Cascade County, Montana Genealogy

United States Montana Cascade County

Guide to Cascade County, Montana ancestry, genealogy and family history, birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
Cascade County's Seat is Great Falls. The year it was organized was 1887. It is located in the west central area of the state. The county was named for the falls on the Missouri River.

County Courthouse
Cascade County Courthouse 425 2nd Ave N Great Falls, MT 59401 Phone: 406–454–6800 Cascade County Website

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.

Boundary Changes
Parent County: created 12 September 1887 from Chouteau, Meagher, and Lewis and Clark Counties. County seat:Great Falls

Populated Places
Great Falls is the largest city in Cascade County and the County Seat. There are a number of small towns left in Cascade County from Wikipedia:

Some small towns have vanished. Montana is a newer State so land offices have a record of the populated or once populated towns. Many people homesteaded farms and did not live in towns records. Homestead records are part of the BLM or Bureau of Land Management and may not listed by county but by plot numbers. The County courthouse land records have several types of records, one type is plot.

Federal Census Records
Federal Censuses were taken for Montana starting in 1870. For links to federal census indexes, see "Montana Census" link above.

Land and Property Records
Online Land Records


 * Land Patent Search - index to federal patents and homesteads on the Bureau of Land Management website, some images available
 * 1796 - 1907 - U.S. General Land Office Records, 1796-1907 at Ancestry - index, info taken from Bureau of Land Management website
 * 1861 - 1936 - U.S. Homestead Records 1861-1936 at Ancestry.com - ($), index and images

Local Histories
On September 12, 1887, "An Act Creating Cascade County, its Boundaries, provisions for its organization and the officers to fill the various positions until the first election," was passed by the Territorial Legislative Assembly. Cascade County had been formed from parts of Meagher, Choteau and Lewis and Clarke* Counties. Great Falls was designated as the County Seat until otherwise determined by law.

Many communities have published histories of the area. Example: Great Falls Memories, A Photo album - 1884 to 1939. A compilation of photo histories of the city, transportation, people, commerce, industry, education, community, disasters, recreation and celebrations, business profiles. This a typical type of project that cities and communities undertake to commemorate the subject.

Most Cascade County local histories have been indexed by the Great Falls Genealogy Society and are available to the the public on their web site: Great Falls Genealogical Society

Online County Histories
 * Belt Valley History, 1877-1979. c1979. By Ethel Castner Kennedy; Eva Stober. Great Falls, Montana : Advanced Litho.  Online at: FamilySearch;.


 * A Century in the foothills, 1876-1976: a history of the Eden area, Cascade County, Montana : a history of Black Butte, Calvert, Eden, Giffen, Pleasant View, and Red Butte. c1976. By 	Eden Area Historical Committee (Mont.). Great Falls, Montana : Eden Area Historical Committee. Online at: FamilySearch;.


 * The Gulch Area History: Sand Coulee, Stockett, Tracy, no. 7, Centerville and Surrounding Areas. c1990. By Great Falls, Montana : Advanced Litho Printing. Online at: FamilySearch;.


 * A Light at the End of the Canyon: A Brief Written and Pictorial History of Monarch, Montana, and the Surrounding Area, Complete with Family Histories, Both Past and Present. c1989. By Sharon Lenington Bodkins. Monarch, Montana : Monarch Centennial Committee. Online at: FamilySearch;.


 * Mountains and Meadows: A Pioneer History of Cascade, Chestnut Valley, Hardy, St. Peter's Mission and Castner Falls 1805 to 1925. c190-?. By Mrs. Clarence J Conrad Rowe. Great Falls, Montana : Blue Print & Letter Co. Online at: FamilySearch, Google Books, Ancestry($);.


 * The Smith River Journal: a History from Lewis & Clark to 1979. c1979. By Smith River Historical Society (Great Falls, Mont.). Great Falls, Montana : Smith River Historical Society.  Online at: FamilySearch, Google Books;.


 * Tiger Butte Recollections. c1990. By Carol Martinell. Great Falls, Montana : Advanced Litho Printing. Online at: FamilySearch, Google Books;.


 * We Called Them Back: Montana Homesteaders & Pioneers of the Old Wilson Post Office Country. .1974.  By Lloyd Johnston.	Fairfield, Mont. : Fairfield Times. Online at: FamilySearch, Google Books;.

Maps and Gazetteers



 * See an interactive map of Cascade County cemeteries and modern-day townships. (Histopolis)
 * Interactive Formation Boundary Map of Montana - shows boundary changes for Montana Counties
 * Historical Maps and Atlases of Montana - maps and atlases of Montana

Military Records
Civil War World War I For further information see Montana Military Records.
 * 1890 at FamilySearch.— index
 * 1890 - 1918 Montana Military Enlistments at Montana Memory Project
 * 1917 - 1918 at FamilySearch — Index and images
 * Soldiers of the Great War from the State of Montana at USGenWeb.
 * Honor rolls Containing a Pictorial Record of the Gallant and Courageous Men from Cascade County, Mont., U.S.A. Who Served in the Great War, 1917-1918-1919 (digitized book)
 * Military Enlistments Montana World War I at Montana Memory Project

Naturalization and Citizenship
Naturalization records are located at the History Museum. The complete index to the records is located at the Great Falls Genealogy Society Library.

Newspapers
 Montana Newspapers Online Montana Newspaper Catalogs
 * GenealogyBank - ($), contains images of Montana newspapers
 * Newspaper Archive - ($), contains images of Montana newspapers
 * Chronicling America - contains images of some Montana newspapers; searching tips
 * Elephind - Free; search engine that retrieves newspaper images from other free newspaper websites
 * Great Falls Tribune - Based out of Great Falls, MT
 * U.S. Newspaper Directory, 1690-Present on Chronicling America - contains a list of all known newspapers and the dates they cover; once you locate a newspaper name, contact the local library to see if they have copies of the newspaper

Obituaries

 * Obituary Daily Times - large obituary index from newspapers across the United States.

See also United States Obituaries for more about finding United States obituaries.

Other Records
Public Records

County Clerk has birth, death and land records from 1917. Clerk of the Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records.

Cascade County Courthouse is located at 425 Second Ave North, old stone structure. The Clerk and Recorder office is located on the main floor in the east end of building. Local US Census film readers are available. The deeds and land records office is also on the main floor.
 * Cascade County Montana Courthouse link

Probate Records

 * 1831 – 1952 Montana Wills and Probate Records 1831-1952 at Ancestry.com — index and images $
 * 1880 - 2009 at FamilySearch — index and images

Birth

 * 1840 - 2004 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1840 - 2004 Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1840 - 2004 at Ancestry ($) — index

Marriage

 * 1865 - 1950 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1865 - 1950 Montana, County Marriages, 1865 - 1950 at Ancestry ($) — index
 * 1887 - 1950
 * 1889 - 1947 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1889 - 1947 Montana Select Marriages 1889 - 1947 at Ancestry ($) — index
 * Western States Marriage Index - Index, incomplete, list of counties included

Death

 * 1840 - 2004 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1840 - 2004 Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1840 - 2004 at Ancestry ($) — index
 * 1860 - 2007 at FamilySearch — index
 * 1868 - 2011 Montana, Death Index, 1868 - 2011 at Ancestry ($) — index
 * pre 1954 - 2002 Montana State Death Registry Index Pre 1954 & 1954 - 2002 at Montana State Genealogical Society — index
 * 1954 - 2011 Montana Death Records at FindMyPast ($) — index

Family History Centers

 * Belt Montana Family History Center

Family History Center is located 1401 Ninth Ave Northwest. The FHC is in the LDS Stake Center in an area on the West of the Missouri River and North of Central Ave West. The church building is blocks away from the CMR High School but may not be on any public transportation route. Call to make sure they are open, the phone number can be found on www.familysearch.org All FHC records vary from Library to Library and each Library has a different selection of books. No fee to use FHC for research.


 * Great Falls Montana East Family History Center
 * Great Falls Montana Family History Center

Libraries
The Great Falls Public Library is located at 301 Second Ave North on a one way street going west. This the main Cascade County Library. Historical books and records are located in the Montana Room. City directories, county histories, school annuals, and historic book collections are of local interest. The Montana Room is only open to the public Monday thru Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Great Falls Genealogy Society Library is located at 301 Second Avenue North, on the third floor of the Public Library. The library is open to the public, Monday thru Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Over 10,000 resources are available covering local, national and international locations and volunteers are on hand to assist patrons with their family research. The Society holds monthly meetings featuring programs related to family research and conducts workshops and classes on a regular basis, also open to the public. Website: Great Falls Genealogy Society

Museums
Cascade County Historical Society Museum and Archive is located at 422 Second Street South, Great Falls, Montana Relocated in the early 2000's to a larger restored warehouse. They have a large archives to research and holdings of artifacts. There is a fee. No website as of 2009. They stock community history books and local biographies to view and for purchase.

Societies
Gallatin Genealogical Society P.O. Box 1783 Bozeman 59771-1783 Great Falls Genealogical Society 1400 1st Ave. N. Great Falls 59401 Cascade County Historical Society 1400 1st Ave N Great Falls 59401-3205

Websites

 * Cascade County Montana Web Site
 * USGenWeb Cascade County, Montana project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county.
 * - The FamilySearch catalog contains descriptions and access information for all genealogical materials (including books, online materials, microfilm, microfiche, and publications) in their collection.  Use Historical Records to search for specific individuals in genealogical records