Editing Bigfork, Montana (section)

==History==
[[Image:Flathead River, Flathead Lake.jpg|thumb|left|225px|The [[Flathead River]] emptying into the north end of [[Flathead Lake]] at Bigfork, Montana, with the [[Salish Mountains]] in the distance]]
Some say the name "Bigfork" is derived from the [[Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language|Salish]] name for the area. However, Bigfork is a fork where two rivers, the [[Flathead River]] and the [[Swan River (Montana)|Swan River]], flow in to the [[Flathead Lake]]. There are reports of a homestead and orchard immediately north of Bigfork as early as 1885. Everit L. Sliter set out 500 apple, cherry, plum, and pear trees in 1892 on Flathead Lake's east shore. He became the first postmaster in 1901.<ref name="names">{{cite book|last1=Carkeek Cheney|first1=Roberta|title=Names on the Face of Montana|date=1983|publisher=Mountain Press Publishing Company|location=Missoula, Montana|isbn=0-87842-150-5|page=5}}</ref> In 1902, he platted the Bigfork townsite at the mouth of the [[Swan River (Montana)|Swan River]]. The east shore has since become a major cherry-growing area. [[Wayfarers State Park]] lies just south of the community.<ref>Aarstad, Rich, Ellie Arguimbau, Ellen Baumler, Charlene Porsild, and Brian Shovers. [http://mhs.mt.gov/pub/press/reference.asp#PlaceNames Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008060633/http://mhs.mt.gov/pub/press/reference.asp#PlaceNames |date=October 8, 2009 }}. Montana Historical Society Press.</ref>