13. Ravalli County

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Formed from the southern extent of Missoula County on March 3, 1893, Ravalli County was named for Father Anthony Ravalli, an Italian Jesuit who moved into the Bitterroot Valley in 1845, following the Belgian Jesuit Father Pierre DeSmet who arrived in 1841 at the request of the indigenous Salish people. Father Ravalli served the native people at St. Mary's Mission until 1850, and returned in 1866. He died in Stevensville in 1884. The genealogy-oriented web site RootsWeb has a good history of the various communities in Ravalli County, including the names of the founding families of each of the county's eight communities.

Stevensville, in the northern half of the county, claims the status of Montana's oldest community, and proudly advertises itself as "Where Montana Began." Home of the oldest church and the oldest school in Montana, Stevensville got its start as a mission, St. Mary's, built by the Jesuits for the conversion and education of the Salish (Flathead) people indigenous to the Bitterroot Valley. In 1850, Major John Owen built a trading post on land he purchased from the Jesuits. In 1853, when Washington Territory was created out of the northern portion of the Oregon country, Isaac Ingalls Stevens was appointed territorial governor by President Franklin Pierce. Stevens came to the Bitterroot, expecting to find a military fort rather than a trading post. Nevertheless, he remained in the Bitterroot, and used the area as his territorial capital from 1853 until 1858 when he was recalled to active service. He was killed in the Civil War. It was Governor Stevens who laid out the streets for the town that now bears his name, and Stevensville served as county seat from the time of Ravalli County's formation in 1893 until 1895 when Marcus Daly was successful in getting the seat moved to Hamilton.

The Ravalli County Courthouse
Hamilton, Montana

The largest community in the county, Hamilton got its start when copper king Marcus Daly came to the valley looking for timber to shore up his mines in Butte. He built his own palatial home in the area, built the Bitterroot Stock Farm where he bred race horses, and laid out a company town where his employees could live. Daly was a forceful man who usually got what he wanted, and one of his pleasures was to see his town as county seat. In 1895, two years after the formation of Ravalli County, Daly got his wish, and Hamilton remains to this day the seat of the county. His home, the Daly Mansion, is now owned by the State of Montana, and is open for tours and special events on a seasonal basis.

Other Ravalli County communities include (from North to South): Florence, originally named One Horse, which straddles U.S. Highway 93 just a few miles south of the Missoula County line; Victor, named for Salish (Flathead) chief Victor; Corvallis, the heart of the valley on the east side of the Bitterroot River; Grantsdale, just a few miles south of Hamilton; Darby, approximately twenty miles south of Hamilton; and Sula, about ten miles north of Lost Trail Pass and the Idaho State Line.

The Brooks Hotel
Corvallis, Montana

Architecture isn't something one normally thinks about in Montana, but architect Frank Lloyd Wright spent time in the valley and left a few examples of his work, including the Alpine Meadows Ranch near Darby (originally the Como Orchards Summer Colony). This was supposed to be a major summer retreat center, and fifty-three cabins were planned, but only twelve were actually constructed. Wright also designed a house near Stevensville which has since been demolished. At the other end of the architectural spectrum is the Brooks Hotel in Corvallis. A lovely reminder of Victorian-era architecture, the building is actually built from a kit purchased through the Sears-Roebuck catalog. Beginning in 1916, the Brooks Hotel housed travelers and served the best Sunday dinner in the area for almost sixty years.

A Ravalli County Farm
East of Stevensville, Montana

Like the rest of Montana, Ravalli County has traditionally had an agriculture-based economy. Primary crops include wheat, sugar beets, apples and timber. Because of the sheltered topography of the Bitterroot Valley, the climate is much milder than other parts of Montana, and this has led to people choosing the county as a retirement home. During the 1970s and 80s, Ravalli County was one of the fastest growing counties in Montana. According to the 2010 US Census, there are 40,212 residents in the 2,394 square mile county, an average of 16.8 people per square mile and an 11.5% increase from the 2000 census.

Topographically, Ravalli County is mostly mountain land, with the Sapphire Mountains on its eastern flank, separating the county from Granite County (#46) and the Bitterroot Range of the Rockies on the western side marking the Montana/Idaho state line. The Bitterroot River flows in a generally northern direction, from its sources high in the southern mountains of the county, till it merges with the Clark Fork just west of Missoula. US Highway 93 is the only federal highway in the county, entering from Lemhi County, Idaho at Lost Trail Pass, and running parallel to the river right into the city of Missoula.

The county's website can be found at http://www.ravallicounty.mt.gov/

Skalkaho Falls
Montana Highway 38, east of Hamilton, Montana

Photo Information:

Unless otherwise noted, all photos were taken with a Nikon D80 DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera) and a Nikkor 16-85 mm wide angle/tele/zoom lens. All photos were finished using Photoshop CS4.

Ravalli County Sign: Taken using an iPhone camera on 5/9/2011 at the Missoula/Ravalli County Line on US Highway 93, north of Florence, Montana. Focal point was 3.9 mm, ISO 80, f /2.8, 1/1400 second.

Ravalli County Courthouse: Taken 12/12/2009 in Hamilton, Montana. Focal length was 24 mm, ISO 125, f /11.0, 1/90 second.

The Brooks Hotel: Taken

Ravalli County Farm: Taken 7/3/2010 on the Middle Burnt Fork Road, Stevensville, Montana. Lens was set at 16.0 mm, and camera settings were ISO 100, f /4.8, 1/500 second.

Skalkaho Falls: Taken 8/18/2009 at Skalkaho Falls on Montana Highway 38 east of Hamilton, Montana using the Nikon D80 with a Sigma 18-50 mm wide angle/tele/zoom lens set at 25 mm. The camera settings were ISO 125, f /4.8, 1/90 second.