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D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 5 - 2 0 2 6
article and photos by BRYAN SPELLMAN
G E T T O K N O W G E T T O K N O W
A C O U N T Y A C O U N T Y
L A K E C O U N T Y L A K E C O U N T Y
O
N MAY 11,
1923, THE
M O N T A N A
L E G I S L A T U R E
TOOK LAND
FROM FLAT-
HEAD, MISSOULA AND
SANDERS COUNTIES TO
CREATE LAKE COUNTY.
It was the last county cre-
ated in western Montana
and fifty-fifth of Mon-
tana's fifty-six counties.
Only Petroleum County is
younger. The county cov-
ers 1,654 square miles, of
which almost ten percent is water. Most of that water is Flat-
head Lake, the southern portion of which lies within the Coun-
ty's borders. In size, Lake County ranks 46th among Montana
counties. With a 2024 estimated population of 33,403, the
county is ninth in the state. Almost sixty-eight percent of the
County's land area lies on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Polson, at the southwestern corner of Flathead Lake is both the
largest city and the County Seat.
The Hellgate Treaty of
1855 set aside the Flathead
Reservation and forced
the Salish people to move
there, leaving their tradi-
tional homes in the Bitter-
root Valley. Some of the
Pend Oreille or Kalispel
people lived near Flathead
Lake and one band of the
Kootenai or Ksanka people
lived at the lake near the
present town of Elmo. This
was, of course, long before
there was a Lake County,
or indeed a state known as
Montana. For a fascinating read on the history of the Reserva-
tion and its communities, I recommend a short piece written by
Lori S. Curtis, Flathead Watershed Sourcebook whose website
can be found at http://www.flatheadwatershed.org/index.sht-
ml. I especially recommend the section "Cultural History."
According to the City of Polson's website, the town got its start
in the 1880s when Harry Lambert built a trading post at the
south end of Flathead Lake under the name Lambert's Land-
POLSON
