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 Kalispell, Montana Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 48° 11.733 W 114° 18.672
11U E 699805 N 5341531
With a 2013 population of 21,000, the Kalispell metropolitan area population is fast approaching 100,000. The county seat of Flathead County, Kalispell is the largest city in northwest Montana.
Waymark Code: WMN56G
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 12/28/2014
Views: 4
KALISPELL, 99.2 m. (2,959 alt., 6,094 pop.), seat of Flathead County, is a farmers' trade center and tourists' headquarters. (Guides and horses available for mountain trips.) Many of the buildings on the broad, tree-lined streets are modern in design ; the four delightful parks, covering 40 acres, were landscaped as a W.P.A. project. Kalispell's progressive planners have produced a city that fits well into the awesome beauty of its setting. The Whitefish Range is on the north, the Swan Range rises sheer on the east.
The Flathead Valley appealed highly to Indians of the Salishan tribes, who called it "the park between the mountains." Until 1809, when David Thompson of the Canadian North- West Company explored it, no white man had been here. As it was accessible only by hazardous travel over the old Tobacco Plains Trail, no permanent settlement was made until 1881 ; the post established by Angus McDonald for the Hudson's Bay Co., and the post office at Dooley's Landing on the Flathead River, had been the only trading points.
When in 1891 the Great Northern completed its track to this point, the little settlements at Demersville, a steamboat landing on the Flathead River, 4.5 miles southeast, and Ashley, 0.5 mile west, were moved here piece by piece and became Kalispell.
The city has grown steadily with the development of lumbering and agriculture in the Flathead country, which produces 40 percent of Montana's lumber and has never known a crop failure.
There are several dude ranches nearby, and numerous lakes and streams provide opportunities for bathing, boating, and fishing.
The S. E. JOHNS COLLECTION (open; free), 128 Main St., contains firearms, Indian weapons and relics of pioneer Montana. The F. A. ROBBIN COLLECTION, First Ave. E. and 2nd St., contains 100 obsolete weapons.
Kalispell has a radio station, KGEZ (1310 kc.).
Montana: A State Guide Book, 1939
Though KGEZ continues to broadcast in Kalispell, it now has the company of 5 other AM stations, 16 FM stations and 3 television stations, not to mention two newspapers. The four parks to be found in 1939 have become nearly 30 parks and recreational complexes spread throughout the city.
Many of the buildings to be found in 1939 remain, with a long list of National Historic Places to be found today in the city, accompanied by museums, galleries and public murals and sculpture. Kalispell boasts an international airport and a city transit system which connects Kalispell with Whitefish and Columbia Falls.
Kalispell is a dynamic community located within a thirty-minute drive of Flathead Lake, Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort, Glacier National Park, several National and State forests and parks, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness area. Kalispell is the retail, professional, medical, and governmental center of the Flathead Valley serving approximately 140,000 people in Northwest Montana. Between 2000 and 2010 the population of Kalispell increased 40% to 19,927. While the growth of the previous decade has slowed with the nation's economy, investment in the City of Kalispell continues and tourism remains a strong economic driver for the region.
Kalispell is the historical hub of the valley offering residents and visitors a glimpse of the past with the Conrad Mansion and Central School Museum. Art lovers can visit the Hockaday Museum of Art or any of the many galleries located in downtown Kalispell. Concerts, farmers markets, art fairs, and festivals flourish in Downtown Kalispell.
From Kalispell
City Water Department - National Historic PlaceVisit Instructions:
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