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Located in northwestern
Montana, Lake County is
Montana's ninth most populous with 26,904 residents, according
to the 2001 estimates produced by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Polson, the county seat, is the state's 18th largest city with
a population of 4,041, according to the 2000 Census. |
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 According
to the Montana Almanac, by authors Andrea Merrill and Judy
Jacobson, the county was established in 1923 and was one of
the last counties to be formed in Montana.
The authors add Flathead Lake was the
inspiration for Lake county's name and Polson was named for
Mission Valley stockman David Polson. Lake County is home to
the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Nation. The Flathead Reservation was established by the
Hellgate Treaty of 1855.
In 1845, Father Pierre Jean DeSmet arrived and helped
establish the first permanent mission at St. Ignatius in 1854.
Lake County is also home to the Mission Valley and Mission
Mountain Range, Flathead Lake, the National Bison Range, Bob
Marshall Wilderness and close to Glacier National Park.
According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, median income for
Lake County households in 2000 was $26,169. The county is
1,653.8 square miles in area; 1,493.8 square miles in land
area and 159.9 in inland water area. County residents
experience the four distinct seasons. |
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