Our mission the montana history foundation is an independent, nonprofit corporation preserving the rich legacy of montana s pastone story, one community, one project at a time. Visit northwest montana history museum on your trip to kalispell. Some very early kalispell history while demersville may be the bestknown predecessor to kalispell, it wasnt the first. Tribes include the crows in the south central region, the cheyenne in the southeastern part of the state, the blackfeet, assiniboine, and gros ventres in the central and northcentral areas, and the kootenai and salish in the western sector. Founded in 1891 as a railroad town for the transcontinental great northern railway, kalispell, montana, faced bitter disappointment when the railroad relocated its route to the north in 1904. Mary ann and state of montana at demersville, 1891.
Its demise came about when the railroad reached the flathead valley and bypassed demersville. Lewis and clark are just two of the major players who have contributed to montana history. So we head for fvccs culinary institute of montana in hopes of sampling some food. A history of its discovery and settlement, social and commercial progress, mines and miners, agriculture and stockgrowing, churches, schools and societies, indians and indian wars, vigilantes, courts of justice, newspaper press, navigation, railroads and statistics, with histories of counties, cities, villages and mining camps. Eunice louise dennis and u of m womens basketball team. Native americans were the first inhabitants of the area to become known as the state of montana.
Here you will find a brief overview of the history of the formation of flathead county and a description of records unique to the flathead that may be of use to individuals researching their genealogy in our area. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Take a guided tour of our resources and earn an opi renewal unit. The original town in the kalispell area, demersville was located along the flathead river at the head of navigation for river steamers. Situated in the majestic northern rockies, the town thrived as the regions trade.
Kalispell lies just to the north northwest of the demersville cemetery. Description, a history of the upper flathead and kalispell. Montanas official state website brief history of montana. The name kalispell is a salish word meaning flat land. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. Meet the colorful cast of the famous and notsofamous desperadoes, vigilantes, madams, and darned good men and women and a few critters who made the states history. The 2010 census put kalispells population at 19,927. We are using the following gps coordinates latitude and longitude for the demersville cemetery. This place is situated in flathead county, montana, united states, its geographical coordinates are 48 9 46 north, 114 16 5 west and its original name with diacritics is demersville historical. Fairview cemetery, 1 fairview cemetery road, columbia falls, mt. Kalispell is also the gateway to glacier national park.
Northwest montana history museum 124 2nd ave e, kalispell. Kalispell, montana, began as a railroad town and this fact shaped its history for many years. The kalispell micropolitan statistical area has a population of 93,068 and it is the largest city and commercial center of northwest montana. Score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. The list of best books on montana history ends at the montana medicine shows genuine montana history. The northwest montana history museum, at the restored central school building in kalispell. Flathead county and northwest montana benefited greatly from the homestead act of 1862 and homesteading continued well into the 1920s. A number of the images were originally part of the university of montana s northwest history collection, the precursor of what is now called archives and special collections. The town that killed demersville vince devlin oct 24, 2015 oct 24, 2015.
Another fascinating, leatherbound book next to her desk contains the burial records for demersville cemetery. Online collections and finding aids montana historical society. Oct 20, 2014 the montana mint is proud to bring to you the greatest books ever written about montana the list includes something for everyone. Cover county histories of montana montana memory project. The book is small but contains a wealth of information on the early history of the.
Visit northwest montana history museum on your trip to. Flathead county, montana genealogy trails history group. Thain white was born in milburn, illinois on january 26, 19, the son of ernie and hazel white. Drop into the programs kitchen at the right time, and you. Most towns suffering similar fates fell into decline but not kalispell, which had become flathead county seat in 1894. Also includes information about the early settlements of demersville, kalispell. Montana photographs by subject collection, 18651989. Northwest montana history museum winter speaker series. Northwest montana history museum 124 2nd ave e, kalispell, montana 59901 rated 4. A state guide book by federal writers project of the work projects administration for the state of montana viking press, 1939.
Before there was kalispell there was demersville, a rollicking frontier town of 1,000 people and, reportedly, one bar for every 10 citizens, on the north end of the lake. Flathead county, montana cemeteries list compiled by k. This website is rich in resources for teaching and learning about montana history. Explore the history of the flathead valley in this fourstory stone and brick schoolhouse, a house of education from 1896 to 1989. The town of demersville emerged years ago and quickly developed into a vibrant boomtown that laid the roots for the modern flathead. A history of two centuries first appeared in 1976 and immediately became the standard work in its field.
Montanans love reading, and they love reading about montana history. Discover librarianselected research resources on montana history from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. According to flathead facts, descriptive of the resources of missoula county, back when flathead county was still considered an extension of missoula county an 1880 community named selish existed, five miles east of. Historical overview of the flathead national forest, montana, 18001960. We invite you to orient yourself by taking a guided tour or by reading through this introduction and exploring the site on your own.
On the montana memory project, discover 100,000 digitized books, yearbooks, diaries, letters, ads, and photographs. Northwest montana history museum presents 18th annual john white winter speaker series januarymarch. Flathead genealogy flathead valley genealogical society. Stop in the museum today and pick some some new logo merchandise or pendleton apparel. This one is located in flathead county and the other is located in missoula county. The name kalispell is a salish word meaning flat land above the lake. Demersville a display of photos and text bring to life the boom and bust history of the turnofthe century community of demersville. Stories of the land is available an audiobook for students with learning disabilities through learning ally. Montana moments distills the most funny, bizarre, and interesting stories from montana s history into pure entertainment.
This site is designed for you to your stories, history, and your old photos of meaderville. Shop arcadia publishing to find the best history books about the state of montana. As the october classic continues to roll ahead, the northwest montana history museum remembers our own world series history, kalispells own gus thompson. The northwest montana history museum, at the restored central school building in kalispell, montana, united states, is a history museum featuring exhibits that illuminate the history of the northwest montana region and flathead valley operated by the nonprofit northwest montana historical society, the northwest montana history museum is housed in the 22,000squarefoot 2,000 m 2. Each winter, the john white series offers museum supporters and the northwest montana community a chance to escape the frigid weather, enjoy fellowship with other seriesgoers over a cup of coffee or cookie, and learn something new about the world around us.
Exhibitions illuminating northwest montana history. The townsite was platted in the spring of 1891 in order to serve as the division point for the great northern railway that was being constructed from st. The northwest montana historical society fall 2017 volume 21, issue 3 whats happening at your museum grand opening of demersville and james bakke exhibits, october 11, 57pm page 3 montana film festival, november 10 and 17, 79pm page 5 history book club see page 7 historic film club see back cover. Montana veterans home cemetery aka soldiers home cemetery, talbot road, columbia falls, mt. Literary butte shows montana towns rich written history. I am looking for a burial plot for martin bowser born abt 71849. Take a virtual tour of bannack, montana s first territorial capital, or our current state capitol in helena. From 1887 to 1891 the fledgling town grew at the north end of flathead.
The montana mint is proud to bring to you the greatest books ever written about montana. We grant funds, mobilize the generosity of donors and collaborate with individuals and. Building out the definitive list of the best books where montana plays a key role in the book or authors life. The gros ventre are located today in northcentral montana and govern the fort belknap indian reservation. Published since 1951, montana the magazine of western history showcases the people, places, and events that shaped the state and the western region.
Using our gazetteer, we have found that there are two montana communities named demersville. The short wild life of demersville flathead beacon. Parretts book stands as possibly the only chronicle and catalog of butte in fiction and film. Part 1 and part 2 read about the resources available on this site montana.
The greatest books ever written about montana montana mint. The daily interlake was one of the first newspapers established in northwest montana in 1888 at demersville, the first. Womens history matters created by the montana historical society as part of a commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of womens suffrage in montana, womens history matters promotes an increased appreciation and understanding of the role of women in the treasure states past. In wild river pioneers, fraley brings alive the history of montana s wildest river drainage by telling stories of some of its most riveting historical characters. From 1887 to 1891 the fledgling town grew at the north end of flathead lake, anticipating the. Northwest montana history museum, 124 2nd ave e, kalispell. The demersville cemetery is located in flathead county the county seat for flathead county is located in kalispell. The leadville mine is a silver mine located in jefferson county, montana at an elevation of 7,999 feet. The maps section of the toolbar contains printable pdf files of blank montana maps to download and print. Exhibits include northwest native american culture, montana pioneer frank bird linderman, the northwest montana timber industry, history of flathead valley, early kalispell, and a display of photographs and text on the turnofthecentury community of demersville.
Explore significant sites in montanas history with the site and mobile app explorebig or contribute local district information. While the community is gone, the present day location for demersville is 2,910 feet 887 m above sea level. The majority of the images in this collection are of individuals from montana and locations in montana. Dear jhardesty, 1st i would like to thankyou for all your doing for the history of montana. List of books and articles about montana history online. Stories of the land companion website and online teachers guide. Conrad kalispell, creston creston area, demersville south of kalispell. The history of montana is as interesting as the history of any other state, especially if you enjoy adventurous tales about some of the most famous explorers who ever lived.
Fully twenty percent of the text is new or revised, incorporating the results of new research and new interpretations dealing with pre history, native american studies, oral history, and recent political history. Much of the information in these volumes are online through the montana genweb and by searching. In other words, the elevation of demersville is about. Northwest montana history museum kalispell, montana crown. The greatest books ever written about montana books. Gros ventre is the exonym given by the french, who misinterpreted the name given to them by neighboring tribes as the people who have enough to eat, referring to their relative wealth, as big bellies. In early childhood, the family moved to rollins, montana, where ernie white established a sheep farm called the columbia sheep company. This is part of a missoulian project called montana. John gustav thompson pitched in the inaugural 1903 world series for pittsburgh. Demersville cemetery, cemetery road, kalispell, mt. By 1890, demersville had boomed to 3,000 peoplea population that included early pioneers and an assortment of bums, bunko artists, gamblers, card sharps and outlaws who came to check on the growing montana town. Restored classrooms in the old central school have been converted into elegant rental halls and are available for groups and private gatherings.
These include books and articles by henry elwood particularly elwood. This book accounts for all these 117 stories with vivid fonts. Northwest montana historical society has very few books, documents, etc. The stories feature shootouts, murders, a hanging, a train robbery, marauding grizzly bears, lost graves, gold prospecting, and an ice creameating pet bear. The cliff house hotel and saloon in the oncetown of demersville, 1889. The location of demersville has been provided by the geographic names information system ie the gnis. Murphy described this turning point in history in his 1983 book, half interest in a silver dollar. Northwest montana history museum in kalispell, montana. Valley history, central school, and the turnofthecentury community of demersville. Derek strahan hosted a popular radio show called montana medicine show on the campus of montana state universitybozeman. Northwest montana history museum kalispell, montana. The museum at central school northwest montana historical society 124 second ave. Visit northwest montana history museum in united states and tour many such museums at inspirock. Explore the history of the flathead valley in northwest montana history museums fourstory stone and brick schoolhouse, a house of education from 1896 to 1989.
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