The Lakeside post office opened in 1948, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Chautauqua (1901), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 2,70578 years
How historic is Lakeside?
D−
More historic than 3% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Lakeside post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Lakeside’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lakeside is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lakeside’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 Lakeside’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (16% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.6 points). 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 Lakeside’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lakeside yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Lakeside is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Flathead County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,705 at the 2020 census, up from 2,669 in 2010. In 1892 the town was called Stoner, named after John J. Stoner, proprietor of a hotel near the shores of Flathead Lake. A community named Lakeside already existed in Roosevelt County. With its demise in 1920, this town changed its name. West Shore State Park is 5 miles south of town.
Its first post office opened in 1948. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 2,669 in 2010, 2,705 in 2020.
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Lakeside, 1901 to 1948
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Lakeside’s post office has been open since 1948. Another post office, Chautauqua, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Chautauqua
1901–1905
Lakeside
1948–today
19001960today
Gone or out of use
Angel PointlocaleBrodericks LandinglocaleChautauqua Post Officepost officeKalispell Air Force StationmilitarySkookumlocaleStoners Landinglocale
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Lakeside’s history
What year was Lakeside founded?
The Lakeside post office opened in 1948, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lakeside rank for history?
Lakeside is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns. 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.
How old are the homes in Lakeside?
2% of Lakeside’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.6 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1991.
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 (6), 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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