Location and Population
Whitefish is positioned 48.41 degrees north of the equator and 114.34 degrees west of the prime
meridian.
It is located in the Northwest corner of Montana 60 Miles from the Canadian border and has a population of an estimated 6495. During the peak of the tourist seasons the town size can triple.
The Story
During the 1890s the area now known as Whitefish, Montana was sparsely populated. The rustic little town, a.k.a. Stumptown, made its roots as one of the classic histories of the West. Back then, the railroad was being put across the northern U.S. and fortunes were made and lost on where each train stopped. So, when investors heard that the Great Northern Railroad was  coming through the state of Montana, they bought as much land as possible wherever it looked like a station may be put. The railroad tycoons were constantly switching things around, moving the location of western Montana's proposed station from Kalispell to Columbia and finally to Whitefish. It is an old rumor that Columbia is now called Columbia Falls because of nothing to do with water, but was called that name after losing to Whitefish for the location of the Train Station.
When the Train Station Location was finally settled on Whitefish the boom happened so fast that the trees were hardly chopped down before the buildings had sprung up. Hence the name “Stumptown”. There were thousands and thousands of stumps littering the streets and the yards of the entire town to make way for new business spin-off from the Train Station. Lumberjacks, trappers, miners, and speculators flocked to the town, filling saloons, taverns, and local Hotels.
Montana Rail Map
Today is much like then. Except now the people making their way to Whitefish are Tourists seeking Snow Boarding and Skiing on BIG MOUNTAIN, Glacier National Park and the bountiful Outdoors in and around the area making Whitefish “The Last Best Place” to be. Downtown is growing rapidly with cozy shops and excellent restaurants.
Whitefish Lake on a Blue-Bird Day.
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Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park is 23 miles from downtown Whitefish. It includes 6 historic lodges, 50 glaciers, 653 lakes, 1,013,594 acres, 700+ miles of marked trails, 57 varieties of mammals, 210 varieties of birds, 22 species of fish, 1200 plant species, and 1.9 million visitors annually . 1,000 lakes in a 50 mile radius . Grizzly and black bears, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, moose, deer, and lots of other wildlife. |