Apgar, Montana

Last updated

Apgar
Village
ApgarVillageGNP.jpg
Coordinates: 48°31′40″N113°59′35″W / 48.52778°N 113.99306°W / 48.52778; -113.99306 [1]
Country United States
State Montana
Elevation
[1]
3,166 ft (965 m)

Apgar is one of the main villages in Glacier National Park, located at the southern end of Lake McDonald, about one mile from the park's west entrance. Apgar has one of the most popular campgrounds in Glacier National Park. It includes a visitor center, a general store, and a gift shop. It is the starting point for most Red Jammer bus tours on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Apgar's campground is connected to the village by a road as well as a bike path through the woods, in which smaller wildlife can be seen, though grizzly bears have been spotted close to the camp.

Contents

History

The Kootenai knew Apgar as Ya Kit Haqwitnamki ("the place where they dance"), as tribal bands used to meet and perform ceremonies where the current campground is, long before White settlers arrived. [2]

Apgar takes its English name from Milo Apgar, an early settler in the Lake McDonald area. In the 1890s, Apgar, along with Frank Geduhn and Charlie Howe, built homes at the lower end of the lake with the intention of farming the area. This proved impractical, so they and other settlers became involved in servicing tourists visiting the park. As these services increased, the village that grew up around them acquired the name Apgar. [3]

Apgar has two small hotel buildings operated by the same company. It also has its own boat launching ramp and a boat rental dock on its portion of Lake McDonald. Apgar is within a twenty-minute drive from the Lake McDonald Lodge. The summer home of western artist Charles M. Russell, Bull Head Lodge, was formerly located in Apgar. As a young man, artist Ace Powell was also a resident of the village. [4]

Notable people

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glacier County, Montana</span> County in Montana, United States

Glacier County is located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,778. The county is located in northwestern Montana between the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, known to the Blackfeet as the "Backbone of the World". The county is geographically and culturally diverse and includes the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Glacier National Park, and Lewis and Clark National Forest. The county is bordered by 75 miles of international boundary with two ports of entry open year-round and one seasonal international border crossing into Alberta, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Rainier National Park</span> National park of the United States

Mount Rainier National Park is an American national park located in southeast Pierce County and northeast Lewis County in Washington state. The park was established on March 2, 1899, as the fourth national park in the United States, preserving 236,381 acres including all of Mount Rainier, a 14,410-foot (4,390 m) stratovolcano. The mountain rises abruptly from the surrounding land with elevations in the park ranging from 1,600 feet to over 14,000 feet (490–4,300 m). The highest point in the Cascade Range, Mount Rainier is surrounded by valleys, waterfalls, subalpine meadows, and 91,000 acres of old-growth forest. More than 25 glaciers descend the flanks of the volcano, which is often shrouded in clouds that dump enormous amounts of rain and snow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glacier National Park (U.S.)</span> Park in Montana on the Canadian border

Glacier National Park is an American national park located in northwestern Montana, on the Canada–United States border, adjacent to Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada—the two parks are known as the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. The park encompasses more than 1 million acres (4,100 km2) and includes parts of two mountain ranges, more than 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants, and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem," a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 sq mi (41,000 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denali National Park and Preserve</span> National park in Alaska, US

Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is a national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, United States, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve encompass 6,045,153 acres which is larger than the state of New Hampshire. On December 2, 1980, 2,146,580-acre Denali Wilderness was established within the park. Denali's landscape is a mix of forest at the lowest elevations, including deciduous taiga, with tundra at middle elevations, and glaciers, snow, and bare rock at the highest elevations. The longest glacier is the Kahiltna Glacier. Wintertime activities include dog sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. The park received 594,660 recreational visitors in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Cushman</span> Lake and reservoir in Washington, United States

Lake Cushman is a 4,014.6-acre (16.247 km2) lake and reservoir on the north fork of the Skokomish River in Mason County, Washington. The lake originally was a long narrow broadening of the Skokomish River formed in a glacial trough and dammed by a terminal moraine from the Vashon Glaciation during the most recent ice age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake McDonald</span> Lake in Flathead County, Montana, United States

Lake McDonald is the largest lake in Glacier National Park. It is located at 48°35′N113°55′W in Flathead County in the U.S. state of Montana. Lake McDonald is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long, and over a mile (1.6 km) wide and 472 feet deep, filling a valley formed by a combination of erosion and glacial activity. Lake McDonald lies at an elevation of 3,153 feet (961 m) and is on the west side of the Continental Divide. Going-to-the-Sun Road parallels the lake along its southern shoreline. The surface area of the lake is 6,823 acres (27.6 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake McDonald Lodge</span> United States historic place

The Lake McDonald Lodge is a historic lodge located within Glacier National Park, on the southeast shore of Lake McDonald. The lodge is a 3+12-story structure built in 1913 based on Kirtland Cutter's design. The foundation and first floor walls are built of stone, with a wood-frame superstructure. The lobby is a large, open space that extends to the third story. It has a massive fireplace and a concrete floor scored in a flagstone pattern, with messages in several Indian languages inscribed into it. The rustic lodge was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987 as one of the nation's finest examples of large-scale Swiss chalet architecture. Lake McDonald Lodge is a member of Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowman Lake (Montana)</span> Lake in Glacier National Park, U.S.

Bowman Lake is in the northwestern portion of Glacier National Park in Montana. The lake is accessed via a 6 miles (9.7 km) unpaved road from the small town of Polebridge. At 1,706 acres (690 ha), Bowman Lake is the third largest lake in the park, after Lake McDonald and Saint Mary Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sperry Glacier</span> Glacier in the U.S. state of Montana

Sperry Glacier is a glacier on the north slopes of Gunsight Mountain west of the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Although many geologic features of Glacier National Park were formed during the much longer period of glaciation ending over 10,000 years ago, Sperry Glacier — like all the glaciers in the park today — is a product of the recent Little Ice Age, the period of cooler average temperatures starting in about the 13th century and concluding in the mid-19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rising Sun Auto Camp</span> U.S. historic place in Glacier National Park

The Rising Sun Auto Camp, also known as the Roes Creek Auto Camp, East Glacier Auto Camp or simply Rising Sun preserves a portion of the built-up area of Glacier National Park that documents the second phase of tourist development in the park. Rising Sun is located along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, approximately 7 miles (11 km) from the east entrance to Glacier National Park, Montana, United States. Rising Sun is a wayside area that has a National Park Service campground, a camp store and gift shop, picnic area, restaurant, as well as a motel and guest cabins which are managed by the park's concessionaire, Xanterra Parks & Resorts. In the immediate area, there is also a boat dock as well as sightseeing boats which allow visitors to tour Saint Mary Lake, the second largest lake in the park. "The most popular spot for [Glacier] tourists is Rising Sun, an overlook of Goose Island in St. Mary Lake and one of the most photographed spots in the park."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bullfrog Basin</span> Recreation site in Utah, United States

Bullfrog Basin is one of the National Park Service recreation sites of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area of Kane County, Utah, United States, adjoining Lake Powell. It encompasses Bullfrog Basin Airport, the Bullfrog Resort and Marina, the Bullfrog terminus of the Charles Hall Ferry, and a campground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rim Village Historic District</span> Historic district in Oregon, United States

Rim Village is the main area for tourist services in Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon, United States. It is located on the southwest rim of the caldera overlooking Crater Lake. The National Park Service designed Rim Village to concentrate park services at a location that provided easy access to rim trails and view points. Because of the unique rustic architecture of the Rim Village structures and the surrounding park landscape, the area was listed as Rim Village Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Glacier National Park (U.S.)</span>

The following articles relate to the history, geography, geology, flora, fauna, structures and recreation in Glacier National Park (U.S.), the U.S. portion of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gull Point State Park</span> State park in Dickinson County, Iowa

Gull Point State Park is a state park of Iowa, United States, located on West Okoboji Lake in the city of Wahpeton. It is the primary state park unit in the Iowa Great Lakes region. Two areas of the park were listed as nationally recognized historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake McDonald Lodge Coffee Shop</span> United States historic place

The Lake McDonald Lodge Coffee Shop is a visitor services building in the Lake McDonald district of Glacier National Park, Montana. The coffee shop was built in 1965 as part of the National Park Service's Mission 66 program to upgrade visitor facilities, in order to increase visitor dining capacity. Under the Mission 66 projects, visitor facilities were usually comprehensive in nature, providing a range of visitor services. Specialized concession buildings like the Coffee Shop were unusual in Mission 66. It was leased to the Glacier Park Company for operation, in anticipation of the construction of lodging facilities by the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace Powell</span> American artist

Asa Lynn "Ace" Powell was an American painter, sculptor, and etcher of genre scenes and imagery relating to indians, cowboys, horses, and wildlife. His artwork was influenced by that of fellow Montana artist Charles M. Russell. Powell's lifetime body of work consists of between 12,000 and 15,000 artworks. Although he preferred working with oil paints, he also produced a large number of watercolor paintings and drawings, as well as a number of works in bronze, terracotta, and wood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sprague Fire</span> 2017 wildfire in Glacier National Park in Montana

The Sprague Fire was a wildfire in Glacier National Park in Montana. It was first reported on August 10, 2017, around 8:30 pm after being caused by a lightning storm. The fire encompassed 16,982 acres (6,872 ha). It nearly destroyed the historic Sperry Chalet.

Bull Head Lodge and Studio, located off Going-to-the-Sun Road near Apgar in Flathead County, Montana was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howe Ridge Fire</span> 2018 wildfire in Glacier National Park in Montana

The Howe Ridge Fire was a wildfire in Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana. Ignited by a thunderstorm on the evening of August 11, 2018, the fire was located on the northwest side of Lake McDonald. Several other fires were also started near the park due to the storm. On August 12 National Park Service officials issued a mandatory evacuation of private cabins and federally owned properties including the Lake McDonald Lodge complex which was temporarily closed. On August 13, National Park officials then closed the 32 miles (51 km) of the Going-to-the-Sun Road from Apgar Village to Logan Pass on the west side of the park after "extreme fire conditions" occurred the previous evening, threatening multiple structures. By August 14 the fire had spread to over 2,500 acres (1,000 ha). Though fire fighting conditions had improved by August 14, a preliminary damage assessment stated that at least seven private residences and several other structures belonging to the National Park Service had been consumed by the blaze at the Kelly's Camp Historic District and a number of other park service owned structures at the Wheeler residence. The Lake McDonald Ranger Station was saved by firefighters after its roof had been on fire. Thick haze and smoke obscured the fire on August 15 and while weather conditions remained favorable for fire growth, the haze kept the fire from spreading greatly. Haze and smoke made exact measurements of the amount of acreage burned difficult to determine, however infrared imagery indicated that the fire was 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) by August 16. By August 21 overnight infrared imagery indicated the fire had burned 9,672 acres (3,914 ha). On August 23 the fire had nearly 200 firefighters assigned to it and had burned 10,323 acres (4,178 ha) with only 10 percent of the fire contained. Full containment was not anticipated until November 1st. Fire remained active along the northern flank between Mount Vaught and McDonald Creek as well as the southern margin on the west side of Lake McDonald and had spread to 11,519 acres (4,662 ha) by August 24 and then 12,435 acres (5,032 ha) by August 30. By August 28, cooler temperatures and widespread rain helped to keep the fire from expanding however a trend back to warmer and drier conditions was expected to provide conditions for future fire growth due to heavy fuels and terrain.

Sherwood Lodge, in Glacier National Park near West Glacier, Montana, was built in 1919. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Apgar
  2. "A Historical Handbook for the Employees" (PDF). Glacier Park Foundation. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  3. Guthrie, C. W. (2004). All Aboard for Glacier. Helena, MT: Far Country Press. p. 43. ISBN   1-56037-276-1.
  4. 1 2 3 Moynahan, J. M. (1974). The Ace Powell Book (First ed.). Kalispell, MT: Ace Powell Art Galleries, Inc. p. 15.