Where Whitefish Began
It is unknown when the first settlers came to this special place we call Whitefish. In the mid 1850’s trappers working the area found Indians catching native Whitefish from the lake, thus the name Whitefish.

The Baker Brothers : Photo provided by The Stumptown Historical Society,

It is known that the first permanent settler was John Morton who built a cabin in 1883 on the shore of the lake just west of the river mouth. Morton was joined by loggers, including the Baker and Hutchinson brothers, in the early 1890’s. Loggers boomed up the logs behind a dam built by the Boston and Montana Commercial Company at the river mouth, which when opened, created a "splash" of water to help float the logs down Whitefish River to Kalispell.

In 1891 C. E. Ramsey built a hotel just west of the river and opened it in the summer of 1892, calling it The Lake View House. It had hammocks, croquet grounds, boat rentals and fishing for those coming in on horseback, as there were no roads. The Great Northern Railway entered the valley in 1891 and followed a route through Columbia Falls, Kalispell and on westward. The railroad west of Kalispell went through Pleasant Valley and climbed over the Salish Mountains. It was a difficult and tortuous grade up and down again on the other side. The railroad was looking to British Columbia, just north of the border, for coal to fuel its steam locomotives. It seemed eminently practical to build a rail line from Columbia Falls to Eureka, and thence to Fernie, B. C.; after all, such a route was a water grade all the way. And the Kootenai River flowed directly from Eureka to Libby.

Locomotive : Photo provided by The Stumptown Historical Society,

So the decision was made in the early 1900’s to reroute the Great Northern Railway from Columbia Falls to Eureka, and down to Libby, eliminating the difficult crossing of the Salish Mountains. A branch line extended northward from Eureka, accessing the desired coal near Fernie.

Land speculators, reportedly from Butte, bought up all the vacant land in Columbia Falls, hoping to resell it to the railroad for a division point and switching yard, with tons of profit in their pockets. James Hill, however, wouldn’t be held hostage to speculators, and looked west, to the foot of Whitefish Lake.

Hill announced that the railroad would be re-routed to a more northerly route with a new division point to be established at the foot of Whitefish Lake. This new location had an abundance of water and, although a bit swampy and in virgin forest, was on a flat piece of ground and would be very satisfactory for the purpose planned. Construction of the “Columbia Falls Cutoff” started at Rexford and was built to the east from there.

Engine 2550 - Great Northern Railroad : Photo provided by The Stumptown Historical Society,

The new town site of Whitefish was surveyed and dedicated in June of 1903. Land was acquired, the rail yards were constructed, and a town was platted. Timber clearing and building began in earnest with most of the construction material being hauled in on a spur line built from Columbia Falls to the new site. The cut off was completed in August of 1904, and the first official passenger train came on October 4, 1904. In April of 1905, the town was incorporated. The town of Whitefish held its first council meeting in 1905.

Timber and farming and the railroad formed the economic foundation for Whitefish for the next fifty years. Summer cabins, made of logs and slabs, were built along the shores of Whitefish Lake. But as time progressed, the energy of the timber industry began to wane. Modern technology and equipment led to a severe shrinking in the work force of the railroad. The economy was on a skid downward.

But a few promising changes were on the horizon. In the early days an airplane landing strip was cleared on the west side of Whitefish. A clubhouse and a nine-hole golf course were built, with a number of fairways bisecting the landing strip. Few airplanes ever used this strip, and eventually another strip was built east of town.

In the early 1960’s another nine holes were added to the golf course, with yet another nine added south of the highway in the 1980’s. Still another nine holes were built in the early ‘90’s, bringing the Whitefish Golf Course to 36 holes, the largest in the state at the time. Golf has proven to be a very strong economic factor in our local economy.

Ski Pionieer Mully Muldown : Photo provided by The Stumptown Historical Society,

In another vein, taking advantage of another season, a few adventurous folks discovered skiing in 1934, and began to hike to the upper reaches of Hellroaring Mountain, located just north of Whitefish, skiing down an open slope in the Hellroaring Basin. In 1947, they built a ski lift, and today we have Big Mountain Resort, which gives Whitefish an advantage many resort communities don’t have-year around recreational opportunities.

As Whitefish has declined as a timber and railroading community, it has risen as a retirement and recreational haven. The Whitefish community has gained international recognition as a special place to get away from the rat race, a special place to live and raise a family. Whitefish is people, and its natural attractions have carried Whitefish through a number of evolutionary stages. The legend is that Whitefish is naturally inviting and a special place that will stay in your heart forever.   Hide »