Paris Gibson

Paris Gibson ( born July 1, 1830 in Brownfield, Oxford County, Maine, † December 16, 1920 in Great Falls, Montana ) was an American businessman and politician, the state of Montana from 1934 to 1961 as a Democrat in the U.S. Senate represented.

After schooling Gibson graduated in 1851 from Bowdoin College. In Maine, he began his political career as a member of the House of Representatives. He later moved to Minnesota, where he worked as a businessman. When he had no success there, he moved westward. In 1880, he was inspired by a visit to the waterfalls of the Missouri River, to exploit its potential for the production of hydroelectric power.

Gibson convinced the railroad magnate James J. Hill, with whom he was friends to invest in the project. So was Hill's support in 1883, the city Great Falls established, which should be railway location also. 1887 led railway line from Great Falls to Butte and Helena, but not the main lines of Hill's Great Northern Railway, which ran north of the town. Nevertheless, Great Falls has been a trading center for farmers and ranchers around. The built dams supplied the local industry with energy.

Politically, Gibson was also active in his new home. He was the first mayor of Great Falls in 1889 and took part in the Constitutional Convention of Montana. In 1890 he was elected to the State Senate. On March 7, 1901, he took in the U.S. Senate the place of the retiring William Andrews Clark. He remained there until March 3, 1905 and applied not to the re-election.

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