Remote and almost inaccessible, the West Glacier area drew only limited attention by white settlers until the main line of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) reached the northern Rocky Mountains in 1890. The transcontinental GNR was completed on January 6, 1893, at Scenic, Washington.[6]
The railroad established a station named "Belton" at the current West Glacier site, and a small community slowly began to develop in the area.[7] A post office was established at Belton in 1900. The number of homesteaders and other settlers remained small, however, due to the region's rugged, heavily forested terrain.
The community, heavily dependent on tourism, has a small permanent population that expands significantly during the summer tourist season; most area businesses are likewise seasonal—including the 18-hole golf course—and are primarily geared towards travelers. The elevation is 3,169 feet (966 m).
The Swiss-style Belton Chalets in West Glacier, originally built in 1910, was the first Great Northern Railway hotel at Glacier National Park and would welcome guests arriving by train to the park, before they would travel into the park's back-country chalets and tent camps. During the Great Depression, the Belton Chalet housed the crews working on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. Over the years, the chalet housed many businesses, while today it is one of Montana's grandest historic hotels.[8] The chalet survives today under new ownership and is a registered National Historic Landmark.
In 1949 the town changed its name from Belton to West Glacier to promote the tourism potential.[7]
Tourism
Railroad tourism
By the early twentieth century a small number of tourists had begun to visit the spectacular mountain landscapes east and north of Belton, and in 1910 that area was set aside as Glacier National Park.[9] As the railway station nearest the area, Belton became a primary gateway to Glacier, and the park headquarters was established there.[4] Currently Amtrak's Empire Builder makes stops daily at the West Glacier station.
Automobile tourism
Travel Alberta Visitors Centre encouraging cross-border tourism
The growth of tourist traffic through Belton increased substantially in the 1920s and 1930s, largely due to the improvement of automobile routes through the area. U.S. Highway 2 was completed eastward from Belton over Marias Pass in 1930, and the Going-to-the-Sun Road[10] was completed across Glacier Park in 1932.[11] In 1938, a number of tourist-oriented businesses were constructed at the western end of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Belton, forming the core of a new commercial district for the town. These businesses, owned by the Lundgren family since 1946, remain today.
The town of Belton was renamed "West Glacier" in 1949, to better reflect its geographic location and make it more identifiable to tourists, although the railroad station and chalet complex retained the Belton name.
