Thompson Falls, Montana, United States

🇺🇸 Thompson Falls is a city in and the county seat of Sanders County, Montana.

History Thompson Falls was named after British explorer, geographer and fur trader David Thompson, who founded a North West Company fur trading post called Saleesh House in 1809. The community is located next to natural waterfalls on the Clark Fork river. The settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute in 1846, ended joint occupancy with Britain and established the border with British North America and made the region firmly American. The arrival of the railroad in 1881 brought the first real activity to the area. Two years later, when the gold rush hit nearby Cœur d'Alene, the town grew to accommodate the men going over the Murray Trail to the mines. In 1885 John Russell bought 40 acres (160,000 m²) and plotted the town site.

Thompson Falls was established in 1910.

The Thompson Falls Dam, in operation since 1915, was constructed atop the original falls.

Geography Thompson Falls has a total area of 1.73 square miles (4.48 km²), all land.

Ecology An amphibian, the rough-skinned newt, has a population at Thompson Falls which is noncontiguous with the remainder of the Western US population of the species.

In 2010, a fish ladder was completed consisting of 48 pools, each one foot higher than the last, enabling native fish, including bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) to pass the 913-foot Thompson Falls Dam for the first time in nearly a century.

Infrastructure Thompson Falls Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located three miles (6 km) south-east of town.

Education Thompson Falls is served by the Thompson Falls Public Schools School District. The district has an elementary school, middle school and high school. Students attend Thompson Falls High School, a Class B school. They are known as the Blue Hawks. It offers eight sports to its students.

Thompson Falls Public Library is located in town.