Flathead Lake. Area Montana Resource & Relocation Guide

Transcription

1 Flathead Lake Area Montana Resource & Relocation Guide

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3 Table Of Contents 4-5 Newcomer Information 6 Help Hotlines 7 Health & Hospitals 8 Local Education 11 Things To Do 14 State Information 15 County History Flathead Lake Area Map Polson City Map 24 Home Buyer Information 27 Buyer Mistakes 29 How Much Can You Afford 33 Tips to Selling Your Home 34 Packing Tips 35 Moving Checklist 36 Homefinder Notepad Kallispell City Map Skyline Publishing Project Coordinator: Jason Short Ad Designer: Teri Burkitt Book Designer: Linda Swindler 2 3

4 Newcomer Post Offices US Post Office 432 E. Idaho St. (406) US Post Office Montana 83 Swan Lake, MT (406) Courthouse US Post Office 350 N. Meridian Rd. (406) US Post Office Old Highway 93 Pablo, MT (406) US Post Office 308 5th St. Big Arm, MT (406) US Post Office 105 4th Ave. E. (406) Information Police Flathead County Sheriff 920 S. Main St. #100 (406) Lake County Sheriff 106 4th Ave. E. (406) Fire Creston Rural Fire 4498 MT Highway 35 (406) Finley Point Fire MT Highway 35 (406) West Valley Fire 2399 Whitefish Stage (406) Whitefish Fire Flathead Ave. Whitefish, MT (406) Flathead County Courthouse 920 S. Main St. (406) Utilities Kalispell Water Department (406) Polson Water Department (406) Flathead Electric Cooperative (406) Mission Valley Power (406) Lake County Courthouse 106 4th Ave. E. (406) Access Montana (406) AT&T (406) Kalispell City Police 312 1st Ave. E. (406) Polson Police 106 1st St. E. (406) Whitefish Police 131 Baker Ave. Whitefish, MT (406) Kalispell Fire 312 1st Ave. E. (406) Polson Fire 106 1st St. E. (406) Ronan Fire 106 4th Ave. E. (406) Whitefish Water Department (406) CenturyLink (406)

5 6 7 Health & Hospitals Flathead County Health Department st Ave. W. (406) Lake County Health & Family Planning 802 Main St. #A (406) Dial 911for Emergencies Kalispell Regional Hospital 310 Sunnyview Ln. (406) North Valley Hospital 1600 Hospital Way Whitefish, MT (406) St. Joseph Medical Center 6 13th Ave. E (406) St. Luke Community Hospital 107 6th Ave. S.W. Ronan, MT (406)

6 Local School Districts Flathead County Superintendent of Schools 935 1st Ave. W., Suite SS (406) Lake County Superintendent of Schools 106 Fourth Ave. E., Room 202 (406) When Registering Your Children For School, Please Remember To Bring: Current Immunization Record & Birth Certificate Name & Address Of Last School Attended Last Report Card & Any Scores Obtained From Standardized Tests Colleges & Universities Flathead Valley Comm. College 777 Grandview Dr. (406) Salish Kootenai College U.S. Hwy. 93 Pablo, MT (406)

7 Flathead Lake Area Antiques of Kalispell 175 6th Ave. West N Belton Chalet Highway 2E, W. Glacier, MT (406) Bigfork Art & Cultural Center 525 Electric Ave. Bigfork, MT (406) Conrad Mansion 330 Woodland Ave. (406) Wild Horse Island Boat Trips 452 Grand Dr. Bigfork, MT (406) Flathead Lake State Park S. Finley Point Rd. (406) Flathead Lake Charters E. Shore Route Bigfork, MT (406) Flathead National Forest Bigfork, MT (406) Glacier National Park 295 Mather Dr. W. Glacier, MT (406) Glacier Park Inc. Lodging 1 Midvale St. E. Glacier Park Village, MT (406) Hockaday Museum of Art 302 2nd Ave. E. (406) House of Mystery 7800 U.S. 2 Columbia Falls, MT (406) KOA Campgrounds Polson Flathead Lake 200 Irvine Flats Rd. (406) Many Springs Flathead Lake Mt. Highway 35 Bigfork, MT (406) Miracle of America Museum Memory Ln. (406) Mission Mountain Golf Course Golf Course Way Ronan, MT (406) Mission Mountain Resort Fulkerson Ln. (406) Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana U.S. 93 Charlo, MT (406) Polson Flathead Historical Museum 708 Main St. (406) Rocky Mountain Hi Campground 825 Helena Flats Rd. (406) Three Dog Down Outlet U.S. Highway 93 (406) Whitefish Theatre Co. 1 Central Ave. Whitefish, MT (406) Wild Horse Island State Park Big Arm, MT (406) and so much more! 10 11

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9 Montana The Treasure State The 41st state to enter the Union, Montana s name comes from the Spanish word of montañameaning mountain. The State s motto is Oro y plata, which means Gold and Silver. Montana is the 4th largest state in the union, but ranks 44th in population - with the third lowest population density: approximately 6 people per square mile. The original inhabitants of Montana included the tribes of the Crow, Cheyenne, Blackfeet, Assiniboine, Gros Ventres, Kootenai, Salish, and smaller tribes of the Pend d'oreille and Kalispel. Most of the Montana area; all of the land east of the Rocky Mountains, was acquired by the United States during the Louisiana Purchase in Shortly after, the Lewis & Clark expedition had paved the way for more settlement in the area. Fur traders and gold prospectors were some of the first to settle in the area. The influx of European settlers in the area had upset relations with the Native Americans that lived in the area - ultimately leading to the Battle of Little Bighorn, or Custer s Last Stand in 1867, which took place near the present-day town of Hardin. The Nez-Perce War had also ended in Montana, and took place as far west as Oregon. Capital: Helena Population: 957,861 State Bird: Western meadowlark State Flower: Bitterroot State Tree: Ponderosa pine State Song: Montana - State Facts - State Gemstones: Sapphire & Montana agate Highest Point: Granite Peak - 12,799 ft. Area: 147,042 sq. miles Largest City: Billings Entered the Union: Nov. 8, 1889 Top Industries: Farming (Wheat, Sugar Beets), Cattle Ranching, Mining (Gold, Silver, Copper, Coal), Oil, Lumber, Tourism Flathead Lake Area History The first inhabitants of Flathead Valley were Native Americans. The main Indian tribes that lived in the area were the Kootenai, the Upper Pend d'oreille (the Kalispell Indians), and the Salish (the Flatheads). The tribes hunted and fished in the many lakes and rivers in the valley. The waters were so fertile that the three tribes constantly had to defend their territories from the Blackfeet Indians from the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. The Treaty of 1855 divided the Flathead Lake into two halves with the southern portion set aside as the Flathead Indian Reservation. Today, these tribes live on 1.2 million acres of designated reservation land. Traders and fur trappers were making their way to the Flathead Valley between 1800 and The first trappers came down from Canada, and the first fur trading post was set up by Joseph Howse in The fur traders paved the way for homesteaders looking to make a new start on fresh land. A surge of homesteaders flocked to the area throughout the 1870 s and 1880 s. Most of the homesteaders were immigrants from Europe, and began claiming every parcel of land, even land designated as part of the Indian Reservation. By 1909, Indian Reservation land was being sold to homesteaders for a couple dollars an acre. One of the biggest contributors to Flathead Valley's growth was the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad in The railroad brought passengers and goods from Missoula to the southern shores of Flathead Lake. Steamboats also increased growth by allowing passengers to travel back and forth across the lake. Agriculture also boomed in the 1800 s. The land and climate in Flathead Valley were conducive to growing successful fruit orchards. The steamboats and railroad made transporting crops easy and economical. Apples and sweet cherries were major crops. In the late 1800 s, James J. Hill had a vision to extend a railroad from St. Paul, Minnesota to the West Coast. He created the transcontinental railroad, the Great Northern Railway, and extended the railroad from eastern Montana to Glacier National Park. Hill also highly advertised the fertile opportunities that lay in the Flathead Valley and offered cheap fares to Homesteaders. By the early 1900 s there were over 700 farms in the valley

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16 How much House Can You Afford? How much you can afford is determined by a relatively simple formula. Lenders generally figure that no more than 28 percent of your income should be for total housing costs. In addition, they require that your total monthly debt be less than 36 percent of your income. (Note: These are general numbers. Other loan programs may allow higher percentages.) For example, if you make $48,000 a year, divided by 12 months, your monthly income is $4,000. (Remember, that s $48,000 in gross pay, before federal and state taxes are removed.) Twenty-eight percent of $4,000 is $1,120. That is the most you can make in a monthly mortgage, taxes, and insurance payments. Generally, to qualify, the self-employed buyer must have been self-employed in the same line of work for at least 24 months before applying for a loan. Lenders use your net income, the figure at the bottom of schedule C of your federal income tax form, to decide how large a mortgage you can carry. But they don t look at what you earn now or what you made last year. Rather lenders figure the monthly average of your income over the past 24 months. Also, overtime pay & bonuses sometimes may not be figured into your average income. Don t forget that points, closing costs & other out-of-the-pocket expenses probably will come out to about one percent of the mortgage amount

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19 Packing Strategies Supplies: Preparing to move: A strategy for packing: Packing for efficiency:

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