Stationmaster House | 10 Min to Glacier Entrance, Comfy 3-bedroom house minutes to Glacier Park

Much of the early history of Glacier is the story of the Great Northern Railway. The railway helped promote legislation that established Glacier National Park in 1910. James J. Hill, president of the railroad, not only built a railroad, but he created an empire of towns and ranches along the tracks from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington. This route today is still called the Empire Builder.

With the help from his son, Louis, JJ's vision was to make the area the "Playground of the Northwest." The Hills invested a substantial amount of money in the area. A chain of hotels, chalets, boats, roads, and trails were designed and built to attract tourists. The railroad tapped into the market of wealthy Americans who generally took lengthy trips to Europe and lured them to Glacier with the slogan "See America First." Of course, to get to the parks they would ride the railroad. The railroad was the major concessionaire and developer of visitor facilities in Glacier from 1910 until after World War II.