Carl and Martha Jacobson with father Jacob Jacobson. SVC Archives.

Selish-Ql'ispe Place Names Map

Holland Lake 1939. Kenny Huston,
Joan Rader, Junise Nelson, Fern Huston,
​Rich Nelson, Frank Lundberg, Selma Nelson, and Warner Lundberg. Nelson Collection.

Ethel and Alice Brunson at homestead cabin, 1918. Brunson Collection.

The Seeley Lake Community Foundation’s Change Your Pace Challenge fundraising campaign runs June 1 – June 30. Your donations will keep the Swan Valley Museum open and relevant with exhibits, events and educational activities.

Download the CYP brochure for details and to donate (PDF)

Highlights from The Gathering Place: Swan Valley’s Gordon Ranch

Read the MT Arts Council's book review!

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Cal Tassanari, ​Elk Lake area

Visit Projects

Maki Cabin now at Swan Valley Museum! See Projects

Outfitting & Guiding Celebration Videos

Travelers can take a self-guided tour of the Swan Valley Museum, Swan River Tavern, Whalen Homestead Cabin, Smith Creek School replica and the portable sawmill on the Swan Valley museum grounds by downloading a free Next Exit HistoryTM app to access photos, audio, video and written descriptions. The self-guided tour is funded by a Preserve Missoula County History grant from the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula.

Upper Swan Valley Oral History Project audio transcripts online

Homesteader Family Trees

The Selish-Ql'ispe Culture Committee provided a Swan Valley Place Names Map for display in the Swan Valley Museum. The map features the Pend d'Oreille Indian names of the landmarks, as well as photos and descriptions of this region. Highlights from the dedication ceremony

See our Events page for details!​

Dick Peltier & Chuck Samuelson with trout near Turquoise Lake. Van Geison collection.

Wranglers, Dudes and Homesteaders: Stories from Montana's Swan Valley Lodges
​Lindbergh Lake Lodge, Holland Lake Lodge and Gordon Ranch
30 minutes

Items below are available for purchase! See our Projects for details.

The Huck Book: Swan Valley's Berried Stories, History and Recipes

See Museum Updates

The Upper Swan Valley Historical Society (USVHS), established in 1988, is dedicated to the discovery, collection, preservation and interpretation of materials that will help establish and illustrate our local history.

The upper Swan Valley area is unique in that it still retains a plethora of evidence of its varied history. There still exist old Indian trails crisscrossing our mountains. Old trapper cabins and marten notched trees are still around on the landscape. This area was homesteaded and settled at a relatively late date, primarily from the mid-1910's and later, with many artifacts and buildings of that particular era still in existence. Early Forest Service ranger station buildings and cabins are still here. Springboard notched trees and sawmill sites from the early logging days are scattered around the valley.

Photo of Swan Peak by Steve Ellis

Preserving and Promoting the Cultural Heritage of the Swan Valley.

Museum

Swan Valley Museum

Tours offered by appointment. To schedule call (406) 754-2745 or ​(406) 754-2238 ​or Contact Us

​Summer hours: Open July 4th through Labor Day weekend, Fridays and Saturdays, 12 Noon to 4 PM

Events

Projects

Change Your Pace Challenge

The Gathering Place: Swan Valley’s Gordon Ranch