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History · Clark Fork

Clark Fork’s post office opened in 1893, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1909 on.

1893first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Clark Fork’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Clark Fork began

When was Clark Fork founded?

1893

The Clark Fork post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Clark's Fork (1886), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 513133 years
Founding year: the first Clark Fork post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Clark Fork’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Clark Fork’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Clark Fork’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Clark Fork’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCabinet National Forest, Montana. Overl…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Clark Fork came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Clark Fork.

Read it all →

The Kutenai Indians have lived in the area around Lake Pend Oreille for centuries, well before the first Europeans explored the North American wilderness.

ChaptersClimate

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Clark Fork, 1886 to 1909

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Clark's Fork post office opens
  3. 1893Post officeThe Clark's Fork post office closes
  4. 1893Post officeThe Clark Fork post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909In the archiveCabinet National Forest, Montana. Overlooking Clarks Fork Valley into Bitterroot Range fr…
By decade

Clark Fork, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Cabinet National Forest, Montana. Overlooking Clarks Fork Valley into Bitterroot Range from Mt. Silcox Lookout1909Cabinet National Forest, Montana. Overlooking Clarks …
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Aerial - Clark Fork, Idaho 022013Aerial - Clark Fork, Idaho 02Aerial - Clark Fork, Idaho 01 - white balanced2013Aerial - Clark Fork, Idaho 01 - white balancedAerial - Clark Fork, Idaho 012013Aerial - Clark Fork, Idaho 01Clark Fork eigentümliches Wohngebäude2009Clark Fork eigentümliches Wohngebäude
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Cabinet National Forest, Montana. Overlooking Clarks Fork Valley into Bitterroot Range from Mt. Silcox Lookout
Retake this viewCabinet National Forest, Montana. Overlooking Clarks Fork Valley into Bitterroot Range from Mt. Silcox Lookout, 1909

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Clark Fork’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Clark Fork

Nobody well known was born in Clark Fork itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Sarah PalinGovernor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009 · b. 1964
Marilynne RobinsonAmerican novelist and essayist · b. 1943
Nate HollandAmerican snowboarder · b. 1978
James C. FryGeneral, World War II and Korean War, Distingui… · b. 1897
Joe MatherBaseball player from the United States · b. 1982
K
Keith TowerAmerican basketball player · b. 1970
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Clark Fork’s post office has been open since 1893. Another post office, Clark's Fork, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Clark's Fork
1886–1893
Clark Fork
1893–today
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Clark Fork’s history

What year was Clark Fork founded?

The Clark Fork post office opened in 1893, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.