Bigfork’s post office opened in 1901, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #35 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
Most of Bigfork was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Its Register listings are the Swan River Community Hall, the Kearney Rapids Bridge and the Swan River Bridge. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1962 on, and the census since 2000.
The Bigfork post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Holt (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 1,421 in 20002020 census: 5,118125 years
How historic is Bigfork?
C−
More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bigfork post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bigfork’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bigfork is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #35 of 42 in Montana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bigfork’s overall grade.
Montana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Montana town has 12.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bigfork’s 5.4 sits near the middle of its state (44% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Bigfork’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Some say the name "Bigfork" is derived from the Salish name for the area. However, Bigfork is a fork where two rivers, the Flathead River and the Swan River, flow in to the Flathead Lake. There are reports of a homestead and orchard immediately north of Bigfork as early as 1885. Everit L. Sliter set out 500 apple, cherry, plum, and pear trees in 1892 on Flathead Lake's east shore. He became the first postmaster in 1901. In 1902, he platted the Bigfork townsite at the mouth of the Swan River. The east shore has since become a major cherry-growing area. Wayfarers State Park lies just south of the community.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Bigfork, census by census
Grew from 1,421 people in 2000 to 5,118 in 2020, 3 times over.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bigfork’s Wikipedia page.
Questions about Bigfork’s history
What year was Bigfork founded?
The Bigfork post office opened in 1901, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bigfork rank for history?
Bigfork is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #35 of 42 in Montana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Bigfork?
Three places: the Swan River Community Hall (listed 2002), the Kearney Rapids Bridge (1994) and the Swan River Bridge (2015).
How old are the homes in Bigfork?
4% of Bigfork’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1995.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (7), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.
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