2010 will mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of Glacier National Park. The centennial celebration kicked off in August 2009 with a picnic at Lake McDonald and Glacier Park Lodge. A complete calendar of events, which will continue through the end of 2009 and through 2010, can be found on the Glacier National Park Centennial website. Please review this calendar, there are many wonderful events planned. Columbia Falls Heritage Days 2010 has been recognized as an official Glacier National Park Centennial event. The rest of this page is devoted to some of the history of Glacier National Park and Columbia Falls.

History of the area that is now Glacier National Park suggests that the first Europeans are thought to have entered the area that would become Northwest Montana in the late 1700's, with David Thompson in the late 1700s - early 1800s and Hudson's Bay surveyor Peter Fidler in 1792. From that time through the 1870s the area around Glacier National Park was traversed and explored by traders, trappers, government explorers and surveyors. In the late 1880s and early 1890s the more permanent residents of the Flathead came into the Glacier Park area for hunting, trapping and eventually settlement around Lake McDonald. In 1897 the Interior department ordered a survey and mapping of the Lake McDonald area and in October of that year a party led by Lt. Moss departed Missoula for the area.

The west side of what would become Glacier National Park, the area around Lake McDonald, was a favorite recreation destination for Flathead county residents long before the area was designated a national park. Many residents had summer cabins (later there were year-round residents) around the shore of Lake McDonald, Apgar and Belton where hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor activities were enjoyed. Another favorite pastime of early-day residents was dancing. Dance pavilions were built at Belton (Gateway Dance Pavilion), Apgar (The Bungalow) and near the head of Lake McDonald at the Glacier Hotel, with local orchestras (Elks band, Glacier Park band of Kalispell, Goddard Orchestra among others), individual musicians and the Victor machine providing the music. The Victor machine was first tried out at the Belton Masons hall for a Saturday dance in November, 1925. If club members liked the Victor machine it was planned to have weekly dances through the winter with the Victor machine furnishing the music. Dances and other social gatherings, like card parties, picnics, boat rides, hiking, and the Kelly's annual St. Patrick's Day party, were held at any opportunity. In these days before quick and easy transportation, modern roads, radio, television, MySpace or Twitter, the attitudes towards everyday life and leisure time were, out of necessity, quite different than they are today!

 

1910, 15 March: National Park To Be Created Washington, D. C., — Dixon’s Glacier Park bill favorably reported in the House. Has already passed the Senate. The public lands committee of the house today favorably reported Senator Dixon’s bill creating Glacier National Park in Montana. The bill has already been passed by the senate, and that it will now become a law there is little doubt, in view of the report of committee. The action of the house committee practically gives assurance that the magnificent district around Gunsight Pass with its wonderful glaciers, waterfalls, rugged, snowcapped peaks and beautiful canyons will now be set aside as a national wonderland for the benefit of those who enjoy seeing nature in its rugged magnificence and imposing grandeur. The district which is included in the proposed park is just below the Canadian line in the heart of the mountain range of northern Montana. The district corresponds with a similar territory on the Canadian side of the boundary which has been set aside by the Canadian government as a national playground.      - - - Daily Inter Lake

 

Of course, much earlier than any Europeans, the Blackfeet, Kootenai and Salish peoples traveled too and occupied the park area, with the Blackfeet on the east side of the Rockies and the Kootenai and Salish primarily on the west side. Many locations in and around the park were very significant in both the daily and spiritual life of the Indians.

With the building of the Great Northern Railway around the southern boundary of the future park area in 1891, easy access to this area was opened and, within a few years, development for the anticipated tourist business began in earnest. The first Great Northern sponsored excursion to Lake McDonald took place on July 4, 1895. Most of the early development on the east side of the park area was undertaken by the Great Northern. The Great Northern also had a hand in the development of the west side of the park area, but most of the early efforts where undertaken by private interests with the occasional assistance of Flathead county, the forest service and congress. The Apgars and others (Como, Howes, Kelly, Geduhn and Snyder) opened up the foot of Lake McDonald and, in 1895, Geo. E. Snyder constructed the first hotel at the head of Lake McDonald on the site where the present Lake McDonald Lodge stands. Synder's lodging establishment was known as "Glacier House" and in later years as the "Glacier Hotel." This establishment was sold to John E. Lewis, a resident of Columba Falls who owned the Gaylord Hotel at that place, and in late 1910 planning for an entirely new hotel building was begun, to accommodate the increase in tourist traffic anticipated as a result of the creation of the national park. In 1930 the hotel at the head of Lake McDonald would be sold to the Great Northern Railway Company's subsidiary the Glacier Park Hotel Company, and would become known as the Lake McDonald Lodge.

 

1910, 22 February: Lake McDonald Enrobed in nature's richest green    She rests in placid sleep serene Fanned by the breeze from icy peaks    The flow of youth rests on her cheeks Warm sunlight brightening up her face    Mingles with shadows in the race To make more beautiful a form    Etched out by avalanche and storm Find if you can a sight like this    The fairest face that sun can kiss The loon's shrill laugh, the eagle's scream    Blend with the sweetness of this dream      - - - C. B. Davis

 

By the early part of the 20th century a movement was underway to create a national park in northwest Montana; though, the idea of setting aside this area as a national park was first suggested as early as 1883 by those familiar with the area. The effort to create a national park was lead by Montana state, Flathead county and Great Northern Railway officials. By 1907 - 1908, when Senator Dixon submitted his bill to create the park for consideration by congress, it was considered a sure thing that a national park would soon exist in northwest Montana. After several years of wrangling in congress over the details of the bill to create the park, and congress finally having passed the required legislation through both houses, President Taft signed the bill on May 11, 1910 and Glacier National Park became a reality. The final signing of the bill was almost anti-climatic to the residents of Flathead county who had, for several years, anticipated no other result. However, not everyone had a positive reaction towards the new park. Many locals (Flathead county residents) who had hunted and trapped in the area now contained within the boundaries of the new park vowed to continue doing so - and did, even though such activity was prohibited in the new reservation. Several hunters were arrested within the park boundary and became test cases to confirm the authority of the "no hunting" law. Many "in-holders" (those with existing claims and homesteads within the park boundaries), who were used to living as they saw fit, were also quite concerned about their future, given the potential restrictions that would accompany the creation of the park.

With the official creation of the park came the continuation and acceleration of previous infrastructure development efforts, and many plans for new development. Roads, primitive at first, were extended and upgraded on both sides of the park; chalets were constructed where only tent camps existed before and the Great Northern Railway embarked on a grand hotel building program which included the Glacier Park Lodge, Many Glaciers Hotel, Belton Chalets and, in later years, the Prince of Wales Hotel in Wateron, on the Canadian side of the international boundary.

Roads were eventually completed from Kalispell to Belton; Belton to the head of Lake McDonald; Glacier Park Station (east glacier) to St. Mary's and on to Many Glaciers; from Belton (west glacier) to Glacier Park Station (east glacier), this stretch of highway to be known as part of the Roosevelt Highway; and finally the famous Going-to-the-Sun road through the interior of the park.

 

1911, 02 September: He Lost The Fish A Kalispell gentleman, who shall be nameless here at his own request, had some of the most exasperatingly bad luck that can befall a fisherman. For years he has been trying to get one of the big trout that gather under the falls of McDonald creek in the late summer and fall, and try to get up them. One day last week he hooked a big fellow. Oh, Joy! And oh, other things! He trailed that fish carefully around and around the pool below the falls, reckless whether he went into the turbulent flood himself or not. His soul was stretched out to the yard of fighting trout at the end of his line, and he nursed him around the rocks, and pulled him with care through the whirlpool. Spectators on the bank danced up and down and shouted directions, but he heeded them not. "Look Out! L-o-o-k o-u-t! Hold him! Hold him! He's coming at you. Don't let him get away. See him go! He's as long as a rail." But the fisherman neither saw nor heard. All his faculties were centered on getting the big Dolly Varden that was testing his tackle and his skill to the utmost. He reeled as though his life depended on it, and reluctantly let the reel sing when the fish rushed. Then after a long fight, that the dancing dervishers on the bank above thought several times had been lost, the big fellow was brought close enough in to get a landing net partly under him, and he was lifted out on the rocks. Like a conquering hero the victorious fisherman strung the booty on a pole and shouldered him. He strode down the trail prouder than any king. He had at last realized his heart's desire, a royal struggle with a big fish, every ounce of which was full of fight. He passed the hotel and cottages, not deigning to turn his head, or notice common people. Friends of ordinary days called to him, but he answered not. They were not in his class. They had no fish more than 36 inches long to show as proof of their skill and good luck. There were no scales at hand, but the weight was estimated at 17 or 18 pounds. When he arrived at his own cottage he was photographed several times, holding the fish in various attitudes, and then the prize was hung up carefully, the intention being to bring it to Kalispell for mounting. A wind broke the branch, and the fisherman carried the fish out to the pier to wash the dirt off. The lake was rough, a big wave struck it, knocked it off the poke, and the undertow carried it out to deep water. The fisherman himself is authority for the statement that the air all around there is still blue, and has a strong tinge of sulphur. To anyone who wishes the name of the fisherman, Mayor W. C. Whipps will give it in confidence.      - - - Daily Inter Lake

 

Glacier Park, known as "American's Playground," was, by the early 1930's, with the opening of the Going-to-the-Sun highway in 1933, poised to become one of the most famous destination locations in the world. Early visitation numbers were counted in the hundreds and then thousands. Today annual visitation numbers can be counted in the millions.

In 2010 we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Glacier National Park. While a significant element of the motivation behind the drive to create Glacier National Park was financial (the development and promotion of tourism), we should be grateful that many of those involved in this process also had a strong desire to preserve and protect this unique area. Much of Glacier National Park remains little changed from 100 years ago.

As we approach the beginning of the second century in the life of Glacier National Park, it is very important to remember that this area is not just a playground. The history and heritage of Glacier National Park makes this area a place that must be respected and treated with the utmost care. As you enjoy the grandeur of this magnificent reservation, please remember that this is a raw wilderness area and we are guests among that which existed long before we did.

You may visit our Links page, by clicking here, for links to the Glacier National Park Centennial website and the NPS Glacier National Park website.

             

Click here to return to the Heritage Days 2010 home page.