Lake County Montana Area Information, Relocation and Real Estate
Located in northwestern Montana, Lake County is Montana’s ninth most populous with 26,904 residents, according to the 2001 estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, median income for Lake County households in 2000 was $26,169. The county is 1,653.8 square miles.
Hiking in the Mission Mountain Wilderness Area by permit, touring the National Bison Range, picnicking in the city park, enjoying the Garden of the Rockies Museum and sightseeing along the Flathead River are among the many attractions in Lake County.
Just west of Ronan, The Mission Mountain Country Club is acclaimed as one of Montana’s finest golf courses featuring lush fairways and beautiful green with a fantastic view of the Mission Mountains. This course is suited for any caliber of golfer and is open to the public.
Lake County is also home to the Flathead Indian Reservation. The Flathead Indian Reservation is home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes. The tribes are a combination of the Salish, the Pend d’Oreille and the Kootenai.
Lake County’s Small & Welcoming Communities
- Moiese & Charlo Montana Area Information, Relocation and Real Estate
- Polson Montana Area Information, Relocation and Real Estate
- St. Ignatius Montana Area Real Estate, Relocation and Real Estate
Polson, the county seat, is the state’s 18th largest city with a population of 4,041, according to the 2000 Census.
Located in Polson, Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi in the lower 48 states, with over 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline. The southern half of Flathead Lake is within the boundary of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Flathead Reservation. Recreationists must purchase a tribal recreation permit.
Saint Ignatius Montana Area Information, Relocation and Real Estate
St. Ignatius, MT is located in the heart of the Flathead Indian Reservation. The town of St. Ignatius was named in honor of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Spanish priest who founded the Society of Jesus.
Rich in history and native culture, this small town on the Flathead Indian Reservation offers beautiful views of the Mission Valley. You’ll find Native American crafts and artifacts at the Flathead Indian Museum and Trading Post and Native American artifacts, antique toys and trains at the Four Winds Historic Village and Trading Post.
Arlee Montana Area Information, Relocation and Real Estate
Arlee, MT was named for Alee, a Salish chief. The spelling “Arlee” is peculiar to English: the Indian world, which means “red night,” has no “r.” The town and post office (est. 1885) serve as a trading center for people of the Jocko Valley and Flathead Indian Reservation. Charlo, chief of the Flatheads, refused to move to the reservation in conformance with the treaty of 1855 at Grass Valley, but some of the Indians decided to go despite Charlo’s decree, and they chose Alee as leader. (from Cheney’s Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company)
Ronan Montana Area Information, Relocation and Real Estate
Ronan, MT was named for Maj. Peter Ronan, who wrote a history of the Flathead Indians. Ronan was the first Indian agent for the Flatheads. The area around Ronan, once part of the Flathead Reservation, was thrown open to white settlement in 1910 and thousands of people came here to establish small farms and ranches on the irrigated land. (from Cheney’s Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company)
Adorned with the beauty of the Mission Mountains and various sources of fishing and wildlife habitat, the community of more than 3,000 residents offers a wealth of resources and enjoyment. Ronan’s Mission Mountain County Visitor’s Center is a community project serving summer visitors to the Mission Valley.
Ninepipe and Pablo National Wildlife Refuge is an exceptional wetland complex that contains over 800 glacial potholes and a 1,770-acre reservoir. About 200 bird species have been recorded. Nesting great blue herons and double-crested cormorants can be observed from the road on the west side of the refuge.
Pablo Montana Area Information, Relocation and Real Estate
Pablo, MT was named for Michel Pablo, a Flathead chief and a rancher and stockman who, by raising bison, is one of the individuals responsible for saving the bison from extinction. Walking Coyote, a Pen d’Oreille Indian hunting in the Milk River country, brought a few bison calves back to the Flathead Valley and sold them to Pablo and Charles Allard. They were the nucleus of the herd that now roams the Moiese Wildlife Preserve. Pablo is now a trading center for ranchers, and the Pablo Reservoir, made from Kerry Dam, is a bird refuge. (from Cheney’s Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company)
Pablo is the headquarters for the Flathead Indian Reservation and lies at the base of the Mission Mountains south of Flathead Lake. Government offices of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes moved to Pablo in the late 1970s because of its central location on the Flathead Reservation. The Salish-Kootenai College was established in 1977. It has a library that holds an extensive collection of history books about the Native American Tribes.
Of special interest are the Ninepipe and Pablo Wildlife Refuges, Arlee Powwow in early July and Elmo Powwow in July, as well as the Sqelix’u/Aqtsmaknik Cultural Center, which takes its name from the Salish-Kootenai languages meaning “the People’s.” Reflecting the people’s desire to establish a center aimed at promoting, preserving and enhancing Salish-Kootenai culture, The People’s Center was officially established in the fall of 1990. The facility lies north of Pablo on Highway 93 and includes exhibits, collections of Salish-Kootenai and Pend d’Oreille people, a learning center and gift shop. Educational day programs are available. The center tells the native story and shows the way of life as it has passed from generation to generation.
Ravalli Montana Area Information, Relocation and Real Estate
Ravalli is at the junction of roads coming from Polson, Thompson Falls, and Missoula. It is named for a Jesuit missionary to the Indians, Fr. Anthony Ravalli, who arrived in the Bitterroot Valley in 1845 and later went north to minister in the Flathead Valley. (from Cheney’s Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company) Originally fur traders established trading posts in the area. The Hudson Bay Company built Fort Connah in 1847 and it is still visible at the historical marker, 11 miles north of Ravalli along Highway 93.
