Hungry Horse Dam is the highest dam in Montana, and one of the largest concrete arch dams in the country. Finished in 1953, Hungry Horse dam towers 564 feet above the South Fork of the Flathead River, and its morning-glory spillway with water cascading over the rim and dropping 490 feet, is the highest in the world. It is located 4 miles off U.S. 2 near Hungry Horse.
(Article complements of Daily Interlake)
10 Jul 1948 pg 1
18 | JUNE 25, 2014 FLATHEADBEACON.COM How a Dam Created a Community
The Hungry Horse Dam is seen on the South Fork Flathead River. Construction of the dam was completed in 1953. BEACON FILE PHOTO The Canyon Connection he Canyon has been the stomping ground of settlers and trappers for more than a century. It’s also been the gateway to Glacier National Park since the early 1900s with the completion of the Great Northern Railway and U.S. Highway 2. However, The Canyon didn’t truly get busy until the construction of the Hungry Horse Dam in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The massive hydroelectric dam on the South Fork Flathead River required thousands of workers who inundated communities like Hungry Horse and Mar- tin City. More than 2,500 people worked on the project and Hungry Horse, which had no population in 1940, accrued 1,300 people by 1950. Once the dam project was completed many of the people left for opportunities elsewhere, but the communities of Coram, Martin City and Hungry Horse remain a corridor to one of America’s most iconic destinations, Glacier National Park. Some of the park’s visitors may be cu- rious by the name, Hungry Horse. Accord- ing to local legend, there were indeed two horses that escaped a work camp and went unfed an entire winter. The animals re- turned home the following spring – hun- gry, but still alive. alk to almost anyone in The Canyon and they will tell you the communities of Hungry Horse, Martin City and Coram are tighter than most. One of the groups binding those residents together is the Trapline Association, a nonprof- it organization that puts on Cabin Fever Days every winter, including the always-popular barstool races in Martin City. The “trapline” is a nickname for The Canyon that stems from its earliest days when settlers would run traps along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. In later years the meaning changed and it became slang for bar hopping in the Can- yon; to “run the trapline” a drinker would have to hit the nearly 30 bars that once called the area home. The Trapline Association was first established as a nonprofit in the mid-1990s and today Stacey Schnebel is president. This year’s barstool races in Martin City raised more than $8,000 that went to- ward the local fire department and the Canyon Kids Christmas Fund, which is organized by a local bar- tender. Just before Christmas, San- ta pays The Canyon a visit and every child gets a gift, even if the family can’t afford one. Schnebel said the Trapline As- sociation hopes to raise even more money in the future and install some new signage welcoming peo- ple to each community. “Our communities are really gaining steam,” she said. “They’re coming together even more and that’s a good thing.” A trail system connecting the communitiesisalsoindevelopment. Spectators line Sugar Hill to watch the Barstool Ski Races at Cabin Fever Days earlier this year. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON THE CANYON
The Hungry Horse Dam is seen on the South Fork Flathead River. Construction of the dam was completed in 1953. BEACON FILE PHOTO The Canyon Connection he Canyon has been the stomping ground of settlers and trappers for more than a century. It’s also been the gateway to Glacier National Park since the early 1900s with the completion of the Great Northern Railway and U.S. Highway 2. However, The Canyon didn’t truly get busy until the construction of the Hungry Horse Dam in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The massive hydroelectric dam on the South Fork Flathead River required thousands of workers who inundated communities like Hungry Horse and Mar- tin City. More than 2,500 people worked on the project and Hungry Horse, which had no population in 1940, accrued 1,300 people by 1950. Once the dam project was completed many of the people left for opportunities elsewhere, but the communities of Coram, Martin City and Hungry Horse remain a corridor to one of America’s most iconic destinations, Glacier National Park. Some of the park’s visitors may be cu- rious by the name, Hungry Horse. Accord- ing to local legend, there were indeed two horses that escaped a work camp and went unfed an entire winter. The animals re- turned home the following spring – hun- gry, but still alive. alk to almost anyone in The Canyon and they will tell you the communities of Hungry Horse, Martin City and Coram are tighter than most. One of the groups binding those residents together is the Trapline Association, a nonprof- it organization that puts on Cabin Fever Days every winter, including the always-popular barstool races in Martin City. The “trapline” is a nickname for The Canyon that stems from its earliest days when settlers would run traps along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River. In later years the meaning changed and it became slang for bar hopping in the Can- yon; to “run the trapline” a drinker would have to hit the nearly 30 bars that once called the area home. The Trapline Association was first established as a nonprofit in the mid-1990s and today Stacey Schnebel is president. This year’s barstool races in Martin City raised more than $8,000 that went to- ward the local fire department and the Canyon Kids Christmas Fund, which is organized by a local bar- tender. Just before Christmas, San- ta pays The Canyon a visit and every child gets a gift, even if the family can’t afford one. Schnebel said the Trapline As- sociation hopes to raise even more money in the future and install some new signage welcoming peo- ple to each community. “Our communities are really gaining steam,” she said. “They’re coming together even more and that’s a good thing.” A trail system connecting the communitiesisalsoindevelopment. Spectators line Sugar Hill to watch the Barstool Ski Races at Cabin Fever Days earlier this year. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON THE CANYON