History of Polson

Polson is located at the southern end of Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana. Prior to non-Indian settlement in the early 19th century, the Flathead Lake region in northwest Montana was, for thousands of years, part of the region occupied by two major Salish-speaking Tribes – the Salish and the Pend d’Oreilles, and one band of the Kootenai Tribe.

The first non-Indian visitors to the Flathead Lake region were fur-traders who visited the area in the 1820’s. Increasing commerce in the region required better transportation, and both Flathead River and Flathead Lake offered a convenient way to ship goods. The first ferry across the lower Flathead River at present-day Polson was operated by Abraham Finley. Finley, a French-Canadian, came to northwestern Montana in 1840 with Father DeSmet. Finley sold his ferry business to Baptiste Aeneas in 1869 and the log cabin that Aeneas built was Polson’s first permanent (non-Indian) residence. In addition to the ferry, he operated a freight line from Missoula (called Hellgate at the time) to the foot of the lake.

In 1854, a government expedition under the leadership of Lt. John Mullan, en route to the Kootenai country to the west, followed the course of the Flathead River through the area. A year later, the Flathead Indian Reservation was created as a result of the 1855 Hellgate Treaty. The new Reservation included the lands that would later become the town site of Polson, Montana. Settlers gradually spread throughout the area and in 1883 the Northern Pacific railroad was built through the southern end of what is now Lake County. In the early 1880’s, Harry Lambert established a trading post on the south shore of Flathead Lake and the area became known as “Lambert’s Landing.” In 1899, a post office was established at Lambert’s Landing and was named for David Polson, one of the first non-Indian settlers who had been ranching in the area since 1884.

In 1904, the U.S. government authorized the allotment of parcels to Reservation and Tribal members, and in 1908, Congress authorized construction of the Flathead Irrigation Project. In 1910, a Presidential Proclamation opened “surplus” reservation lands to settlement. As a result, an increasing number of non-Indians settled much of the land in the valleys.

The town site of Polson was platted and the first lots were sold in 1909. The federal government appropriated $6,000 for the deepening of the Polson Harbor so ample dock facilities would be available for the new and modern steamboats that were serving growing economic activity on Flathead Lake. In 1909 alone, $250,000 worth of goods had been shipped or received at the harbor offices. Polson voted to incorporate and formed its municipal government on May 12th, 1910. C.M. Mansur, a local hardware merchant served the city as its first mayor. In September of 1911, the Polson public school opened, serving 143 students. The Polson General Hospital opened its doors two years later. At the same time, a number of businesses were established and Polson became a thriving and growing community.

In 1918, the Northern Pacific Railroad constructed a branch line from Dixon, Montana to Polson, fueling ongoing discussion about creating a new county. In 1923, Lake County was created from portions of Missoula and Flathead counties and Polson successfully vied with Ronan to be the new county’s seat. Polson and Lake County grew during the 1930s as dry-land farmers from the plains area settled in the region. They had lost their original homesteads as a result of crop failures and low farm prices. While Polson and Lake County experienced steady growth until 1940, population declined between 1940 and 1944 as men and women entered the armed services or migrated to the Pacific coast to work in war-related industries.

While sweet cherries were grown all along the shores of Flathead Lake for decades, they were not produced commercially until the 1930s and early 1940s. At that time, area growers began experiencing excellent crops. They began planning for the packing and marketing of the crop and created the Flathead Sweet Cherry Association. The association operated as a cooperative and built a cherry warehouse that in turn generated the planting of additional orchards in the 1950s and 1960s.

On May 23rd, 1930, Rocky Mountain Power began construction of Kerr Dam (now known as Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ Dam), located eight miles south of Polson. The Great Depression stalled construction for five years, beginning in 1931. In 1936, the construction of the dam was resumed by the Montana Power Company (MPC), and on August 6, 1938, the dam was completed and named after Frank A. Kerr who was the president of MPC at the time. Upon completion, it consisted of one unit and a powerhouse. Additional power units were added in 1949 and 1954. In 1999, the MPC sold Kerr Dam to Pennsylvania Power and Light, Montana. The dam is 204 feet high, 450 feet long at the top, 100 feet long at the base, and contains 85,000 cubic yards of concrete. The dam storage capacity is 1,217,000 acre/ft and the water is kept at an elevation between 2,883 ft and 2,893 ft above sea level. Its total capacity is 210 mega-watts.

Wood products have also played an important part of Polson’s history. As early as 1910, Polson was home to at least one saw mill and a cabinet works. For many years, Polson was the site of a lumber mill that processed primarily softwoods. The mill was originally opened in the early 1960s by the Dupuis Brothers Lumber, members of the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes. The mill was later purchased by Pac River, an Idaho-based firm which was the fifth largest privately held timber company in the U.S. The Polson Mill was one of its smaller operations and was located on the hill coming into town. It employed about 250 people at the height of production. Pac River also operated a plywood plant in the community. Pac River’s operations were closed in the mid 1990s.

Polson’s transition from a regional commercial and trade center to a resort community occurred primarily during the latter half of the 20th century. The development of lakeshore homes in earnest began in the late 1950s and 1960s, particularly by people from surrounding communities like Missoula and Kalispell.