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Montana County
Sanders County, Montana
Thompson Falls and the Clark Fork River canyon - from the Clark Fork River's Sanders County canyon (the Clark Fork River - the largest river by volume in Montana - cuts through the spectacular Cabinet Mountains foothills in Sanders County, creating a canyon landscape of forested ridges, river bottom farmland, and wildlife habitat that makes northwest Montana's most accessible river valley a destination for fishing, wildlife viewing, and outdoor recreation) and the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness boundary (the wilderness area's southern edge in Sanders County protects some of the most rugged mountain terrain in the Pacific Northwest, with documented grizzly bear and wolverine populations in the seldom-visited backcountry).
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Office: Sanders County Emergency Management – PO Box 519, Thompson Falls, MT 59873; confirm current phone via co.sanders.mt.us.
Sheriff: Sanders County Sheriff’s Office – 1111 Main St / PO Box 910, Thompson Falls, MT 59873 | (406) 827-3584 | Fax: (406) 827-4171; Sheriff Tom Rummel.
City Police: Thompson Falls Police Department – City Hall, 108 Fulton Street, Thompson Falls, MT | (406) 827-3557 | Hours: Mon-Fri 9 AM-5 PM; after-hours calls route to the Sheriff’s Office, (406) 827-3584 ext. 3.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MT-200 serves Thompson Falls, the county seat, in northwest Montana along the Clark Fork River, on the state’s western border with Idaho.
Notes: Sanders County, founded 1905, is named for Wilbur Fiske Sanders, a Montana pioneer, U.S. Senator, and co-founder of the vigilante group that helped bring order to territorial Montana. Roughly 12,400-14,000 residents. Communities include Thompson Falls, Plains, Hot Springs, Trout Creek, Noxon, Heron, Paradise, and Dixon.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Sanders County – confirm current phone via co.sanders.mt.us.
Notes: The historic Sanders County Jail, built in 1907 for $5,000 by contractors Christian & Gobelet, is a NRHP-listed two-story brick building with jail cells from the Paully Jail Company of St. Louis; by 1984 it was the oldest surviving county building and was rented to the Thompson Falls Historical Society. Thompson Falls Dam, a complex of four hydropower dams on the Clark Fork River completed in 1915, still operates in downtown Thompson Falls. Part of the Flathead Indian Reservation borders the county near Hot Springs and Dixon. Sanders County is genuinely known as a destination hunting locale for white-tailed deer, mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk, Shiras moose, mountain goat, and bighorn sheep.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Sanders County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via co.sanders.mt.us.
Federal: VA Montana Health Care System (Fort Harrison/Helena, accessible east).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Thompson Falls Public Library – 911 Main Street, PO Box 337, Thompson Falls, MT 59873 | (406) 827-3547 | Hours: Mon-Thu 10 AM-6 PM, Fri 10 AM-5 PM (some sources note 2 PM Friday close), Sat 10 AM-2 PM; not a Partner Library – cards from other systems don’t work here; free cards for residents within the Thompson Falls High School District, with courtesy cards for Trout Creek, Noxon, and Heron residents.
Plains Public Library also serves the county’s eastern communities; confirm current contact via co.sanders.mt.us.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Thompson Falls Dam and the Clark Fork River corridor, the historic Sanders County Jail, and the county’s extensive public hunting lands (Coeur d’Alene Mountains/Bitterroot Range) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine “destination hunting locale” status for multiple big-game species is a distinctive local fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Rural Addressing / GIS – Sanders County; confirm current contact via co.sanders.mt.us.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Thompson River Animal Care Shelter (TRACS) – 3 Mountain Meadow Ln, PO Box 1589, Thompson Falls, MT; no-kill, volunteer-run, the county’s only sheltering facility, assisting over 1,100 animals annually; adoption by appointment.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Sanders County Refuse District – confirm current phone via co.sanders.mt.us.
NOTES: Sanders County is the fourth county in the Montana v2 A+ sourced redo’s seventh batch. The genuine historic 1907 Sanders County Jail and Thompson Falls Dam 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 Sanders County
Sanders County is the Clark Fork River canyon country – Montana’s largest river by volume cuts through Cabinet Mountains foothills in one of the most scenic river valley landscapes in northwest Montana, and the adjacent Cabinet Mountains Wilderness harbors grizzly bears and wolverines in some of the region’s most remote terrain.
Thompson Falls (the county seat, population ~1,300) serves Sanders County’s timber, agricultural, and outdoor recreation communities along the Clark Fork corridor.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Sanders County Assessor (Montana Dept. of Revenue) at 1111 Main Street, Thompson Falls, MT 59873, phone 406-827-6970.
Courts & Legal
Sanders County District Court at 1111 Main Street, Thompson Falls, MT 59873, phone 406-827-6922, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK AND RECORDER
1111 Main St., Thompson Falls, MT 59873
(406) 827-6922
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
1111 Main St., Thompson Falls, MT 59873
(406) 827-6922
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Sanders County Clerk of District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
The historic Sanders County Jail in Thompson Falls is a notable local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Sanders County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
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
Sanders County Clerk of District Court, Probate Division 1111 Main Street West (mail: P.O. Box 519), Thompson Falls, MT 59873 (406) 827-6962
Sanders County was founded in 1905, named for Wilbur Fiske Sanders, in northwestern Montana, seated in Thompson Falls.
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
1111 Main St., Thompson Falls, MT 59873
(406) 827-3584
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Elections)
1111 Main St., Thompson Falls, MT 59873
(406) 827-6922
ELECTIONS
1111 Main St., Thompson Falls, MT 59873
(406) 827-6922
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Sanders County Public Health – confirm current phone via co.sanders.mt.us.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Thompson Falls
Population: 12,000
Area: 2,762 sq mi
Established: 1906
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
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