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History · Pinnacle

Pinnacle’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Pinnacle. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Pinnacle is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Flathead County, Montana, United States. It is in the eastern part of the county, along U.S. Route 2 in the valley of the Middle Fork Flathead River. It is 6 miles (10 km) north of Essex and 20 miles (32 km) southeast of West Glacier. The community is bordered to the east, across the Middle Fork, by Glacier National Park, and to the west by Flathead National Forest. Pinnacle was first listed as a CDP prior to the 2020 census. As of the 2020 census, Pinnacle had a population of 45.

Half of its homes were built before 1998.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pinnacle yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Pinnacle’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pinnacle’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from PinnacleWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Pinnacle.Meet them →
By decade

Pinnacle, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Pinnacle is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Pinnacle has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Coal Creek Patrol Cabin in Pinnacle, 4.2 miles away.

Pinnacle and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Pinnacle. Tap a dot.
Coal Creek Patrol CabinLower Park Creek Patrol CabinScalplock Mountain Fire LookoutIzaak Walton InnWalton Ranger Station Historic DistrictNyack Ranger Station Historic District

Closest to Pinnacle

Coal Creek Patrol CabinPinnacle · Building4.2miLower Park Creek Patrol CabinEssex · Built 19255miScalplock Mountain Fire LookoutEssex · Built 19315.2miIzaak Walton InnEssex · Building5.6miWalton Ranger Station Historic DistrictEssex · Built 19326.1mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Coal Creek Patrol Cabin’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Pinnacle?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Pinnacle’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Columbia Falls📜 Whitefish📜 Kalispell
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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/19 · 2025-01-01
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