Thompson Falls

Thompson Falls, Montana
—  City  —
Location of Thompson Falls, Montana
Coordinates: 47°35′48″N 115°20′37″W / 47.59667°N 115.34361°W / 47.59667; -115.34361Coordinates: 47°35′48″N 115°20′37″W / 47.59667°N 115.34361°W / 47.59667; -115.34361
Country	United States
State	Montana
County	Sanders
Area
• Total	1.9 sq mi (4.8 km2)
• Land	1.9 sq mi (4.8 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	2,556 ft (779 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	1,321
• Density	708.5/sq mi (273.5/km2)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	59873
Area code(s)	406
FIPS code	30-73825
GNIS feature ID	0792090

Thompson Falls is a city in and the county seat of Sanders County, Montana, United States.^[1] The population was 1,321 at the 2000 census.

History

Thompson Falls was named after British explorer, geographer and fur trader David Thompson, who in 1809 founded Saleesh House, a North West Company fur trading post.^[2] 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.

Geography and ecology

Thompson Falls is located at 47°35′48″N 115°20′37″W / 47.59667°N 115.34361°W / 47.59667; -115.34361 (47.596587, -115.343730)^[3] in the Clark Fork Valley at an elevation of 2,419 feet (737 m).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km²), all of it land.

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.^[4]

Prospect Creek is an uninhabited land and river area in Thompson Falls. While no one lives along the river it is a popular destination for campers.^[5]

Demographics

As of the census^[8] of 2000, there were 1,321 people, 549 households, and 357 families residing in the city. The population density was 708.5 people per square mile (274.2/km²). There were 619 housing units at an average density of 332.0 per square mile (128.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.74% White, 0.23% African American, 1.44% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population.

There were 549 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,103, and the median income for a family was $31,544. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $18,333 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,245. About 13.6% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.2% of those under age 18 and 18.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Local teenagers attend Thompson Falls High School, a Class B school. It offers eight sports to its students.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
2. ^ Incredible Journeys, Montana Outdoors
3. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
4. ^ C. Michael Hogan (2008) Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa), Globaltwitcher, ed. N. Stromberg [1]
5. ^ http://www.deq.state.mt.us/AbandonedMines/linkdocs/techdocs/174tech.asp
6. ^ "Climatography of the United States NO.81". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim81/MTnorm.pdf. Retrieved January 15, 2011. 
7. ^ "Monthly Averages for Thompson Falls, MT". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/wxclimatology/monthly/USMT0333. Retrieved January 15, 2011. 
8. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Thompson Falls Schools

v d e Municipalities and communities of Sanders County, Montana, US County seat: Thompson Falls City Thompson Falls Towns Hot Springs Plains CDPs Dixon Heron Lonepine Niarada‡ Noxon Old Agency Paradise Trout Creek Indian reservation Flathead Indian Reservation‡ Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties