Montana History:  Place Names (H-L)

         

 

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  Select brief notes about place names throughout the state, with an emphasis on towns.

A-B, C-D, E-G, H-L (more coming)

Photo above on Left:  The community of Landusky is named for
Powell "Pike" Landusky, reputed to be one of the toughest rough-and-tumble fighters of the west, who was killed by Kid Curry in 1894.

Place Names of Towns and Landmarks (H-L)
County location in parenthesis; place names are towns unless indicated otherwise. Condensed from the 1957 Montana Almanac.

Hall (Granite) - town and station acquired from Henry Hall
Hamen (Meagher) - station named after John Meagher, a rancher who settled in the area in 1880
Hamilton (Ravalli) - city and county, named after J.W. Hamilton (landowner) and J.T. Hamilton (surveyor)
Hanck (Judith Basin) - station & stream, named for ranch owner by that name
Hann Creek - creek named for Peter Hann, a forest ranger
Hanover (Fergus) - station, named a Massachusetts town by C.A. Goodnow of C. M.&St. Paul railway
Hardin (Big Horn) - town & county seat named in honor of Samuel Hardin by C. H. Morrill, town designer
Harlem (Blaine) - named for Haarlem in the Netherlands by the Great Northern Railway officials
Harlowton (Wheatland) - city & county seat, named for Mr. Harlow of Helena, a railroad supporter
Harrison (Madison) - station named for Henry C. Harrison, a local property owner
Hathaway (Rosebud) - station named after Major Hathaway of the United States army
Haugan (Mineral) - named for H. G. Haugan, land commissioner of C. M.& St Paul railway
Havre (Hill) - city & county seat named for French seaport Le Havre by the Great Northern Railway officials
Hawarden (Chouteau) - town named for the Iowa town, by settlers from Iowa
Hawk's home (Carter) - town named for a large hawks nest in the vicinity
Hayes (Missoula) - station named after Elizabeth Hayes, from whom Northern Pacific right of way acquired
Heckman (Wibaux) - station named for Frank Heckman, dispatcher on the Yellowstone division
Hedges (Wheatland) - post office named after ranch owner & old settler
Helena (Lewis & Clark) - city, county seat & capitol of Montana named after Helena Scott County, MN
Hellgate (Granite) - station, canyon & river named by French traders "porte de Renfer" ("gate of hell")
Helmville (Powell) - town named for Henry Helm, a pioneer settler
Henderson (Mineral) - town named for Benjamin Henderson, sawmill operator and owner of the town site
Hesper (Yellowstone) - town near Hesper ranch; Hesperus (evening star) & king of western land (myth)
Hibbard (Treasure) - station named for George W. Hibbard, passenger agent for the Chi., Mil. & St. Paul RR
Hidden Lake (Glacier) - station in Glacier National Park, formerly Garry, near a picturesque hidden lake
Highview (Silver Bow) - station, named from its location at the summit of the continental divide
Highwood (Cascade) - town, creek & mountain, probably named after high altitude trees on mountainside
Hilger (Fergus) - town named for David J. Hilger, old resident & prominent citizen of Lewistown
Hill (Hill) - county, probably named after James J. Hill, builder of Great Northern Railway from St. Paul
Hillman (Gallatin) - station on Bozeman-Menard branch, after A. J. Hillman, agent of Chi. Mil. & St. Paul RR
Hobson (Judith Basin) - town named after landowner & Lewistown banker by that name
Hodges (Dawson) - station named after Leonard H. Hodges of Northern Pacific railroad, 1882-1883
Hoffmanville (Richland) - town birthed in 1917, named after Albert Hoffman who donated land to the NP
Holland (Gallatin) - town named for a settlement of Dutch colonists
Holland Lake (Powell) - lake, named for the first settler, B. B. Holland
Holter (Lewis & Clark) - town named for A.M. Holter, prominent pioneer & resident of Helena
Hoosac (Fergus) - station named by C.A. Goodnow; tunnel named after the Hoosac Tunnel in Berkshire mts
Hoppers (Park) - station named after John Hopper, who settled in this vicinity in 1877
Hopsonville (Rosebud) - town named for a rancher who lived in the vicinity
Horr (Park) -town named for either Harry or Maj. Jos. L. Horr of the coal mines nearby
Hot Springs (Sanders) - town named for nearby hot springs
Howard (Rosebud) - town named after Gen. O. O. Howard, U.S. Army
Hoyt (Dawson) - station named after Colgate Hoyt, director of the Northern Pacific Railway, 1887-1893
Huffine (Gallatin) - station on Bozeman-Mernard branch line, named for Francis M. Huffine, early farmer
Hughes (Judith Basin) - town named for P. H. Hughes of Meagher County, co-discoverer of Barker mines
Hunter's Hot Springs (Park) - town named for Dr. A. J. Hunter, discover & promoter of the springs (1864)
Huntley (Yellowstone) - town, center of Huntley fed. irrigation project, after pioneer stockman S.S. Huntley
Huson (Missoula) - post office & store named after H. S. Huson, assistant engineer of Northern Pacific RR
Hutton (Big Horn) - town named for J. W. Hutton, old time rancher
Hysham (Treasure) - town & county seat, named after Charles Hysham, early ranchman
Intake (Dawson) - town named from the intake of the irrigation system nearby
Iron Mountain (Mineral) - station named after Iron Mt. mine, lead/zinc mine, 1888; renamed Superior
Ismay (Custer) - town named for Isabelle & Mary Peck, daughs. of George W. Peck, Chi., Mil. & St. Paul RR
Jackson (Beaverhead) - town named for Anton Jackson, the first postmaster.
Jardine (Park) - town named for A. C. Jardine, secretary of the Bear Gulch Mining Company
Jeffers (Madison) - town named for Myers D. Jeffers, an early settler
Jefferson (Jefferson) - river & county named for Pres. Thomas Jefferson; Lewis & Clark named river, 1805
Jefferson Island (Jefferson) - village & station, named for island formed by sloughs of the Jefferson River
Jenks (Richland) - station named in compliment to C.O. Jenks, vice president of the Great Northern Railway
Jens (Powell) - town named for a resident of that section, whose Christian name was Jens
John Long Mountains (Granite) - range of mountains named in honor of John Long, pioneer
Johns (Lewis & Clark) - town named for William Johns, early rancher
Jones (Fergus) - town named for William Jones, early settler
Jordon (Garfield) - town, county seat named for A. J. Jordon, 1st settler/ postmaster, Jordon family (Glendive) & W. B. Jordon (Miles City)
Josephine (Gallatin) - station named for a member of the family of R. A. Harlow, pres. of old Montana RR
Judith (Judith Basin) - river, basin, mountains; riv. named by Lewis & Clark (1805) for Judith Hancock, VA
Judith Gap (Wheatland) - town located between the Little Belt & Snowy mountains gave the place its name
Jumbo Mountain (Missoula) - mountain named for its elephant-shape
Kalispell (Flathead) - city & county seat, named for the Kalispell Indians
Kendall (Fergus) - town named for Harry T. Kendall, developer & owner of the Kendall Gold Mining Co.
Kenspur (Ravalli) - station given a composite word name, Kendall's spur, named for William J. Kendall
Kessler (Lewis & Clark) - town named for Nicholas Kessler, an honored and well known pioneer of Helena
Kevin (Toole) - town named for a dispatcher on the A. R. & I. A company railroad
Kingmont (Fallon) - station named because it is at the summit of the climb out of the little Missouri valley
Kingston (Fergus) - post office named after Joseph King, president of King Brothers Land & Livestock Co.
Kohr (Powell) - station named after Conrad Kohrs, from whom the Northern Pacific acquired right-of-way
La Marsh Creek (Deer Lodge) - creek named for a man who built a fishtrap there in the early days
La Vallie Creek (Missoula) - creek named for an old French Canadian who homestead on the creek bank
Lake (Lake) - county named after Flathead Lake comprising the northern part of the county
Lake Delmo (Jefferson) - lake named after A. Delmo, an early settler in the vicinity
Lakes Inez & Alma - named for two daughters of E. L. Wooley, railroad civil engineer & area surveyor
Lander's Fork (Lewis & Clark) - named for Frederick West Lander of the Stevens survey of 1853-1855
Landusky (Phillips) - town named for Powell "Pike" Landusky, western fighter who died violently (1894)
Lantry (Rosebud) - station named for T. H. Lantry, general superintendent of Northern Pacific Railway
Laurin (Madison) - station named after Mr. Laurin, who settled in the area in 1863
Lavina (Golden Valley) - a former settlement whose name origins are unknown
Lee (Rosebud) - town named for Lee Austin, nephew of Orson Merritt, first postmaster
Lennep (Meagher) - town named for J. J. Lane, United States Representative
Lewis & Clark (Lewis & Clark) - county named after explorers Lewis & Clark, formerly Edgerton County
Lewistown (Fergus) - former military camp, now town, named for Lieut. Col. Williams H. Lewis
Libby (Lincoln) - town named for the daughter of George Davis, early settler
Liberty (Liberty) - county named from sentiment of the inhabitants following victory in World War I
Lincoln (Lincoln) - county in northwestern Montana, probably named in honor of President Lincoln
Lindbergh Lake (Missoula) - lake name changed from Elbow Lake in honor of Col. C.A. Lindbergh in 1927
Lindsay (Dawson) - post office, named after Hon. William Lindsay, early sheep rancher & U.S. Marshall
Lindville (Roosevelt) - town named for E. A. Lund, area resident
Livingston (Park) - city & county seat, originally Clarks City, named after Charles Livingston or Johnston Livingston, both early directors of Northern Pacific Railway
Lodge Grass (Big Horn) - named after Lodge Grass Creek; Crow Indians called it Greasy Grass
Logan (Gallatin) - town formerly called Cannon house, named after Odelia Logan, holder of right-of-way
Lohman (Blaine) - town named for A.S. Lohman, town founder
Lolo (Missoula) - in Nez Perce language, "muddy water"
Lombard (Broadwater) - station & town named for A. C. Lombard, chief engineer of the Montana railroad
Lookout (Mineral) - station named for its location at the summit of the Coeur d' Alene mountains
Lorraine (Fallon) - town, name changed to Baker
Lothrop (Missoula) - station/small town, named for I. R. Lothrop, engineer of Northern Pacific RR
Loweth (Meagher) - station between Castle & Crazy mountians named for C.F. Loweth, chief engineer
Lump Gulch (Jefferson) - gulch named by Fred Jones & Wm M. Sprague (1864) for nearby gold lumps
Lupher (Flathead) - station west of Whitefish, named for engineer in charge of construction of Great No. RR Lusk (Missoula) - station named after F. S. Lusk, of Missoula
Lux (Gallatin) - station named for John T. Lux, a farmer who settled there in 1896
 

 

Montana History Net is produced by Bruce Gourley.  Photographs, except Clark signature, copyright Bruce Gourley.