council members who must reside in and are elected from one of six wards, with each ward having two council members. All positions are nominally nonpartisan. Council members and the mayor are elected to four-year terms with council-member elections being staggered to allow only one member from each ward to up for re-election. No term limits exist for either position.[123][124]
Missoula is often considered the mostliberal city inMontana. Though its political leanings may not be unique for a college town, its initiative to make marijuana possession the lowest priority oflaw enforcement in 2006,[126] and symbolic resolutions calling on Congress to withdraw fromIraq in 2007,[127] and to amend the U.S. Constitution to declare that "corporations arenot human beings" in 2011,[128] often put it at odds with the rest of the state. In 2011, the Montana legislature, with a Republican House majority, attempted to overturn Missoula's marijuana law and revoke its ability to have an anti-discrimination ordinance that included theLGBT community. The marijuana repeal was vetoed by then-Governor Brian Schweitzer[129][130] and the attempt to repeal the anti-discrimination ordinance died in the State Senate.[131]
In 2020,Missoula County became the first county in Montana to adopt a county sales tax on gasoline (an option afforded to counties in Montana that had gone unused for several decades).[132] TheMontana Legislature and GovernorGreg Gianforte blocked this decision the following year, repealing the sales tax provision from state law.[133]
Missoula's first school was opened in late 1869 with 16 students from around the region and their teacher Emma C. Slack, who had come to Missoula by a two-month trip by horseback, railroad, and boat fromBaltimore at the invitation of her brother. She resigned two years later upon marryingWilliam H. H. Dickinson (the first couple married in Missoula) and was replaced by Elizabeth Countryman, who later married Missoula's first mayor,Frank H. Woody.[134][135] The first public high school was opened in 1904, but was converted back to a grade school after theA. J. Gibson-designed Missoula County High School (nowHellgate High School) was opened in 1908.[136] After several expansions, Stanford University was commissioned in 1951 to create a master building plan to manage future growth. It suggested purchasing land and building an additional campus at the Garden City Airport's Hale Field, which was gradually being replaced by theMissoula County Airport, which was then southwest of town. The new school (nowSentinel High School) was opened in 1957. Initially, the two campuses were separated between upper and lower classmen with upper classmen in the new school, but in 1965, the two campuses became separate high schools.[136] In 1974, the privateLoyola Sacred Heart Catholic High School was created from a merger of the all-girls Sacred Heart Academy (est.1873) and the all-boys Loyola High School (est.1912).[137] In 1980, Missoula's third public high school,Big Sky, was established.[138]
Missoula County Public Schools has two components: Missoula Elementary School District and Missoula High School District.[139] The city of Missoula is divided between the following elementary school districts: Most of Missoula is in Missoula Elementary School District while other portions are inHellgate Elementary School District,DeSmet Elementary School District,Target Range Elementary School District, andBonner Elementary School District. All residents are in the Missoula High School District.[140] The school district numbers of the districts aredistricts 1 (Missoula), 4 (Hellgate), 20 (DeSmet), and 23 (Target Range).[141] In Missoula, there are nine public elementary schools (kindergarten to 5th grade), three public middle schools (6th to 8th grades), four public high schools (9th to 12th grades),[142] and three public schools serving kindergarten to 8th grade.[141] Missoula also has several private schools including an international school, religious-affiliated schools, as well as Next Step Prep, a theater academy high school operated by the Missoula Children's Theatre.[143]
The University of Montana dominates higher education in Missoula.[61] The university, established in 1893, was Montana's first, and has the state's second-largest enrollment,[144] with 12,922 students as of 2015[update].[145] The campus houses six colleges and three schools including Montana's first and only law school, theAlexander Blewett III School of Law. The university is also the location of the state'sRegional Federal Depository Library,[146] and houses the stateArboretum.[147] TheUniversity of Montana College of Technology, established in 1956 and formerly known as the Missoula Vocational Technical Center, offers fast-track learning programs. Multiple vocational programs not affiliated with the university ranging from photography and massage to truck driving also have a presence in Missoula.[148]
Missoula's single–broadcast over–air television media market is the largest in Montana and ranked 165 nationally as of 2015[update].[150] Though Missoula itself is second in population toBillings, Montana, Missoula's single-broadcast over-air television media market includes all ofMissoula,Ravalli,Granite,Mineral,Lake,Flathead, andSanders Counties in the more densely populated western region of Montana and serves over 112,600 television homes as of 2015[update].[150][151] Missoula is home to three local affiliate channels:KPAX-TV (CBS/MTN,The CW; founded 1970;channel 8),KECI-TV (NBC; founded 1954 as KGVO-TV;channel 13), andKTMF-TV (ABC, FOX; founded 1991;channel 23). Also based in Missoula at the University of Montana isMontana PBS (founded 1984;channel 11).[citation needed]
Missoula has three main sources of print and digital media: theMissoulian (daily), TheMissoula Current (daily), andMontana Kaimin (college). TheMissoulian was founded as a weekly publication in 1870 asThe Missoula and Cedar Creek Pioneer and remains the city's oldest news product.[152] TheMissoula Current was founded in 2015 and provides local and regional coverage and is the state's largest digital-only news product. TheMontanaKaimin (founded 1891) is distributed for free throughout parts of Missoula with heavy student traffic from the University of Montana, where the newspaper is printed weekly every Thursday during the school year.[153]
Missoula has two primary health care facilities:St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center andCommunity Medical Center. St. Patrick's was founded in 1873 under the sponsorship of the Sisters of Providence. It is the onlyLevel II trauma center in western Montana[154] and has undergone three major expansions since the 1980s. The hospital has 195 acute-care beds and admitted over 9,700 patients in 2003. The name was changed from "St. Patrick Hospital" to "St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center" in 2000 to reflect an increasing involvement with national medical research and education.[38] The Community Medical Center and its adjacent medical facilities are located near Fort Missoula and is part of a modern complex that includes a nursing home, the Missoula Crippled Children's Center, and private offices.[155] It was founded in 1922 as Thornton Hospital by doctors Will Thornton and Charles Thornton and has been at its current location since 1972. Although originally a locally owned, nonprofit hospital, it is now owned by a large corporation headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a for-profit entity. It is the only hospital in Western Montana with a separate Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The center is partnered withSeattle Children's Hospital.[155] The nearestLevel I trauma center to Missoula isHarborview Medical Center inSeattle, Washington.
Power lines crossing theClark Fork River east of the Higgins Avenue Bridge
The earliest Missoulians drew their water directly from theClark Fork River or nearby Rattlesnake Creek. The first water system consisted of a Native American known as One-Eyed Riley and his friend filling buckets of water from the Rattlesnake Creek and hauling them door to door on a donkey cart.[156] In 1871 city co-founderFrank Worden began construction of a long pipe and wooden main system that flowed from the Rattlesnake Creek 2.5 miles (4 km) north of the city. With the addition of two small covered reservoirs, the first municipal water system was begun in 1880. With an intake dam built-in 1901 with a settling basin capacity of 3 million US gallons (11,000 m3), the Rattlesnake Creek continued to meet the demands of the city until 1935 when five wells were added to respond to increased summer and fall demand. This system is still maintained as an emergency backup but was discontinued as a primary source afterGiardia outbreak in 1983.[157] Since then, Missoula has relied on the Missoula ValleyAquifer as the sole source of water.[158] In 1889, the first electrical plant was built byA. B. Hammond to power his major downtown properties such as the Missoula Mercantile and theFlorence Hotel. In 1905, the Missoula Mercantile (by then owned byCopper KingWilliam A. Clark purchased the water system and consolidated it with its vast electrical holdings to create the Missoula Light and Water Company (ML&W) a year later.[159] Electricity and water remained bundled after ML&W's sale to theMontana Power Company (MPC) in 1929. In 1979, MPC sold its water utility holdings as Mountain Water Company to Park Water Company inDowney, California, which since 2011 has been a subsidiary ofThe Carlyle Group.[160] In 2015, the City of Missoula was legally granted its"'right to acquire' the water system by exercising its power of eminent domain",[161] but as of June 2017[update] the decision was upheld by a district court.[162]
Following the deregulation of Montana'selectricity market in 1997, Montana Power Company began to divest its energy business. MPC sold substantially all its electrical generating assets to thePPL Corporation in December 1997 and its energy transmission and distribution business toNorthWestern Corporation in February 2002.[163] Despite filing for bankruptcy in 2002, NorthWestern Corporation's subsidiary NorthWestern Energy is the primary provider of electric and natural gas service to Missoula in addition to theRural Utilities Service's Missoula Electric Cooperative.[164]
Local telephone service in the area is provided byCenturyLink andBlackfoot Telecommunications. Major cell phone providers includeAT&T,Sprint,Verizon, andT-Mobile. Allied Waste handles recycling through a program where customers can purchase special blue bags to designate recyclables. Recycling has also been offered by Missoula Valley Recycling since 1992, by Garden City Recycling since 2010 which offers curbside pickup, and by Pacific Steel & Recycling which offers drop-off recycling.[165] Sewer service is handled by the City of Missoula Wastewater Division.
In the mid-1860s,C. P. Higgins and Frank Worden began plotting what would become the town of Missoula along the Mullan Military Road, which ran parallel to the Clark Fork River. Through downtown Missoula, the route of the road is now Front Street.[134] It is intersected by Higgins Avenue, to which a bridge across the Clark Fork was added in 1873. The intersection of these two streets became the default center of the city, and remains the numerical center regarding city street addresses.[166] The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883 led to a housing boom along the tracks, particularly on the northern side where many of the railway workers would reside. When the Higgins Avenue Bridge was replaced in 1893, they debated whether the bridge should continue southwest toward the Bitterroot Valley as it had earlier or due south. AttorneysW. M. Bickford andW. J. Stephens had already laid out plots of land five years earlier for what they hoped would be a new town of "South Missoula". The streets there were perpendicular to the Bitterroot Wagon Road. In contrast, Judge Hiram Knowles who owned the land just south of the river preferred the north–south plan and did not want to become part of South Missoula.
The "Slant Streets"
The result was a7×14–block area along the west side of Higgins Avenue commonly referred to as the "Slant Streets" centered along what is now Stephens Avenue. Stephens Avenue and Brooks Street are the only arterials to traverse the city diagonally along with the Bitterroot Branch ofMontana Rail Link. With the exception of Downtown, the rest of the city, where streets follow the angle of the river, and newer expansions into the hills, strictly follow thegrid plan.[134] With the establishment of the University of Montana in 1893 and the announcement that the tracks of theMilwaukee Road would be located south of the river, houses began to spread quickly throughout the university and south side districts. The area near the university was promoted as high-end and luxurious homes appeared on Hammond Avenue (then nicknamed "Millionaires Row" and known today as Gerald Avenue).[57]: 32
The arrival of Interstate90 in the mid-1960s forced the removal of 60 homes, including the Greenough Mansion. The north side of Missoula became isolated between the Interstate and the tracks while the Greenough Mansion was moved to a South Hills golf course and converted to a restaurant. This dichotomy has prevailed with the North Side feeling neglected by the city while the South Hills became an upscale neighborhood. The Missoula Downtown Master Plan of 2009 emphasized redevelopment of the North Side's former rail yard and the area just south of the tracks.[167][168]
The city is divided into 18 neighborhood councils, of which all Missoula residents are members.[169] The city further contains 10 historical districts: Downtown Missoula, East Pine Street, Fort Missoula, Lower Rattlesnake, McCormick, Northside, Southside, University Area and, thecampus of the University of Montana.[170]
Missoula has an extensive trail system for both commuting and recreation that extends over 22 miles (35 km). The city is actively trying to connect its various sections within the city to each other and to recreational trails extending beyond the city. The heart of the Missoula Commuter Bike Network is the trails along either side of the Clark Fork River that link Downtown with surrounding neighborhoods, the university, city parks, and outlying open space with smooth surfaces and three bicycle/pedestrian bridges. The most southern of these is Milwaukee Trail, which follows the formerMilwaukee Railroad and continues east out of town as the Kim Williams Nature Trail beside Mount Sentinel. The Bitterroot Branch Trail connects to the Riverfront trails west of Downtown and, when completed, will provide a trail from Downtown to Southgate Mall. Near the Bitterroot Branch Trail, but not connected, is the South Avenue Trail on the west side of Reserve Street that connects the Community Medical Center with Fort Missoula, nearby athletic fields, and the Bitterroot River. The South Hills neighborhood has its own system of trails that is also approaching, but not quite meeting, the larger network.[171]
Interstate 90 runs east–west along the northern edge of Missoula at the base of the North Hills, with all but a small portion of the city located south of the highway. Completed in 1965 at the expense of 60 homes, the Garden City Brewery, and the Greenough Mansion, I‑90 has four city exits and makes connections withU.S. Route 93,U.S. Route 12 andMontana Highway 200.[167] The originalU.S. 12, approved by theAASHO in 1939 to extend west into Montana, did not include Missoula until the highway was rerouted along State Route6 in October 1959 and was not extended west from Missoula until 1962. The road now crosses Missoula southwest–northeast.[172]U.S. 93 serves as a major economic corridor for western Montana, connecting Missoula with the Bitterroot Valley communities to the south andFlathead Lake,Kalispell, andGlacier National Park to the north.[173]Montana Highway 200, the longest state highway in the United States, enters Missoula from the east and provides access along the Blackfoot River and a direct route toGreat Falls.
Public transportation in Missoula began as early as 1890 with a horse-drawn streetcar system (electrified in 1910) operated by the Missoula Street Railway Company that connected Downtown Missoula with the university,Bonner, the fairgrounds, and Fort Missoula. These streetcars were then replaced by buses in 1932 due to cost.[174][175] Bus service today is provided byMountain Line, a public transit agency created by public vote in 1976 as part of the Missoula Urban Transportation District (MUTD) that began operation in December 1977. Mountain Line operates 14 bus routes[176] within a 36-square-mile (93 km2) area, serving Missoula, East Missoula, Bonner, Target Range, Rattlesnake, and the airport. Additionally the line has offered paratransit services since 1991 to assist the disabled, senior van since 2008, and has four park‑and‑ride lots throughout Missoula.[177] Special bus service is offered to the University of Montana through three of the city's park‑and‑ride lots in addition to a late-night UDASH shuttle that offers service between the university and Downtown.[178] As of January 2015[update] a three-year pilot program of zero-fare transportation on all Mountain Line buses began, with the goal of increasing ridership by 45 percent.[179]
A feasibility study was commissioned by Congress in 2008 to examine the merits of reopening theNorth Coast Hiawatha, but as of 2008[update], the nearest rail station to Missoula is theWhitefish station of Amtrak'sEmpire Builder, 136 miles (219 km) to the north.[181]
In 2009, the Missoula metropolitan statistical area (MSA) ranked as the fifth highest in the United States for percentage of commuters who biked to work (5 percent).[182] In 2013, the Missoula MSA ranked as the tenth lowest in the United States for percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile (77.2 percent). In the same year, 8.5 percent of Missoula area commuters walked to work.[183]
In 1927, air travel to Missoula began; today the city is served byMissoula Montana Airport, a public airport run by the Missoula County Airport Authority. It is the largest airport in western Montana, serving 913,198 passengers in 2023.[184] The current building contains three jet bridges and three ground‑level boarding gates.
Missoula has produced and been home to a number of notable individuals in varying fields. Its natives and residents are referred to as "Missoulians". In politics,Jeannette Rankin,[185] the first woman in Congress, was born and raised in Missoula while SenatorsMike Mansfield,[186] the U.S.'s longest servingSenate Majority Leader, andMax Baucus,[187] Montana's longest serving U.S. Senator both established careers and joined politics while living in the city.
Missoula's Sister City relationship withPalmerston North, New Zealand, began after Missoula resident and later University of Montana professor Harold Bockemuehl returned from obtaining his PhD fromMassey University. The relationship was made official in 1983 after a meeting between then UM President Neil Bucklew and officials from Massey University. Each May, Missoula celebrates "New Zealand Day" in honor of the relationship with rugby, food, and entertainment.[206] Missoula's second Sister City relationship began in 1991 after aNeckargemünd delegation, led by Mayor Oskar Schuster, visited Missoula following a Fulbright-sponsored faculty exchange betweenHeidelberg University and the University of Montana. Every September the Missoula Cultural Council holds an annual "Germanfest" to celebrate German culture and this relationship.[205][207]
...the world outside, which my brother and I soon discovered was full of bastards, the number increasing rapidly the farther one gets from Missoula, Montana.
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, a 2015 book byJon Krakauer, focused on a series of sexual assault cases between 2010 and 2012 and the way that the Missoula Police Department, the Missoula County Attorney's Office, and theUniversity of Montana handled those cases.[210][211] Missoula's handling of rape cases sparked aJustice Department's investigation that found a "pattern of disrespect and indifference toward alleged victims" by Missoula law enforcement, prosecutors, and the university, with scathing blame directed at the Attorney's Office.[212][213][214][215][216] While being interviewed onNPR about the book, Krakauer stated, "I don't mean to single out Missoula: Its rape rate is a little less than the national average; I think its problems with dealing with rape are pretty depressingly typical."[217] Nevertheless, reporting by Krakauer and local and national journalists showed what they characterized as a troubling pattern of authorities mishandling investigations, treating victims with hostility and suspicion, reflexively protecting alleged perpetrators at the expense of victims, declining to prosecute large numbers of credible rape allegations, and creating an atmosphere where victims were unlikely to come forward after an attack.[218][219] Krakauer placed a significant portion of the blame for the mishandling of rape prosecutions on a single Deputy County Attorney,Kirsten Pabst, who now serves as the Missoula County Attorney.[220] The book also charted deep divisions within the town about the allegations, particularly those involving football players from theMontana Grizzlies.
There is a lengthy study of Missoula in the title essay of British writerJonathan Raban'sDriving Home: An American Journey: despite writing that on his arrival, "I had the powerful impression that I had driven deep into the Rocky Mountains and somehow arrived inRotherham orBarnsley,"[221] and that "the overall effect [of the city] was oddly unsettling; the streets too open for comfort, the town too closed in, inducing mild claustrophobia and agoraphobia at the same time",[221] he notes the literary heritage of the city and its reputation as a "kindly town" (evidenced by its being a place where "odds and ends naturally collected and cohered").
Missoula is mentioned as being the closest city to the fictional Hope County inFar Cry 5. The game's second mission involves the player trying to escape the county to reach Missoula.[222]
The Harkema Industrial Park inProject Wingman, a complex ofocean platforms, is constructed over a post-Calamity submerged Missoula.
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
^abc"Early, Early Missoula".Historic Missoula. Missoula's Office of Planning and Grants. Archived fromthe original on February 14, 2015. RetrievedAugust 8, 2015.
^"Cities and Towns § Missoula".Montana: A State Guide Book.Works Progress Administration: American Guide. Compiled by theFederal Writers' Project (4th ed.). New York: Hastings House Publishers. 1955 [1st pub. 1939]. p. 173.ISBN978-0-403-02176-5.OCLC869757480.Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. RetrievedAugust 28, 2015.The Salish had to pass through Hell Gate Canyon to reach the plains on their periodic buffalo hunts. At the entrance to the canyon, an ideal spot for an ambush, the Blackfeet would attack them. The reputation of the place caused French-Canadian trappers to call it 'Porte de l'Enfer' or 'Gate of Hell'.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)CS1 maint: others (link)
^"Travelers Rest".Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Montana State Parks.Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. RetrievedOctober 5, 2015.
^"Livability"(PDF). City of Missoula.Archived from the original on August 23, 2015. RetrievedAugust 23, 2015.Missoula's name is derived from "nmesuletkw", the Salish word for the Clark Fork River, which translates to, "place of frozen water".
^"Missoula History". Destination Missoula.Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. RetrievedAugust 24, 2015.
^"Our Organization".United States Forest Service. United States Department of Agriculture.Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. RetrievedAugust 25, 2018.
^Hall, Richard (February 7, 1969)."Air Pollution".Life. Vol. 66, no. 5. New York: Time. pp. 42–43.ISSN0024-3019.Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. RetrievedAugust 28, 2015.As they drive to work through it—sometimes with their car lights turned on in broad daylight—Missoulians complain a lot.
^Polzin, Paul E. (Spring 1994). "Montana's Economy: State of the Economy".Montana Business Quarterly.32 (1). UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research:6–15.ProQuest234227618.
^"Section D: Background".Ice Age Floods: Study of Alternatives and Environmental Assessment. Seattle: National Park Service. 2001.Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. RetrievedAugust 24, 2015.
^"Glacial Lake Missoula". United States Geological Survey.Archived from the original on August 9, 2015. RetrievedAugust 9, 2015.
^Pereira, Amanda Goebel, ed. (June 27, 2017)."FirstNet Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network: Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Central United States"(PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce. p. 11-221.Archived(PDF) from the original on October 8, 2018. RetrievedAugust 25, 2018.Missoula, in western Montana, is within the climate classification zoneDfb. The average annual temperature in Missoula is approximately 45.9 °F [7.7 °C]; 26.4 °F [−3.1 °C] during winter months; 65.7 °F [18.7 °C] during summer months; 46.0 °F [7.8 °C] during spring months; and 45.2 °F [7.3 °C] during autumn months.
^abSeninger, Stephen F. (Winter 1997). "Town and Gown: The Economic Partnership between the University of Montana and Missoula".Montana Business Quarterly.35 (4). UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research:16–21.ISSN0026-9921.ProQuest234229077.
^ab"Bearfacts Personal Income"(PDF). Bureau of Economic Analysis. November 20, 2014.Archived from the original on August 24, 2015.In 2013, Missoula had a total personal income . . . of $4,181,210 . . . This TPI ranked 333rd in the United States. In 2003, the TPI of Missoula was $2,831,543 . . . and ranked 334th in the United States.
^"Profile: University of Montana". Fort Wayne, Indiana: National Student Exchange. 2015. Archived fromthe original on January 2, 2016.Missoula is . . . often referred to as the cultural center of Montana. Students take advantage of . . . theatre, art walks, festivals, and concerts.
^"Community". Make it Missoula.Archived from the original on March 16, 2015. RetrievedAugust 24, 2015.It's not everywhere that you'll find loggers and ranchers co-existing with holdover hippies and artistic types. Add in college students, immigrants, young families, retirees, entrepreneurs, minimalists, sports fanatics, green living addicts, and everything in between, and you have a rich, vibrant, and diverse community.
^"Missoula's Farmer's Market".Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. RetrievedAugust 23, 2015.The Missoula Farmers Market, a gathering of food and friends since 1972.
^"Farmers Markets in Missoula". Destination Missoula.Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. RetrievedAugust 24, 2015.8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Saturdays, mid-May to mid-October; 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Tuesdays, July – early September
^"Festival of the Book". Missoula: Humanities Montana. 2015. Archived fromthe original on August 24, 2015.In 2015, The Humanities Montana Festival of the Book has been reestablished as the Montana Book Festival under the auspices of the Montana Book Festival Association, in conjunction with the Missoula Cultural Council.
^"About BSDFF".Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. RetrievedAugust 14, 2015.The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has become the largest cinema event in Montana and the premiere venue for non-fiction film in the American West. In 2012, the festival drew an audience of 20,000 and received nearly 1000 film entries from every corner of the globe.
^"MCT: The Full Story".Missoula Community Theatre, Inc. June 9, 2015.Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. RetrievedSeptember 6, 2016.
^"MCT Tour in Your Town".Missoula Children's Theatre. MCT, Inc. July 17, 2014.Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. RetrievedSeptember 6, 2016.
^"Bare Bait Dance".Bare Bait Dance.Archived from the original on September 18, 2016. RetrievedSeptember 6, 2016.
^"Headwaters Dance Co". Headwaters Dance Co. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. RetrievedSeptember 6, 2016.
^"Vibrant and Colorful: For the Art Lover"(PDF).Destination Missoula: Missoula Area Visitor Guide. 2015. p. 17.Archived(PDF) from the original on August 10, 2015.. . . Missoula Art Museum, which features contemporary works by Native American and regional artists, as well as traveling exhibits. The space alone is worth the trip. A recent renovation marries the 100-year-old Carnegie Library building with a contemporary addition, creating a bright and airy space with interesting angles and viewpoints. ... 20 25 solo and group exhibitions rotate through six state-of-the-art galleries each year.
^"Bayern Brewing: About". Archived fromthe original on August 10, 2015. RetrievedAugust 23, 2015.Proud to be the only German brewery in the Rocky Mountains . . .
^"Brew Town".Missoula Magazine. March 9, 2012. p. 51. Archived fromthe original on August 23, 2015. RetrievedAugust 23, 2015.The three largest breweries – Bayern Brewing Inc., Big Sky Brewing Co. and KettleHouse Brewing Co. – call Missoula home.
^"State Veterans' Memorial Rose Garden (MCA § 1-1-518)".Montana Code Annotated. Montana Legislative Services. 1999.Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. RetrievedAugust 25, 2015.The Missoula memorial rose garden, located in Missoula, Montana, is officially designated as a state veterans' memorial rose garden.
^"Map of Montana Legislature Districts"(PDF).Montana State Library. Montana Geographic Information Clearinghouse.Archived(PDF) from the original on March 18, 2015. RetrievedAugust 9, 2015.
^"Missoula County Public Schools".Missoulian. Missoula. March 24, 2014.ISSN0746-4495.Archived from the original on September 15, 2017.Next Step Prep is a high-quality, accredited training program run by the Missoula Children's Theatre for students who are considering the performing arts as a major in college or as a career. The school is designed to provide students with the skills they will need for postsecondary studies in the performing arts including acting, singing and dancing. Students entering grades 9–12 may apply for this six-week summer session.
^"State Arboretum (MCA § 1-1-513)".Montana Code Annotated. Montana Legislative Services. 1995.Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. RetrievedAugust 23, 2015.The campus of the university of Montana-Missoula, is the state arboretum.
^Wilhelm, Honor L. (December 1906)."Missoula, Montana".The Coast.12 (6). Seattle: The Coast Publishing Company: 279.Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. RetrievedAugust 28, 2015.
^abWirth, Rudolph E."History". Community Medical Center.Archived from the original on August 26, 2015.
^Chaney, Rob (January 2, 2011)."Missoula has never controlled its own water destiny".Missoulian. Missoula.ISSN0746-4495.Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. RetrievedAugust 13, 2015.Back in 1870, Missoulians got their water from One-Eyed Riley and his Missoula Water Works. Riley's original system was a yoke and two buckets that he hauled door to door.
^"Mountain Water Company's Roots". Mountain Water Company. Archived fromthe original on August 22, 2007. RetrievedAugust 13, 2015.In 1871, the first actual system was begun with log pipes and wooden mains . . . The Rattlesnake Intake Dam was built in 1901 with a settling basin capacity of 3 million gallons . . . The Rattlesnake Creek met Missoula's water needs until 1935 when five wells were added to augment fall and summer demands. In fact, the watershed was used until 1983, when a Giardia problem arose and its use was discontinued.
^"The Missoula Aquifer". Mountain Water Company. March 26, 2014. Archived fromthe original on February 12, 2015. RetrievedAugust 24, 2015.Today the aquifer is the sole source of water for residents in the Missoula Valley.
^"Historic Districts".Historic Missoula. Missoula's Office of Planning and Grants. Archived fromthe original on February 14, 2015. RetrievedAugust 9, 2015.
^"UDASH". University of Montana.Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. RetrievedAugust 9, 2015.
^"Zero Fare".Mountain Line.Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. RetrievedSeptember 22, 2015.
^"Northern Pacific Railroad Depot". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. 85000644.Archived from the original on August 26, 2015.
^Browning, Skylar (April 12, 2007)."Demystifying David Lynch".Missoula Independent.Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. RetrievedAugust 13, 2015.he was born in Missoula in 1946
^Jahrig, Gary (March 5, 2000)."Carroll O'Connor to teach classes at UM".Missoulian. Missoula Ric Parnell - best known for his portrayal of drummerMick Shrimpton in Spinal Tap moved to the city in his later years and died there.ISSN0746-4495.Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. RetrievedAugust 13, 2015.Carroll O'Connor, the UM graduate best known for his portrayal of the outspokenBunker on the television seriesAll In The Family.
^Schweber, Nate (Spring 2015)."Family Ties"(PDF).Montanan. Vol. 32, no. 2. University of Montana. pp. 16–19.Archived(PDF) from the original on June 4, 2015. RetrievedAugust 13, 2015.'One of the first thingsDamien said was, "I don't want you to be intimidated by the musical aspects of this. I can shoot this in a way to make you look good, like you know what you're doing"',Simmons says. 'I said, "Let me stop you right there. Forty years ago I was a music major at the University of Montana. I conducted pit orchestra, and I can read these charts. I'm not just some actor who's going to be waving his arms around.'
^"Blue Mountain Meadow". David Maslanka.Archived from the original on October 6, 2015. RetrievedAugust 9, 2015.Blue Mountain is my favorite nature-walk place in the Missoula, Montana area where I live.
^Erickson, David (January 23, 2015)."Missoula YouTube star Hank Green interviews Obama".Missoulian. Missoula.ISSN0746-4495.Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. RetrievedAugust 13, 2015.Missoula resident Hank Green sat down for a face-to-face interview with President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House on Thursday, and the whole thing was live-streamed on YouTube.
^"Harold C. Urey".Encyclopædia Britannica. June 24, 2015.Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. RetrievedAugust 9, 2015.
^Adams, John (October 25, 2007)."A Nobel cause: Q&A with UM climate guru Steve Running".Missoula Independent.Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. RetrievedAugust 13, 2015.Running . . . Missoula's first Nobel laureate since UM professor Harold Urey received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1934 . . .
^"K. Ross Toole Papers, 1867–1992 (bulk 1961–1981)".Archives West. Orbis Cascade Alliance.Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. RetrievedAugust 13, 2015.This collection largely contains correspondence, research materials and writings, and faculty materials from 1961, when he was named the A. B. Hammond Professor of Western History at the University of Montana in Missoula, to his death in 1981. . . . Kenneth Ross Toole was born August 8, 1920 in Missoula, Montana.
^Sullivan, Patricia (September 19, 2008)."James Crumley; Inspired Generation of Crime Writers".Washington Post. Washington, D.C.ISSN0190-8286.Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. RetrievedAugust 13, 2015.James Crumley, 68, whose poetic and violent tales of crime in the American West made him a patron saint of the post-Vietnam private eye novel, died of complications from kidney and pulmonary diseases . . . in Missoula, Mont., where he lived.
^Bolin, Alice (May 14, 2012)."At the Grave of Richard Hugo".The Paris Review Daily. The Paris Review.Archived from the original on April 4, 2014. RetrievedAugust 13, 2015.
^ab"Sister Cities". Missoula Cultural Council.Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. RetrievedAugust 23, 2015.
^"New Zealand Day". Missoula Cultural Council.Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. RetrievedAugust 23, 2015.
^"Germanfest". Missoula Cultural Council.Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. RetrievedAugust 23, 2015.
^Maclean, Norman (1989).A River Runs Through It. Designed and illustrated byBarry Moser. University of Chicago Press. p. 11.ISBN978-0-226-50060-7.LCCN88-38576.OCLC18869665.OL2059308M.Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. RetrievedAugust 28, 2015.Painted on one side of our Sunday school wall were the words, God Is Love. We always assumed that these three words were spoken directly to the four of us in our family and had no reference to the world outside, which my brother and I soon discovered was full of bastards, the number increasing rapidly the farther one gets from Missoula, Montana.
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