The Izaak Walton Inn is a historic
inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
in
Essex, Montana
Essex is an unincorporated community in Flathead County, Montana, Flathead County, Montana, United States. Located in the northwestern part of the state, Essex lies along the Hi-Line (Montana), Hi-Line railroad line, near Glacier National Park (U ...
, USA. It was originally built as the Izaak Walton Hotel in 1939 by the
Great Northern Railway as a soup kitchen and lodgings for railway workers.
[ ] The hotel was also originally envisioned as a potential official southern gateway to
Glacier National Park, hence its size, but World War II intervened and that plan never materialized. Today, the inn is served by
Essex station, the only
request stop
In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a stop or station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, st ...
on
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's ''
Empire Builder
The ''Empire Builder'' is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northe ...
'' route. A van from the inn meets both the morning eastbound and the evening westbound Empire Builders to convey passengers between the station and the inn.
The
Tudor Revival
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
inn is named after Sir
Izaak Walton, the English writer and fisherman. Its location, Essex, was originally named Walton.
[Montana Place Names from Alzada to Zortman; Aarstad, Arguimbau, Baumler, Porsild, Shovers; Montana Historical Society, 2009; page 132] The structure was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1985. Before its construction, rail crews had to find lodgings best they could among the then about 400 inhabitants of Essex, with many having to shelter in abandoned railcars or tents even during the winter.
Before the Inn was built, there was only a "beanery", a restaurant with no lodging facilities (built 1910 and 1920s; both structures destroyed by fire).
The inn has 33 rooms for rent within the inn itself, with some other space available in refurbished cabooses,
EMD F45
The EMD F45 is a C-C cowled diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1968 and 1971. Power was provided by an EMD 645E3 20-cylinder engine which generated .
Design
After sponsoring the development of t ...
Diesel Locomotive 441, etc. It has been privately owned since the 1950s.
The Izaak Walton Inn is open year-round, except for several weeks during the off season.
In December 2022, the inn was purchased for by Washington-based hospitality company LOGE Camps (pronounced "lodge"), who plan to update the rooms and upgrade the cafe during summer and fall 2023.
Gallery
References
National Archives Catalog entry for Montana SP Izaak Walton Inn
* December 2022 sale to LOGE Camps
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
National Register of Historic Places in Glacier National Park
Great Northern Railway (U.S.) hotels
Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana
Tourist attractions in Flathead County, Montana
National Register of Historic Places in Flathead County, Montana
1939 establishments in Montana
Hotel buildings completed in 1939
Tudor Revival architecture in Montana