Built on Rails and Grit

Kootenai might be quiet today, but it was born loud—with the hiss of steam and the clatter of steel. In the early 1900s, the Northern Pacific Railroad carved its way through the mountains, and Kootenai popped up like a waystation of purpose. It wasn’t fancy, but it was essential. The tracks brought workers, goods, and families, and soon there were houses, stores, and a life all its own. The town might not have had sidewalks or even streetlights in those days, but it had motion—and a reason to stay.