Townsend is a city in and the county seat of Broadwater County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,787 at the 2020 census.
History
Lewis and Clark passed through on their expedition in 1805, although the first white settlers, homesteaders, and Civil War veterans in search of gold would not arrive until the late 1860s. In 1883, a railway station was established as businesses were founded supporting gold mining in the region. Townsend was named by railroad officials, in honor of Susan Townsend, the wife of Charles Barstow Wright, president of the Northern Pacific (1875–1879).
Several locations in town are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. St. Joseph's Catholic Mission Church is listed as the oldest standing example of secular Roman Catholic church architecture in Montana. It is now a museum. The State Bank of Townsend was opened in 1899 and still operates as a bank. Valley Masonic Lodge No. 21 was opened in 1875 just north of the town. It was moved to the town in 1884.
Geography
Townsend is located at approximately 3800 feet above sea level. Townsend is from Helena, the state capital and from the convergence of the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers which form the headwaters of the Missouri River. Nicknamed "the first city on the Missouri River", Townsend sits nearby the southern tip of Canyon Ferry Lake (a part of, and fed by, the Missouri River) a popular recreation destination and Montana's third largest body of water.
The town lies within the Helena National Forest. Near the town is Eagle Guard Station, the oldest administrative log structure in the Forest.
The town is next to the Stone Hill Springs Prehistoric District. The district has many archaeological sites from Native people before Euro-American contact. The numerous separate sites cover over 2,000 unspoiled acres.
An section of the Crow Creek Water Ditch nearby is on the National Register of Historic Places. The irrigation system was previously used to support gold mining.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.