Polebridge is an unincorporated community in Flathead County, Montana, United States, northwest of Columbia Falls in the northwestern part of the state. This community was named in 1920 for the log bridge that formerly connected the "inner" North Fork Road in Glacier National Park to the "outer" North Fork Road which leads to Montana Secondary Highway 486, over the North Fork Flathead River. Polebridge is approximately 22 miles south of the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, Polebridge had a population of 14.
The W.L. Adair General Mercantile Historic District is a National Register of Historic Places-listed historic district in Polebridge. It contains the Polebridge Mercantile, which has been in operation since 1914. The store is open from May through October.
Residents do not have electricity or any form of communication other than mail or media other than newspapers. From May through October, the population is just under 100, but during the colder months it falls to the single digits. History In the mid to late 1800s, coal, oil, and mineral exploration made the North Fork area of Montana attractive to settlers resulting in a wagon road along the valley on east side of the North Fork Flathead River and bridge over the river, bringing in more settlers. The unknown and original settlers of Polebridge and the surrounding land arrived in the 1890s; however, more arrived after the valley land east of the North Fork Flathead River became Glacier National Park in 1910 and settling was no longer allowed there. Among the settlers in Polebridge was an entrepreneur by the name of William 'Bill' L. Adair who acquired a 160 acre plot just outside of after taking advantage of the United States Homestead Acts. He built a cabin in 1912 that would later become the Northern Lights Saloon, and in 1914, he built a general store, The Polebridge Mercantile or the 'Merc'.
The Merc quickly became a central meeting location for homesteaders scattered within the 900 square mile area of the North Fork Valley as the store provided necessary products and services, including postal services until 2001, and was the only general store in the valley. Three additional buildings were constructed that would become part of the W.L. Adair General Mercantile Historical District: the log Ice House (1914), the Log Barn (1917), and the wood frame Machine Shed/Shop (1925). Later, more structures were added to the Polebridge community: four wood frame cabins (1945), a greenhouse (1968), a generator building (1969), a propane tank shelter (1982), and four outhouses (years unknown). In 1983 the District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places after Karen Feather, owner of the Northern Lights Saloon at the time, and Jerry DeSanto, a Polebridge Sub-District Ranger with the NPS, completed the nomination form.
Another notable historic event involving Polebridge was the Red Bench Fire that almost destroyed the entire community on September 7, 1988. The fire "destroyed 25 homes, the Polebridge Ranger Station, the community's namesake 'pole bridge,' and consumed numerous barns and outbuildings".
Today Polebridge is a popular addition to the itineraries of tourists visiting Glacier National Park and the surrounding area because of its historical significance and off-the-grid way of life.
Climate
Demographics +Demographic Summary (based on 2022 Census Data) CategoryValueUnit of MeasurementMargin of Error (±%)Total Population31peopleat least 10% of the total valueDensity265.3people per square mileN/AAge65≤years of ageat least 10% of the total valueSex52% MaleN/Aat least 10% of the total valueRace & Ethnicity100% WhiteN/Aat least 10% of the total valueAverage Household Income<50kU.S. Dollarsat least 10% of the total valueHouseholds16N/AN/AMarital Status100% Now MarriedN/Aat least 10% of the total valueEducational Attainment100% High school grad or higherN/Aat least 10% of the total valuePopulation with Veteran Status51.6%N/Aat least 10% of the total value
See also Glacier View Dam, proposed in the 1940s, which would have inundated Polebridge
References