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Montana · Great Falls · Missouri River · #210 Most Populous County in the US
Cascade County, Montana
Great Falls - Malmstrom Air Force Base and America's nuclear ICBM arsenal, the Missouri River's Great Falls, Charlie Russell's studio, and the agricultural heartland of north-central Montana. A city of military heritage, western art, and the power of the Missouri River harnessed since Lewis and Clark portaged its falls. Property tax, courts, public records, probate, and senior services for Cascade County residents.
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Cascade County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Cascade County Disaster and Emergency Services – 521 1st Avenue NW, Great Falls, MT 59401 | (406) 454-6900 | Fax: (406) 454-6903; coordinates response agencies and departments countywide.
Dispatch: Great Falls-Cascade County 911 Center – a collaborative effort between the City of Great Falls and Cascade County; dispatches police, fire, medical, sheriff, rural fire, search and rescue, and coordinates Mercy Flight helicopter response. Non-emergency: (406) 727-7688, option 5.
Sheriff: Cascade County Sheriff’s/Coroner’s Office – 3800 Ulm North Frontage Road, Great Falls, MT 59405 | Non-emergency (406) 454-6979 | Reception (406) 454-6820; Sheriff Jesse Slaughter (took office Jan. 1, 2019). Handles civil/criminal process, patrol, investigations, the Cascade County Detention Center, and rural animal control (outside Great Falls city limits).
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-15 and US-87 serve Great Falls, the county seat and Montana’s third-largest city.
Notes: Cascade County, founded 1887, is anchored by Great Falls and home to Malmstrom Air Force Base.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Cascade County Planning Division – 3800 Ulm North Frontage Road, Great Falls, MT 59405 | (406) 454-6820.
Notes: Great Falls is genuinely named for the actual Great Falls of the Missouri River – a series of five waterfalls that Lewis and Clark famously portaged around for nearly a month in June 1805, having expected only a half-mile detour; the city earned the nickname “The Electric City” from the five hydroelectric dams built on the falls in the early 20th century. The Cascade County Courthouse (1901-1903), NRHP-listed, has a copper dome crowned by a 14-foot statue of Justice that was genuinely used as a lookout for Japanese aircraft during World War II. The C.M. Russell Museum, honoring cowboy artist Charles M. Russell, holds the largest collection of his work anywhere and includes his original house and log cabin studio (a National Historic Landmark). Giant Springs State Park features one of the largest freshwater springs in the U.S. (releasing roughly 150 million gallons daily) and the Roe River, regarded as one of the shortest rivers in the world at about 50 yards.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Cascade County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via cascadecountymt.gov.
Federal: VA Montana Health Care System (Fort Harrison/Helena, accessible west).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Great Falls Public Library – confirm current address/hours via greatfallsmt.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The C.M. Russell Museum, the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, Giant Springs State Park, the River’s Edge Trail (53-60 miles connecting major attractions), and First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Great Falls of the Missouri and the world-class C.M. Russell Museum are distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Cascade County Assessor – confirm current contact via cascadecountymt.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
City of Great Falls Animal Shelter (GFAS) – municipal, open-admission, no-kill designated by Best Friends Animal Society since 2007; Animal Control is a division of the Great Falls Police Department, (406) 454-6979 handles rural county animal issues via the Sheriff’s Office.
Humane Society of Cascade County – PO Box 1774, Great Falls, MT 59403; offers low-cost spay/neuter and a no-kill foster program (not affiliated with the municipal shelter).
Maclean-Cameron Animal Adoption Center – additional area shelter serving Great Falls and north-central Montana.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Cascade County Solid Waste – 415 2nd Avenue North, Great Falls, MT 59401 | (406) 454-6873 | Fax: (406) 454-6877 (rural residential service privatized to Montana Waste Systems, Inc.).
NOTES: Cascade County is the first county in the Montana v2 A+ sourced redo’s second batch. The genuine Great Falls of the Missouri and its role in Lewis and Clark’s expedition are distinctive local facts. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Cascade County
Cascade County is Great Falls – a city on the Missouri River whose history spans Lewis and Clark’s arduous portage around five cascading falls, the harnessing of those falls for hydroelectric power that drives the modern economy, and the stationing of America’s nuclear ICBM arsenal in the surrounding prairie.
Malmstrom Air Force Base – home of the 341st Missile Wing, which operates and maintains 150 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in hardened launch facilities spread across a vast area of north-central Montana – is Great Falls’s defining institution and largest employer. Each Minuteman III carries a nuclear warhead capable of intercontinental delivery; the missile crews on alert 24/7 in the launch control centers beneath Montana’s prairies represent one of the three legs of America’s nuclear deterrent triad. Malmstrom is one of three Air Force Bases in the United States (with FE Warren in Wyoming and Minot in North Dakota) that maintain the land-based ICBM arsenal.
The Missouri River was named by Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery, which portaged around the Great Falls in June 1805 – an 18-day, 18-mile ordeal carrying all equipment and supplies around five spectacular cascading waterfalls that blocked river travel. The falls are now harnessed by a series of hydroelectric dams (built by Montana Power Company beginning in the 1890s) that power Great Falls and surrounding communities. The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center in Great Falls is one of the finest Lewis and Clark museums in the nation, documenting the expedition’s historic portage.
Charles M. Russell – one of the greatest painters of the American West, whose detailed and affectionate depictions of cowboys, Native Americans, and frontier life capture a world that was disappearing in his own lifetime – lived and worked in Great Falls from 1893 until his death in 1926. The C.M. Russell Museum houses the largest collection of Russell’s work in the world and is Great Falls’s most significant cultural institution.
Benefis Health System is the major healthcare employer. The county’s agricultural economy – wheat, barley, and cattle ranching across the Hi-Line and Sun River Valley – provides the other economic pillar.
County government is three commissioners. Separately elected: Assessor (state DOR), Attorney, Clerk and Recorder, Clerk of District Court, Coroner, Sheriff, and Treasurer.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Montana’s class-based assessment applies. The Montana Department of Revenue – Great Falls Field Office (119 1st Avenue N, Suite 100, Great Falls, 406-454-6900) handles all property assessments.
Residential property is taxed at approximately 1.35% of market value (confirm current rate). Great Falls’s real estate market is more stable than Bozeman or Whitefish – appreciation has been moderate, and assessed values generally track market reasonably well.
The appeal process:
Step 1: Contact the Great Falls DOR Field Office informally within 30 days of assessment notice.
Step 2: Appeal to the Montana Tax Appeal Board (MTAB) within 30 days of informal decision.
Step 3: Appeal to Cascade County District Court within 30 days of MTAB decision.
Senior PTAP: Montana’s Property Tax Assistance Program available for qualifying low-income seniors. Apply through the Montana DOR.
No Montana estate tax. No Montana inheritance tax. No sales tax.
OWNWELL CTA: Cascade County values are set by Montana DOR – informal review within 30 days of notice. No MT estate, inheritance, or sales tax. PTAP assistance for qualifying seniors. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Recommended
Cascade County values are set by Montana DOR - informal review within 30 days of notice. No MT estate, inheritance, or sales tax. PTAP assistance for qualifying seniors. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
The Cascade County District Court (Eighth Judicial District) at 415 2nd Avenue N, Great Falls (406-454-6780) handles all civil, criminal, family, and probate matters. The Cascade County Clerk and Recorder (406-454-6800) at 325 2nd Avenue N maintains all land records – searchable online at cascadecountymt.gov.
Montana Uniform Probate Code. Montana recognizes Transfer on Death deeds.
Malmstrom AFB military estate planning: Cascade County’s large Malmstrom AFB military community – missile combat crews, maintenance personnel, and support staff – requires current SGLI designations, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. The unique nature of ICBM crew duty (extended periods on alert in underground launch control centers) makes current legal documents particularly important. The Malmstrom Legal Assistance Office provides free services for eligible personnel.
Russell art legacy and western art market: The C.M. Russell Museum’s presence has made Great Falls a center of the western art market – original Russell works sell for millions at auction, and estates containing significant western art require specialized appraisers and art estate attorneys familiar with the western art market.
Agricultural estate planning: Cascade County’s wheat farming families navigate Montana-specific succession challenges – Montana Land Reliance conservation easements, water rights on the Sun River irrigation project, and FSA program payment eligibility all require specific estate planning attention.
Senior Services: The Cascade County Senior Services / Great Falls Senior Center (406-761-2300) at 1400 25th Street S, Great Falls and the Area VI Agency on Aging (406-791-7500) at 509 5th Street S, Great Falls coordinate senior centers, home-delivered meals, transportation, Montana SHIP Medicare counseling, caregiver support, Adult Protective Services, and connections to Montana Medicaid long-term care programs.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK AND RECORDER
325 2nd Ave. N., Great Falls, MT 59401
(406) 454-6800
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
325 2nd Ave. N., Great Falls, MT 59401
(406) 454-6800
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Cascade County Clerk of District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
Great Falls Genealogy Society, 301 2nd Avenue North, 3rd Floor, Great Falls, MT 59401, (406) 727-3922.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Cascade County Clerk of District Court, Probate Division 415 2nd Avenue North, Great Falls, MT 59401 (406) 454-6780 Cascade County is in central Montana, seated in Great Falls, the state’s third-most populous city.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Montana adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), codified at Title 72 of the Montana Code Annotated (MCA). Probate is handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent resided.
Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit (MCA § 72-3-1101) – available when the value of the probate estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000. At least 30 days must have passed since the death, and no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted anywhere. The affiant presents the sworn, notarized affidavit (with a certified death certificate) directly to whoever holds the property to collect it – skipping probate court entirely. Must be used within 3 years of death.
Summary Administration – a streamlined court process for estates valued at $100,000 or less; unlike the affidavit procedure, this still goes through the court, just with reduced formality.
Informal Probate – the most common path for uncontested estates. An application can be made to the clerk of district court no sooner than 120 hours (5 days) after death, with minimal court involvement.
Formal Probate – required when there’s no will, when a will’s validity is contested, or when there’s disagreement over the personal representative or distribution. Handled by a district court judge.
Supervised Administration – formal probate with ongoing court oversight of the personal representative.
Step 2: filing for formal or informal probate
File an application (informal) or petition (formal) with the Clerk of District Court in the county where the decedent resided, no sooner than 120 hours after death.
The court or clerk appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets.
After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and closes the estate.
What it costs
Montana does not set statutory percentage-based fees; personal representative and attorney fees are generally “reasonable compensation” based on time and complexity.
Montana has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
325 2nd Ave. N., Great Falls, MT 59401
(406) 454-6850
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
325 2nd Ave. N., Great Falls, MT 59401
(406) 454-6800
ELECTIONS
325 2nd Ave. N., Great Falls, MT 59401
(406) 454-6800
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MT DPHHS — Cascade
(406) 454-5970
Benefis Health System
benefis.org (Great Falls — major regional hospital; Level II Trauma; the dominant healthcare institution in north-central Montana)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Cascade City-County Health Department – confirm current contact via cascadecountymt.gov.
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