Frenchtown Pond State Park
Photo courtesy: Frenchtown Pond State Park
Frenchtown Paper Mill
Photo courtesy: Bill Kuney
Frenchtown is sixteen miles northwest of Missoula. Early inhabitant were mainly French Canadian, hence the name. They came from Quebec and Ontario and settled in the area about 1864. The Indians called Frenchtown valley qua elth, meaning "state of tranquility." In 1869 Louis Barrette discovered gold and staked out a claim for his Discovery Mine. A stampede followed and 3,000 prospectors wintered in the gulch. (from Cheney's Names on the Face of Montana, Mountain Press Publishing Company)
Frenchtown Pond State Park is a five-acre, spring-fed lake has a maximum depth of about ten feet. A variety of fish: sunfish, bass and bullhead provide fair catches during the summer. Frenchtown Pond is also a favorite place for picnicking and to practice boardsailing, kayaking, canoeing, and snorkeling. The park covers 41 acres at 3,169 feet elevation, and several special events that are scheduled here throughout the summer months.
Frenchtown also offers plenty of good fishing along the Clark Fork River.
