Hamilton Community

HAMILTON COMMUNITY OF

Photo by Perry Backus

Located in the middle of the Bitterroot Valley is the county seat of Ravalli. Hamilton is home to over 4,600 people and the immediate area around the town has somewhere over 14,000 people. Downtown Hamilton has several historic buildings with unique shops and restaurants. Looking west on Main Street is a beautiful view of the Bitterroot Mountains. Beautiful street scape, trees, and street lamps invite one to enjoy the unique downtown shops. Highway 93, which passes through town, also boasts a variety of shops, grocery stores, and gas stations. The Chamber of Commerce is located on the corner of Main Street and Highway 93. The city offices are located in the historic Bedford Building just across the street from the Ravalli County Courthouse. The Ravalli County Museum, housed in the old courthouse, was built in 1900. Each July, Hamilton comes alive as the entire town celebrates ‘Daly Days’ in honor of the city founder, Marcus Daly. This event includes arts, crafts, and food vendors on the streets. The local businesses hold their annual sidewalk sales, games for the kids, and the Chamber of Commerce, holds its annual Micro-Brew Festival; all this makes for a weekend of events, sharing, reminiscing with old friends, and meeting new friends. The city of Hamilton hosts a variety of events throughout the year including Apple Day, Annual Chamber’s Micro Brew Festival, Bitter Root Day, a variety of art functions, several plays, art, and craft shows and the Ravalli County Fair. These are just a few of the exciting activities planned throughout the year. Visit www.cityofhamilton.net

Hamilton was not a pioneer village in the days it was founded. Instead, it was a planned town of wide streets and avenues, a complete economic center for an area of farms and stock ranches. The History of Hamilton began when Marcus Daly, a great finance figure of the 1880 era in Butte and Anaconda mining development, made his way into the Bitterroot Valley seeking interests other than mining. About 1887, Mr. Daly bought up small sawmills west of the present site of Hamilton and almost overnight had established a lumber making industry on the bank of the Bitterroot River. Marcus Daly’s next move was to bring two men from another state to plan and develop his dream town. They were James Hamilton and Robert O’Hara who came from Minnesota in 1890. Mr. Daly named Hamilton after James Hamilton and the town was incorporated in 1894; Mr. O’Hara was named the first mayor.