The Settlement at Bigfork 

It’s easy to understand why our town’s founder, a young Everit L. Sliter, fell in love with Bigfork when he first arrived for hunting and fishing trip in 1889. Like many of today’s residents, Sliter was awed by the vastness of Flathead Lake, the rolling Swan and Flathead rivers that feed it, and the majestic mountains that cradle Bigfork like a precious jewel. Some say, the name "Bigfork" is derived from the Salish name for the area. However, Bigfork is a fork where two rivers, the Flathead River and the Swan River flow into the Flathead Lake.

 

Viewed from above, the upper Flathead Valley is an inspiring site, with Flathead Lake nestled among awe inspiring mountains in a valley of extraordinary natural beauty. At ground level the enormity of the place is difficult to put into perspective, especially with the immense geological features that protected the valley and challenged the most determined early settlers to the Flathead Valley. These natural barriers which secured this place are why the upper Flathead Valley was one of the very last places to be settled in the lower forty-eight states. There are no records indicating when the first white man entered the Flathead Valley, but it is no doubt he came in search of furs. A solitary existence, fur trapping was for the hardened, most grizzled of mountain men.

 

In 1901, about the same time Sliter was establishing the town, another man named Lafayette Tinkel started a company to build a hydro-electric power plant, which could provide the town and the area with electricity, which was then truly a marvel of modern times. Tinkel first established his hydro-electric power plant along the Swan River (close to where the current power plant is located at Sliter Park). His plant began operation in 1902, as water from the river was diverted to spin his two 180-kilowatt electric turbines and produce electricity.

 

Tinkel’s ingenuity is worth a pause to consider.

 

The Settlement at Bigfork wishes to acknowledge and pay homage to the tenacity and fortitude of some of the early settlers to Bigfork by naming the roads within the project after some of these early pioneers: 

 

The Eslick’s: (Eslick Loop Road) After traveling through the Flathead Valley during the 1870’s, Andrew Eslick moved his family to the Flathead in 1901. After a few years the Eslicks bought north of Bigfork to the present Highway 83, where Andrew Eslick, grandson of Andrew, now owns that farm.

 

The Whitney’s: (Whitney Way) The Whitney’s maternal grandparents arrived in Bigfork in 1902, running a restaurant until 1909. L.R. Whitney arrived in Bigfork in 1909, an early building contractor who built many of the early Bigfork buildings.

 

Jimmy Dineen: (Dineen Court) Jimmy Dineen who arrived in 1886 and stayed for the rest of his life, was one of the earliest Bigfork area settlers. He squatted on 120 acres just north of the present day Swan Lake USFS District office. He filed for a homestead, proved up on that land, and his original cabin, thought to be one of the earliest structures in Bigfork, was still standing on the site in 1972.

 

The Courtney’s: (Courtney Way) Charlie Courtney, was known for his abilities as a woodsman, horseman and packer. In the early 1900’s he worked for a government survey crew, packing the camp and supplies for E. C. Bond, who became the first Forest Ranger at the Swan Station. He later was a guide and packer for a Glacier Park survey crew.

 

The Well’s: (Wells Road) In 1892 George came to the valley, and two years later, in 1894 homesteaded nine miles south of Bigfork. A steam engineer, he owned three steamboats that ran Flathead Lake, transporting the freight barges that hauled much of the material and early pioneers to the mouth of the Swan River.

 

Carl Fodness: (Fodness Court) In April 1910, Carl Fodness came to Bigfork, rented temporary quarters and opened the Fodness International Bank. Shortly thereafter, some other local stockholders were authorized by the State Bank Examiner to commence their business of banking. In late 1911 they opened their doors as the State Bank of Bigfork. In 1912 management changed and announced plans for Bigfork’s first masonry building. In September construction began on a lot just south of the Flathead Mercantile which has in recent years been the site of the Showtyme Restaurant.