Distinctly Montana Magazine

84 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 6 Hamilton is also home to the Bitterroot Public Library, built in 1916 as one of 17 Carnegie Libraries in Montana. The Rocky Mountain Laboratories' campus dates from 1928, but the re- search behind the labs began in 1900 as scientists sought the reason for fatalities in the valley which eventually proved to be tick-borne Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I still remember an- nual tick shots suffered in my childhood, and the anger/relief when I returned to the Bitterroot in 1975 at being told that the shots were no longer being used. "We found they didn't really do anything," I was told. Bitterroot College, a branch of the University of Montana, offers associate degrees which can transfer to four-year institutions. Hamilton is also the headquarters of the Bitterroot National For- est. The Ravalli County Museum is housed in the original county courthouse downtown, and until it closed in March 2022, Ham- ilton's K-Mart was the last K-Mart open in Montana, indeed in the western U.S. Hamilton may be the only incorporated city in Ravalli County, but there are three incorporated towns and numerous "census designated places" which would appear to be towns to anyone passing through. Stevensville may or may not be "where Montana began," but to- day it is a thriving community of over 2,000 residents. Located east of the river, it is one of the few towns in the county not di- rectly on US Highway 93. It is home to one of the two Montana State Parks in Ravalli County, Fort Owen, and of the 92 locations in the county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, 48 are in or near Stevensville. Darby, seventeen miles south of Hamilton, looks like an Old West town with its wooden store façades and hitching rails along the street. Darby dates from 1889, the same year Montana became a state. The small town has five city parks, and an extensive trail system. It is also the mailing address for the Chief Joseph Ranch. Built on an apple orchard in the early 20th century, the ranch has UNTIL IT CLOSED IN MARCH 2022, HAMILTON'S K-MART WAS THE LAST K-MART OPEN IN MONTANA, INDEED IN THE WESTERN U.S. Tin Cups

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