The Kootenai of Yesteryear
In 1906, a pair of attorneys for Anaconda Copper Company bought an ideal wilderness hideaway to spend carefree summers relaxing and fishing with friends. Their names were Lewis Orvis Evans and Cornelius "Con" Kelley and together they purchased the 2700 acres of northwestern Montana.
The property was thick with lakes, streams and rivers full of fish. Its forests alive with grizzly and black bear, moose, elk, deer, bobcat, mountain lion, big horn sheep, lynx, otter, fox, beaver and wolf. The land also held a large number of excellent parcels upon which Kelley and Evans could build their summer homes. Yet there was never a question about which location held the most charm and staggering natural beauty: Present-day Kootenai.
By 1915, "Con" Kelley and Orvis Evans had shot to the top of Anaconda Copper: Kelley becoming the president and Evans, his chief counsel.
The pair helped Anaconda grow into one of the largest corporations in the world. And as each vein of Montana's lucrative mountain ore was brought to the surface and dispersed to a copper hungry world, so grew the renown, prestige, celebrity and especially the bank accounts of Kelley and Evans. The duo amassed a fortune. More than tycoons or moguls, the pair had become nothing less than kings: The Copper Kings.
Armed with their newly acquired clout, the Kings marched to the very top echelon of society. They were lionized along with the world's foremost Captains of Industry—Vanderbilt, Morgan, Astor, Carnegie and Rockefeller. They had gained entrance into the formidable courts of American Royalty...and began to live as such.
By 1920, the Kings and their families were arriving at Kootenai in chauffeured limousines with an entourage that included a British butler, French maid, parlor maid, cook, pastry chef, nursemaid and porter. Two trucks wielding luggage, as well as silver service for fifty, would follow the Kings into what was then known as the Kelley-Evans Estate.
When Kelley and Evans first laid eyes on Kootenai and her vast riches, they envisioned it as a summer fishing camp and thus named it "The Kootenai Camp." As a place to unwind from the pressures of a demanding business world, this wonderland where lake, creek and river meet was an enormous success.
As is her habit with everyone, Kootenai quickly got under the skin of the Copper Kings...and melted their hearts. Before long Kelley and Evans wanted to share the splendors of their newfound hideaway with others. Such is the power of Kootenai. Soon, the list of welcome habitués grew to include Charles Lindbergh, Will Rogers, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Western artist Charles Russell, Jane Wyatt and J.D. Rockefeller.
A hundred years later, the Kootenai's privileged guest list is being lengthened to accommodate just 42 of today's most fortunate families—those fated few who will soon have the rare pleasure to call Kootenai home.
