This water tower, doubtless older than the other one in town, serves the southern portion of the town of
St. Ignatius, a town of just over 800 people, which grew up around
St. Ignatius Mission, founded in 1854, the second in Montana. St. Ignatius is the oldest town in Montana, but we feel safe in saying that this water tower isn't the oldest in Montana. It stands, devoid of cell phone antennas, along St. Mary's Lake Road, the final street on the south edge of St. Ignatius, a few blocks southeast of the mission.
St. Ignatius, the town and the mission, are on the eastern side of Highway 93 as it meanders its way through Lake County in northwestern Montana. The town is about 40 miles up Highway 93 from the nearest big city, which is Missoula.