What is now Bigfork was once a gathering place for the native tribes who camped by the lake to take advantage of the abundant natural resources of the area. The town became “Bigfork” in 1901 when it was officially platted by Everit L. Sliter who arrived two years before. By the time he began to develop the town, Sliter had purchased land, bought and sold the trading post and built a 14-bedroom house where he began to rent rooms. The original description of the town said that it was “nothing more than cut over stump land.” Sliter purchased a stump puller and began to work. That same year, the Post Office was established with Sliter as the first postmaster.

Even before it was officially a town, Bigfork boasted a power plant (built in 1889) which gave its name to the town’s main street, Electric Avenue. With no roads around the lake, Flathead Lake itself was an important waterway for trade. Goods that arrived on the railroad in Missoula were loaded first onto wagons and driven to Polson to be loaded onto steamers for the trip north. It wasn’t until June 1914 that the east shore road (Highway 35) was completed and trucks and automobiles could finally drive around Flathead Lake.

During the early days of Bigfork, logging was a major industry. Logs cut from around Swan Lake were floated down that lake to the Swan River and then down the river to boom at Bigfork in a quiet part of the river near today’s Swan River Nature Trail. It is said that the name Bigfork was given to the town because of the Swan River being a "big fork" within the Flathead River system.  From Bigfork many of the logs made their way across the lake to Somers where they were cut into thousands of ties for the railroad. The rest of the logs were used in construction throughout the Flathead Valley.

From farming and timber, the economy of Bigfork has changed into a community known for art, fine food and theater, but there are still many reminders of the old days and the old ways. As you stroll through the galleries and shops, pick up a copy of Paces to the Past to learn more about early Bigfork.

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