At the Weed family's Bigfork cafe in the early 1900s, patrons could go to the Swan River, catch a stringer of "Flat" (Western Cutthroat) trout and bring the fish back to the cafe for the Weeds to cook. (BACC Photo Archives/University of Montana Collection)
This photo was taken beside the Weed family's cafe in Bigfork, where patrons could go down to the Swan River by the cafe, catch a stringer of "Flat" (Western Cutthroat) Trout, and the Weed's would cook them for you. Att…
May 17, 2026
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Historic guardians: Efforts work to preserve the story of Bigfork
As Denny Kellogg and Ed Gillenwater tell the story, though, Bigfork’s history actually began a little earlier: a modest 100 million years earlier, in fact. This was when the forces of nature conspired to carve the valleys and peaks that would one day come to define this scrappy little village on the shores of Flathead Lake.