The History of Libby, Montana

Показать описание

The Kootenai Indians called this region home for hundreds of years. Explorers and fur trappers arrived in the early 1800’s. In their footsteps, prospectors arrived in the early 1860’s. They found gold, but not enough to stay for long, and the region remained mostly empty. In 1892 with the arrival of the Great Northern Railroad into the Kootenai Valley, civilization finally took hold in the uncompromising terrain of Montana’s northwest corner.

Libby’s early residents labored in the nearby mines, homesteaded the narrow mountain valleys, and worked industriously at building a town in Montana’s most picturesque frontier setting. The area’s immense stands of timber advanced our lumber industry that enriched and sustained Libby’s economy and culture for much of the 20th Century.