Swan Lake Rock House – Little used but always loved

Likely most of us, zipping down Highway 83, as the road approaches the south end of the lake, don’t have the split-second chance to look over to the west shore and catch a glimpse of the small, gray, square shape perched upon some cliffs.

Since we are all very safe drivers, we instead will have our passengers try to take a gander of the Swan Lake Rock House. But they better have eagle eyes too because, just like that, it will disappear from view.

It is likely that anyone plying the waters near the west short of the lake stands the best chance of seeing the structure.

As with many of the important stories about Bigfork and the surrounding area, we are fortunate that, back in November of 1983, when the Rock House, and it’s associated support buildings, were nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, a designation which it was granted on August 1, 1984, the people preparing the nomination package were able to tap into the knowledge of Bigfork native Art Whitney to supplement the preparers research. As such, the nomination paperwork helps form the backbone of the story. It is also worth noting that, the owner at the time, Wilbur Watkins, who for many years entertained guests that he brought up from Missoula, also supported the nomination of the Rock House to the register.

The Rock House was born out of request made by some characters we’ve met before, Lewis Orvis Evans, chief council for the Anaconda Copper Mining company and the Montana Power Company, and Cornelius “Con” Kelley, President of the ACM. Those two gentlemen developed, and at the time owned the Kootenai Lodge at the north end of the lake. In 1927, however, Mr. Evans requested a special-use permit from the U.S. Forest Service to build a summer home on the west shore of the southern half of Swan Lake at “Three Rock Point”. While the national register paperwork notes that there is no evidence of surface prehistoric human occupation in the area around the rock house, Art Whitney told the researchers that his mother, who lived on the reservation prior to moving to Swan Lake in 1902 and had befriend several tribal members, told him that the rock outcrop was called “Maidens Leap” by the tribal members. Geographic nomenclature aside, the request was made on the behalf of Mr. Evans’ son, R.O. “Bun” Evans, who was, at the time, away studying at Princeton University. Bun Evans was engaged and the summer home on the rocks was expected to be a retreat for himself and his new wife. The request was granted, but with the provision that the summer home would not impinge on the scenic beauty and solitude of Swan Lake. It appears that the parties eventually agreed to the conditions of the permit and as such construction of the Rock House began in the spring of 1929.

Mrs. Martha Evans helped design and oversaw construction of the Rock House in accordance with the special-use permit stipulations which stated that the structures had to be designed and located in such a manner that they blended with the natural environment. The nomination paperwork notes that, Ward B. Whitney, Art’s father, was the master carpenter in charge of construction while William “Billy “ Moose served as the mason. Given that the material was rather heavy, transportation was kept to a minimum and the rock used to construct the residence was “locally sourced” from a large rock outcrop 3 miles south of Three Rock Point. The stones were then barged to the site, lifted off with a gin pole, and placed on a “go-devil” tramway. Horses were then used to pull the “go-devil” up the hill to the site of the residence. Most of the reaming construction materials were purchased at the Kalispell Mercantile and barged from the north end of lake to the construction site. The house itself, is nothing grand or super opulent, consisting of a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and sunken living room. The stone walls themselves are likely a schist or a similar material with an average thickness of 12 inches. The walls, except for the bedroom interior, are also left exposed. This nakedness also allows visitors to see that the stone is roughly cut with some stones showing the peen hammered or tooled surface marks of the laborers that quarried the stones. While the material was heavy, given the relatively small dimensions, construction of the Rock House and associated buildings was completed by the spring of 1930 and Evan’s put the buildings into immediate use that first summer. However, while the Rock House served more as a retreat from the normal extravagance found at Kootenai Lodge, the young Mr. Evans apparently had little interest in the Rock House as the special-use permit was transferred to his mother, Martha, by 1932. One of the annual events though that took place at the Rock House was a party held for

Evans’ and Kelley’s employees working at the Kootenai Lodge.