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History · West Glacier

West Glacier’s post office opened in 1949, and 6 of its places are on the National Register

Most of West Glacier was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 77 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers and maps from 1960 on.

1949first post office
6on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From West Glacier’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How West Glacier began

When was West Glacier founded?

1949

The West Glacier post office opened in 1949, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Belton (1900), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 22177 years
Founding year: the first West Glacier post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about West Glacier’s past

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

A historic districtThe Headquarters Historic District takes in 73 historic buildings.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1930–1977.Landmarks on the Register6 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

6 listings protect 81 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
81
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Belton Chalets
Belton ChaletsApgar Fire Lookout, built 1930Heaven's Peak Fire Lookout, built 1945Headquarters Historic DistrictWest Entrance Station, built 1941
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Rustic3
Simplified Rustic1
Belton ChaletsBuilding
Apgar Fire LookoutBuilt 1930
Heaven's Peak Fire LookoutBuilt 1945
Headquarters Historic DistrictRustic
West Entrance StationRustic · Built 1941
All 6 listings
Howes' Lake McDonald Cottage Sites Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2008

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

By decade

West Glacier, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s8 items
Train going west at Belton, Montana, ca. 1930c. 1930Train going west at Belton, Montana, ca. 1930HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 1 of 7) - Lubec Ranger Station1933HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 1 of 7) - Lubec Ranger…HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 2 of 7) - Lubec Ranger Station1933HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 2 of 7) - Lubec Ranger…HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 3 of 7) - Lubec Ranger Station1933HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 3 of 7) - Lubec Ranger…HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 4 of 7) - Lubec Ranger Station1933HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 4 of 7) - Lubec Ranger…HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 5 of 7) - Lubec Ranger Station1933HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 5 of 7) - Lubec Ranger…HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - Lubec Ranger Station1933HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - Lubec Ranger…HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 7 of 7) - Lubec Ranger Station1933HABS MONT,18-GLACE.V,1- (sheet 7 of 7) - Lubec Ranger…
1940s–1960snothing 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
1970s4 items
Cover Sheet - Logging Creek Ranger Station1977Cover Sheet - Logging Creek Ranger StationCover Sheet - Logging Creek Ranger Station1977Cover Sheet - Logging Creek Ranger StationElevations - Logging Creek Ranger Station1977Elevations - Logging Creek Ranger StationElevations - Logging Creek Ranger Station1977Elevations - Logging Creek Ranger Station
1980s–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
The story

How West Glacier came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of West Glacier.

Read it all →

Remote and almost inaccessible, the West Glacier area drew only limited attention by white settlers until the main line of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) reached the northern Rocky Mountains in 1890. The transcontinental GNR was completed on January 6, 1893, at Scenic, Washington.

The railroad established a station named "Belton" at the current West Glacier site, and a small community slowly began to develop in the area. A post office was established at Belton in 1900. The number of homesteaders and other settlers remained small, however, due to the region's rugged, heavily forested terrain.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

West Glacier, 1900 to 1977

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Belton post office opens
  3. 1930BuiltApgar Fire Lookout is built
  4. 1930In the archiveTrain going west at Belton, Montana, ca. 1930
  5. 1941BuiltWest Entrance Station is built
  6. 1945BuiltHeaven's Peak Fire Lookout is built
  7. 1949Post officeThe Belton post office closes
  8. 1949Post officeThe West Glacier post office opens
  9. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1977In the archiveCover Sheet - Logging Creek Ranger Station
On the map

West Glacier on the map in 1960

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Glacier.

West Glacier on the 1960 USGS map1960Cut Bank sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Glacier.

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.

Train going west at Belton, Montana, ca. 1930
Retake this viewTrain going west at Belton, Montana, ca. 1930, c. 1930

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to West Glacier

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

See all →
Michelle WilliamsAmerican actress · b. 1980
M
Margaret QualleyAmerican actress and model · b. 1994
B
Brad BirdAmerican film director, animator, screenwriter … · b. 1957
Lily GladstoneAmerican actress · b. 1986
Constance TowersAmerican actress · b. 1933
M
Misty UphamAmerican actress · b. 1982
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

West Glacier’s post office has been open since 1949. Another post office, Belton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Belton
1900–1949
West Glacier
1949–today
19001960today

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

Help out

Finish West Glacier’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewTrain going west at Belton, Montana, ca…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about West Glacier’s history

What year was West Glacier founded?

The West Glacier post office opened in 1949, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in West Glacier?

6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Belton Chalets (listed 1978, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Headquarters Historic District and the Howes' Lake McDonald Cottage Sites Historic District, with 77 contributing buildings. 81 historic buildings in all.

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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.