There is an old story about Montana that gets told every now and again about how Missoula, Kalispell and all points west of the great divide were supposed to be located in Idaho.
The debate goes back and forth, even to this day. (more folks need to visit the library of Congress)
Anyhow, the story goes like this......
Way back in the mid 1800's, government survey crews were sent out to survey parts of the Dakota territory, and parts of the Idaho territory, in order to create the Montana territory.
During the course of the survey, government crews presumably got lost or just forgot where they were and surveyed the wrong mountain range, thus giving the Montana territory much more of the Idaho territory than they were supposed to.
After many years of wondering about this, I decided to pay a visit to the library of Congress just to see for myself.
Well, it appears, from the records at the library of Congress, that our government survey crews did indeed goof up somewhere, because Congress had made it very clear that the long/lat and the Rocky mountain range (continental divide) was to be followed.
Instead, the Bitterroot range was followed, thus creating the Montana territory, and eventually, the 4th largest state by land mass in the union.
More folks in the late 1800's knew about this blunder than most do now however, and in our state constitution (1884, 1889), it is very well spelled out that "the state" be created using the "same boundaries" that the territory was created with. They had a choice... to follow the blunder, or to follow the long/lat that Congress prescribed originally..... Our state chose to stay with the blunder.
Thus, putting cities like Missoula, Kalispell, Libby, Hamilton and others, forever within the state boundary of Montana.
And to think........ If the Fed were paying attention (when do they ever??), points west of the continental divide could easily be in Idaho today, and not Montana.
(src= 38th Congress *session 1 May 26 1864)
note: the state constitution of 1884 was ratified but never approved by congress
the state constitution of 1889 was both ratified and approved by congress
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Montana Myths & Legends
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