Lolo is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Missoula County,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, United States. It is part of the Missoula metropolitan area. The population was 4,399 at the 2020 census, an increase from its population of 3,892 in 2010. It is home to Travelers' Rest State Park, a site where

Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

camped in 1805 and again in 1806.

History

The Traveler's Rest site, in Lolo, is one of the few sites in the nation with physical confirmation of the visit of Lewis and Clark. There are several versions of the origin of the town name. One is a French pronunciation of the name Lawrence Rence, a

fur trapper A fur is a Softness, soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily #Guard hair, guard hair on top and thick #Down hair, underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching t ...

in the area. Another is the French name for

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

, "Le Louis". Or it could be based on either a Chinook word or a

Nez Perce The Nez Perce (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning 'we, the people') are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who still live on a fraction of the lands on the southeastern Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest. This region h ...

word. In addition to the town, a national forest, creek, mountain peak, mountain pass,

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

, and historic trail are all named Lolo. The 2017 Lolo Peak Fire burned thousands of acres southwest of Lolo, prompting evacuations and closure of U.S. Route 12.

Geography

Lolo is in south-central Missoula County, at the confluence of Lolo Creek and the Bitterroot River, a north-flowing tributary of the Clark Fork. The Bitterroot Mountains are to the west. The town is at the eastern end of the Lolo Trail, present-day U.S. Route 12, which crosses Lolo Pass at the

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

state line west of town. U.S. Route 93 also passes through the community.

Missoula Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot River, Bitterroot and Blackfoot River (Montana), ...

is to the northeast via US 12, while

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

is to the south via US 93. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Lolo CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.79%, are water.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Lolo has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 3,892 people, 1,218 households, and 936 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,263 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.69%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.24%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.89% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 1.74% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population. There were 1,218 households, out of which 44.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 17.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.15. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 31.3% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 32.9% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,846, and the median income for a family was $46,629. Males had a median income of $30,392 versus $22,188 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $18,369. About 2.5% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over. View of Lolo Fire smoke plume from Missoula on August 16 2017

Education

Most of Lolo is in Lolo Elementary School District while the a small portion is in Missoula Elementary School District and another small portion is in Woodman Elementary School District. All of it is in Missoula High School District. The Lolo School District has two schools, Lolo Elementary (K-4) and Lolo Middle School (5–8). During the 2021–2022 school year, a total of 538 students were enrolled. Students attend high school in Missoula. The Missoula Public Library has a branch location in Lolo.

Media

The FM radio station KDXT is licensed in Lolo. It airs a country music format.

Infrastructure

The town lies at the intersection of U.S. Routes 12 and 93. Healthcare is provided in Missoula.

Notable people

* William M. Allen, aerospace industrialist; born in Lolo * James Lee Burke, mystery writer; maintains a home in Lolo * David James Duncan, writer and fisherman * Tom Zeller Jr., journalist and author; lives in Lolo

References

External links

Travelers' Rest

Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Census-designated places in Missoula County, Montana Census-designated places in Montana Chinook Jargon place names