Apgar, Montana

Village in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Village in Montana, United States

48°31′40″N 113°59′35″W / 48.52778°N 113.99306°W / 48.52778; -113.99306^[1]CountryUnited StatesStateMontanaElevation

^[1]

3,166 ft (965 m)

Apgar is one of the main villages in Glacier National Park. Apgar is located on the west side of the park about one mile in from the West Entrance. Apgar has one of the most popular campgrounds in Glacier Park, and is always quite filled. It is also home to a visitors' center, a general store, and a large gift shop. It also is the starting point for almost all Red Jammer bus tours on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Apgar's campground is connected to the village by a road, and a bike path through the woods, in which smaller wildlife can be seen, though Grizzly bears have been seen close to camp.

History

Apgar takes its 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. Farming proved impractical, so they and other settlers quickly became involved in servicing tourists visiting the park. As these services increased, the village that grew up around them gained the name Apgar.^[2]

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 famed western artist Charles M. Russell, Bull Head Lodge, was located in Apgar. As a young man, artist Ace Powell was also a resident of the village.^[3]

Notable people

Charles M. Russell^[3]
Ace Powell^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Apgar
^ Guthrie, C. W. (2004). All Aboard for Glacier. Helena, MT: Far Country Press. p. 43. ISBN 1-56037-276-1.
^ ^a ^b ^c Moynahan, J. M. (1974). The Ace Powell Book (First ed.). Kalispell, MT: Ace Powell Art Galleries, Inc. p. 15.