[1] Another reason for building the Montana Central was Hill's investment in the city of Great Falls.
Hill's close friend and business associate, Paris Gibson, had founded the town of Great Falls on the Great Falls of the Missouri River in 1883, and was promoting it as a site for the development of cheap hydroelectricity and heavy industry.
[2] Hill organized the Great Falls Water Power & Townsite Company in 1887,[3][4] with the goal of developing the town of Great Falls; providing it with power, sewage, and water; and attracting commerce and industry to the city.
[4][5] To attract industry to the new city, he offered low rates on the Montana Central Railway.
[11] On February 1, 1890, he transferred ownership of the StPM&M, Montana Central, and other rail systems he owned to the Great Northern.