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Discover Hamilton: a Gem in the Bitterroot
August 22, 2010
by Dave Reese
  Ford's Department store in downtown Hamilton. Dave Reese photo  Spice of Life restaurant in downtown Hamilton. Dave Reese photo  The Bitterroot River in Hamilton, Montana. Dave Reese photo  An ice cream sunday at a downtown Hamilton shop. Dave Reese photo
The quaint town, with its orderly, tree-lined streets, sits at the base of the Bitterroot Mountains. While it’s in one of Montana’s fastest-growing counties, Hamilton has remained charming, with down-home values and a smalltown feel.
Tom Ford grew up in Hamilton and took over his father’s department store, “Ford’s,” in downtown Hamilton.
“It was a great place to grow up,” Ford said, as he sat in a shoe-fitting chair in his department store. “I don’t think there was a ‘no-trespassing’ sign anywhere in the country when I was a kid.”
Ford’s Department Store opened in 1947 and with its classic storefront and retro lettering, the store is a throwback to simple times in a Montana town. The store has survived, even with the Costcos and Wal-Marts in nearby Missoula, because of hard work and good values. “We seem to be holding our own,” says Ford.
Ford, 82, walks slowly through the aisles of his department store, his age showing up in his deliberate gait, but his blue eyes reflect a spry young man who still comes to work every day at age 83.
His son and daughter still work in the store, helping to carry on the family tradition.
There were 12,000 people in Ravalli County when Ford went off to World War II. Now there’s about 40,000, according to the U.S. Census.
Between 2000 and 2005 the county saw a 9.9 percent increase in population.
“The town’s expanded a lot,” says Ford.
Boosting the county’s growth has been the arrival of pharmaceutical company Glaxo Smith Kline and Rocky Mountain Laboratory, a federal drug-research organization.
The heart and soul of any town is its downtown, and Hamilton’s thrives with the energy of the 1950s.
Outside Ford’s, the September sun warms the air, while soft jazz music floats out from a sidewalk speaker in front of Ford’s. Business people go about their work, and traffic moves in an orderly fashion. Locals come downtown to shop for necessities, and rarely find the need to travel to Missoula.
The town boasts fine restaurants like Spice of Life, whose menu ranges from sushi to rack of lamb, Thai curry noodles to linguine. Spice of Life opened in 1997 and continues to be one of the destination eateries in Hamilton for lunch and dinner.
“It’s the best food in Hamilton,” manager Ellen Holland says unabashedly. Spice of Life uses locally grown vegetables from owner Karen Suennen’s garden and tries to get its meats locally. “It’s one of the few places where our food doesn’t come off the back of a truck,” Holland says.
Just a few doors down from Spice of Life is Out West ice cream parlor.
Here is a classic ice cream parlor with long shiny soda fountain handles and swirling round stools face the counter.
Manager Brooke Kourafas, 26, moved to Hamilton four years ago from California and finds life here simple and the people welcoming. “When you go to the bank, they know who you are,” she says. “That makes you feel safe.”
While Hamilton has a classic, conservative smalltown feel, there’s also a more liberal edge too. Perhaps it’s from the Missoula migrants who have chosen to escape the crowds of the Garden City to live in the Bitterroot Valley.
On the east side of Hamilton, Bitterroot Brewing Co. is crowded on weekdays and nights, with live music and good food.
The brewpub is in the old Pea Palace seed-processing plant. Owner Tim Bozik came to Hamilton and decided he wanted a place to hang out and have lunch, so he opened the brewery. “I needed a job, so I started this,” he says.
The historic timber structure was once the grandstand for the racetrack of Marcus Daly, one of Montana’s early copper barons. The Daly Mansion, which is open for public tours, offers a glimpse of Hamilton’s glorious past.
Meanwhile, the Bitterroot Brewing Co. brewery adds to the new charm of Hamilton, mixing the old with the new.
“This has become a gathering place, from the local attorney to the local pig farmer,” Bozik says.
Another maker of spirits in Hamilton is Trapper Creek Winery. Set in a small, two-story building on the edge of downtown Hamilton, the winery produces mead (honey wine) and dandelion wine.
Owners Lisa Shultz and husband Ken Schultz moved to the Bitterroot Valley in 1979 from Ohio and lived in a tipi for a while.
They’re the classic Hamilton newcomer and entrepreneur who settled and claimed a stake in this western Montana town.
“We like Hamilton,” Lisa Schultz says. “It’s a very energized community.”
The Bitterroot Valley is in a state of transition. It used to be vast, open country of agricultural land, bordered by forested hills and steep snow-topped peaks. And it still is, only there's less room for agriculture amid the residential subdivisions. The economy still depends in part on the farming and timber industries, but of late tourism and construction are contributing significant shares as well. And next door to long-time Bitterrooters, a crop of newcomers is moving in, bringing some of their tastes with them. As a result, the towns that make up the Bitterroot offer a range of services to please the locals and newcomers alike. Here's a sampling.
Where to eat:
Across the economic board, good food is important. There are several notable restaurants that do their best to offer healthy, organic alternatives, the ingredients for which are grown right in the Bitterroot. For breakfast or lunch, visit Maggie's (363-5480) in Hamilton, where you can get espresso and a hearty omelette, or a daily special like the deliciously spiced chicken curry over basmati rice. Spice of Life, also in Hamilton, dishes up locally produced foods with ethnic flair.
New to Darby is the Bear's Lair (821-2218), where homemade lasagna and unique pizzas (The River Runner with grilled salmon, red onion and spinach with a garlic parmesan sauce) satisfy the heartiest of appetites.
In Stevensville, you can't beat the 50 cent ice cream at Mary's (777-5097) or the freshly baked goodies at the Olde Coffee Mill (777-2939). You'll find fresh seafood and steaks at Food Fetish (777-2133). For a more remote dinner, head to The Broad Ax (821-3878), located seven miles from Sula. Diners are treated to binoculars to watch bighorn sheep and other wildlife from the restaurant's many windows.
Where to sleep:
Because the Bitterroot is drawing more visitors, more bed and breakfasts, lodges and hotels are cropping up each year. There are many to choose from that offer great views, breakfasts, outfitting and comfortable rooms. But the best-of-the-best is Triple Creek Ranch. It's as luxurious as your own private cabin - complete with hot tub - can be. A bit spendy perhaps, or not, once you consider that all your meals, most activities and drinks are included. Dinner is open to the public by making a reservation at 821-4408.
Where to shop:
Locals will point you to Missoula when asked where they shop. But the Bitterroot, particularly in Stevensville and Hamilton, has its share of home décor, gift and clothing stores. Besides, there are several unique reasons why one might want to travel from Missoula to the Bitterroot. For one, there's George Gulli's Totem Poles (Phone 961-4160). The outside of his roadside shop located north of Hamilton doesn't look like much, but Gulli carves with perfection. Another artisan, Ken Rumbaugh, handcrafts guitars from local ponderosa pine and other woods (363-0357). And it could be that the Bitterroot is the Treasure State mecca of antiquing. It seems there are antiques stores that pop up with each turn of your head.
The most notable may be Old West Antiques (821-4076) in Darby, where all kinds of western artifacts are housed. And if the owner doesn't have it on display, he probably has it in storage.
Darby also boasts H&H Hat Co. (821-3300), where custom cowboy hats are made. In Stevensville, don't deny yourself the sweet confections from Charbonneau's Chocolate (777-0808).
Don't worry; there are plenty of places to hike it off.
What to do:
Hike Trapper Peak. It's a steep, difficult hike up 4.2 miles that will offer rewarding views of the surrounding area. If that kind of exercise is not your thing, there's rock climbing at Blodgett Canyon, or fly fishing the Bitterroot River. If you're more of a soft adventurer, then follow in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark and pause at Travelers Rest State Park (273-4253) in Lolo. The Corps did, and in spite of the contemporary crop of trailers and ranchettes, it's easy to see why. Get more historical perspective at St.Mary's Mission (777-5734) in Stevensville or at the Daly Mansion (363-6004) outside of Hamilton. The grounds at both places are available for free inspection, or take a guided tour of either for a nominal fee. St. Mary's Mission is essentially the foundation of white settlement in Montana, for it was to this place that the Jesuits arrived bringing with them the knowledge of religion, farming, reading and writing. Copper baron Marcus Daly's summer home, the Daly Mansion, is a treasure of Victorian opulence. The home was built some 40 years after the Jesuits' arrival.
Got kids?
Saddle up at Wildlife Adventures in Victor (642-3232). After all, the Bitterroot is known as horse country. Kids under six years old can ride in the corral, while older ones may enjoy a guided trail ride. The Sula Store (821-3264) has a kid's fishing pond, pony rides, miniature golf and petting zoo.
The Cocktail Hour:
Go for the unusual at the Painted Rocks Winery Tasting Room (821-2239) in Darby. These purveyors of Montana-made mead wine have concocted several different blends that go with a meal as well as any grape wine. You just have to be prepared that the two taste very different indeed. If you're up for more tasting, then swagger to Hamilton, home of Bitter Root Brewing (363-7468). Sample its English-style ales: Sawtooth (a blond); Nut Brown; Pale; Porter, and India Pale. Seasonal brews may also be available.
— By Amity K. Moore
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