DescriptionNorth West Company trader and explorer David Thompson established a trading post named Saleesh House in this area in 1809. The town was founded in 1882 in anticipation of the Northern Pacific Railroad’s arrival the following year. The post office operated under the name Thompson until 1912, when postal officials changed the name to Thompson Falls to match the name of the railroad station. Enthusiastic about their town’s potential, Thompson residents even boarded trains to persuade newcomers to settle there instead of at archrival Belknap, farther northwest. Ten thousand hopeful miners wintered here in 1883 on their way to gold diggings in Idaho. The Northwestern Development Company constructed a concrete dam across the Clark Fork River at Thompson Falls and by 1917 had 6 hydroelectric generators in place. The Montana Power Company acquired the dam and reservoir in 1929. The Thompson Falls Multiple Resource Area, listed in the National Register, includes homes, the county jail, several hotels, and the Northern Pacific warehouse. Thompson Falls State Park lies just south of town.Personal NamesThompson, DavidOther Name(s)ThompsonSaleesh HouseContributing InstitutionMontana Historical Society Library and ArchivesGeolocation[1] Elevation2564 ft.CountySanders County
