Izaak Walton Inn

Izaak Walton Inn
Izaak Walton Inn
The Inn and tracks
Izaak Walton Inn is located in Montana
Izaak Walton Inn
Location within Montana
Location290 Izaak Walton Inn Road
Essex, Montana
Coordinates48°16′43″N 113°36′42″W / 48.27861°N 113.61167°W / 48.27861; -113.61167
Built1939
ArchitectMiller, Addison, Co.
Architectural styleTudor Revival
Websiteizaakwaltoninn.com
NRHP reference No.85003235[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 18, 1985

The Izaak Walton Inn is a historic inn in Essex, Montana, United States. It was originally built as the Izaak Walton Hotel in 1939 by the Addison Miller company under contract from the Great Northern Railway as a soup kitchen and lodgings for railway workers.[2][3] The hotel was also originally envisioned as a potential official southern gateway to Glacier National Park, hence its size, but World War II intervened and that plan never materialized.[4][5] The inn is served by Essex station, the only request stop on Amtrak's Empire Builder route.

The Tudor Revival-style inn is named after Sir Izaak Walton, the English writer and fisherman. Its location, Essex, was originally named Walton.[6] The structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[7] At Essex, the railway workers asked for some kind of accommodation.[8] About 400 people lived in the town of Essex in the 1920s, and some workers were able to obtain houses there.[8] However, many intermittent workers were forced to seek shelter in wall tents, abandoned railroad cars and other improvised structures, even during the winter.[8] Before the inn was built, there was only a "beanery", a restaurant with no lodging facilities (built in 1910 and 1920s; both structures were destroyed by fire).[8]

The inn has 33 rooms within the inn itself, with some other space in refurbished cabooses, EMD F45 Diesel Locomotive 441, etc. It has been privately owned since the 1950s.[9]

In December 2022, the inn was purchased for US$13.5 million by Washington-based hospitality company LOGE Camps (pronounced "lodge").[10][11] LOGE entered bankruptcy in 2026, closing the inn.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ↑ Franz, Justin (December 11, 2019). "The 'Gem' Between". Flathead Beacon.
  3. ↑ "Historic Inn to Receive Rail Service". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. March 10, 1985. p. 35. Retrieved October 19, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Great American Stations: Essex, MT (ESM)". Amtrak. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  5. ↑ "History of the Izaak Walton Inn". Izaak Walton Inn. 2010. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  6. ↑ Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman; Aarstad, Arguimbau, Baumler, Porsild, Shovers; Montana Historical Society, 2009; page 132
  7. ↑ "Izaak Walton Inn: Overview, History, Information".
  8. 1 2 3 4 Montana SP Izaak Walton Inn. File Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: Montana, 1964 - 2012.
  9. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places, Montana - Flathead County". National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  10. ↑ Franz, Justin (December 16, 2022). "Historic Izaak Walton Inn sold near Glacier Park". Montana Free Press. Helena, MT: Montana Free Press. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  11. ↑ Knowler, Adrian (December 16, 2022). "Izaak Walton Inn sold". Daily Inter Lake. Kalispell, MT: The Daily Inter Lake. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ Scott, Tristan (February 14, 2026). "LOGE to Shutter Historic Izaak Walton Inn, Other Properties Amid Bankruptcy". Flathead Beacon.

Further reading

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