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The Big Stone Colony handbook

Living in Big Stone Colony, MT: what to set up and who to call

Big Stone Colony has no town government of its own, so Cascade County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Centerville Elementary School District. For emergencies, Big Stone Colony is closest to Great Falls Clinic Hospital, 6.6 miles away.

Big Stone Colony has no town government. It’s a census-designated place in Cascade County, so the county and regional agencies provide most services. This page answers what we can; the same answers appear on Big Stone Colony’s town page under “Getting set up”.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Big Stone Colony, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.

Home services

Power, water and internet

Who to call to start service at a new address in Big Stone Colony.

Electricity

Power comes from NorthWestern Energy

NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Big Stone Colony. Its homes paid an average of 14.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $102 a month (its average across Montana, for customers on its standard service). Montana lets you buy power from another supplier; 0% of NorthWestern Energy’s home customers do, and NorthWestern Energy still delivers it.

Start or move service: northwesternenergy.com · (888) 467-2669

Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.

Drinking water · reported to EPA

Water comes from Big Stone Colony Inc water system

The Big Stone Colony Inc water system supplies Big Stone Colony: about 0% of residents live in its service area. About 100% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 130 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 77% of the 15,074 systems serving 101–500 people.

Lead, 90th percentile0.0 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2024–Dec 2026, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.

The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report

EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. MT0003077.

Internet

Which providers serve Big Stone Colony

Data pending · D4

This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Big Stone Colony, the share of addresses that can get 100/20 Mbps and the share with fiber, with the map’s “as of” date.

Source to come: FCC Broadband Data Collection.

Trash & recycling

We don’t have Big Stone Colony’s trash rules yet

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Big Stone Colony.

Trash, recycling and bulk pickupNot on fileBig Stone Colony has no town government of its own, so look for trash and recycling rules on the county’s site.
Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Big Stone Colony kids go to
PK–8Big Stone SchoolCenterville Elementary School District
9–12Centerville High Schoolin Sand Coulee

Big Stone Colony is in two districts that split the grades: Centerville Elementary School District and Centerville High School District.

Test scores and every school: see Schools →

U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.

Government & voting

No town hall: the county runs things

Big Stone Colony is unincorporated, so Cascade County is the local government.

Local governmentCascade CountyBig Stone Colony is a census-designated place: no town hall of its ownCensus
Who runs elections hereCascade County Election AdministratorElections here are run by Cascade County (county election office). Box 2305, Great Falls, MT 59403-2305 · (406) 454-6803 · [email protected]FVAP, Feb 2024
Register to voteIn personMontana has no online registration; you can register in person up to and including Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.govCheck your registration and polling placeprodvoterportal.mt.govThe state’s voter lookup

Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Feb 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Big Stone Colony is in ZIP code 59472

ZIP codes where Big Stone Colony residents live, with the share of the town in each.

ZIPPost office nameShare of Big Stone ColonyZIP’s residents in Big Stone Colony
59472Sand Coulee, MT100%11%

Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.

Everyday places

Getting around, the ER and the library

One line each; the subject pages have the rest.

ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.

Questions about living in Big Stone Colony

Who supplies Big Stone Colony’s drinking water, and has it had violations?

The Big Stone Colony Inc water system (EPA ID MT0003077). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 77% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Big Stone Colony?

NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 14.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What ZIP codes are in Big Stone Colony?

59472. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Big Stone Colony in?

Centerville Elementary School District and Centerville High School District.

How do I register to vote in Big Stone Colony?

Montana has no online registration; you can register in person up to and including Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Cascade County Election Administrator. Check your registration at prodvoterportal.mt.gov.

Sources & dates

Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.

  • Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
  • Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
  • Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
  • ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
  • Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
  • Registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
  • Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
  • Internet (FCC): pending.