About Missoula

Missoula /mɨˈzuːlə/ is a city in the U.S. state of Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. It is located along the Clark Fork and Bitterroot rivers in Western Montana and at the convergence of five mountain ranges, thus is often described as being the "Hub of Five Valleys". The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the Missoula Metropolitan Area at 109,299. As of July 1, 2011 the city grew to 67,290, and put the Missoula metropolitan area at 110,138. Since 2000, Missoula has been the second largest city in Montana.

Missoula was founded in 1860 and named Hellgate Trading Post while still part of Washington Territory. By 1866, the settlement had moved five miles upstream and renamed Missoula Mills before being shortened to Missoula. The mills provided supplies to western settlers traveling along the Mullan Road with Fort Missoula, set up in 1877 to protect the settlers, further stabilizing the economy. The arrival of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1883 was coupled with rapid growth and the maturation of the local lumber industry. An element of prestige could be claimed ten years later when what was already called the City of Missoula was chosen by the Montana Legislature as t