a Private Summer Camp of the copper kings
The remarkable story of Kootenai began in 1906 when two executives of Montana's Anaconda Copper Company envisioned a place to spend carefree summers fishing, hunting and relaxing with their families in the pristine wilderness.
The executives, Orvis Evans and Cornelius "Con" Kelly, found their ideal hideaway in Northwest Montana along the peaceful shores of the Swan Lake and River. They called it The Kootenai Camp.
“The days were bright and pleasant, the nights so wonderfully beautiful that I hated to even sleep. Lying down...my moccasins toward the fire, I was looking at the quiet lake...spattered all over with stars.” ”
The pair became known as The Copper Kings and acquired enormous wealth. Their lifestyles soon reflected their tremendous success. The once modest Kootenai Camp blossomed to include a grand lodge, a polo field, a 31-stall barn and lakeside cabins to accommodate family and friends who would arrive in chauffeured limousines. Throughout its prime in the Roaring Twenties, Kootenai employed butlers, maids, pastry chefs, waiters, hunting and fishing guides, landscapers, and boat-masters…everything primed for an idyllic stay.
Over the years, they opened their glorious haven to such luminaries as Charles Lindbergh, Will Rogers, J.D. Rockefeller, Jr., Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and famous western artist Charlie Russell who etched some playful images into the concrete of the Lodge's ample courtyard, which are still there today.
