Pablo is a

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 Lake 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. The population was 2,138 at the 2020 census. It is the home of

Salish Kootenai College Salish Kootenai College (SKC) is a Private college, private Tribal colleges and universities, tribal Land-grant university, land-grant community college in Pablo, Montana. It serves the Bitterroot Salish, Ktunaxa, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles ...

and the seat of government of the Flathead Indian Reservation.

History

Pablo got its start in 1917, when the

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

completed a branch line between Sčilíp (formerly known as Dixon) and Polson. It takes its name from Michel Pablo, known for his efforts to save the American bison from extinction.

People's Center fire

On September 6, 2020, an arsonist set fire to the People's Center, an education center and museum space for Flathead history and culture. The center lost its repository room, offices, and commercial room were lost in the blaze, but the foyer, education room, and museum area survived. Much of the surviving collection has presently been moved to the Dr. Joe McDonald Health and Activity Center, which resides on the campus of Salish Kootenai College. The suspect, a 33-year-old male, died at the scene. Doors had been barricaded from within, resulting in an increased difficulty for the firefighters at the scene.

Geography

It is near Pablo National Wildlife Refuge. According to the

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

, the CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.04%, 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, Pablo 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 2000, there were 1,814 people, 622 households, and 475 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 674 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 51.16% Native American, 43.44%

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 ...

, 0.17%

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 ...

, 0.11% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.72% from other races, and 4.36% 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 3.31% of the population. There were 622 households, out of which 47.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% 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, 22.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.27. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 38.5% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $26,771, and the median income for a family was $28,615. Males had a median income of $20,982 versus $19,907 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 $14,672. About 22.7% of families and 28.1% 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 30.2% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Pablo is home to

, a tribally controlled college chartered in 1977. It became independent of the local community college in 1981 and expanded its programs. It offers both two-year and four-year degrees, and serves three satellite campuses in eastern Washington state. The community has two elementary schools, a middle school and Two Eagle River School, the high school. In the 2021-2022 school year, Two Eagle River had 62 students for 8th to 12th grade. Two Eagle River School is a Class C high school, a designation which helps determine athletic competitions. They are known as the Eagles.

Media

The ''Char-Koosta News'' is the newspaper serving the Flathead Indian Reservation. The ''Valley Journal'' provides local news to Arlee, Charlo, Pablo, Polson, Ronan, and St. Ignatius. The FM radio station KQRK is licensed in Pablo. It airs a country music format.

Infrastructure

U.S. Route 93 passes through Pablo, east of the town center. The highway leads north to Polson, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and south to Ronan. Ronan Airport is a public use airport north of town. St. Luke Community Healthcare has both a hospital and clinic in Ronan. In 2023, the first phase of the Ronan Health Center was completed.

References

{{authority control Seats of government of American Indian reservations Census-designated places in Lake County, Montana Census-designated places in Montana