In the mid to late 1800s, coal, oil, and mineral exploration made the North Fork area of Montana attractive to settlers resulting in a wagon road along the valley on east side of the North Fork Flathead River and bridge over the river, bringing in more settlers. The unknown and original settlers of Polebridge and the surrounding land arrived in the 1890s; however, more arrived after the valley land east of the North Fork Flathead River became Glacier National Park in 1910 and settling was no longer allowed there. The Merc quickly became a central meeting location for homesteaders scattered within the 900 square mile area of the North Fork Valley as the store provided necessary products and services, including postal services until 2001, and was the only general store in the valley. Three additional buildings were constructed that would become part of the W.L. Adair General Mercantile Historical District: the log Ice House (1914), the Log Barn (1917), and the wood frame Machine Shed/Shop (1925). Later, more structures were added to the Polebridge community: four wood frame cabins (1945), a greenhouse (1968), a generator building (1969), a propane tank shelter (1982), and four outhouses (years unknown). In 1983 the District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places after Karen Feather, owner of the Northern Lights Saloon at the time, and Jerry DeSanto, a Polebridge Sub-District Ranger with the
NPS, completed the nomination form. Another notable historic event involving Polebridge was the Red Bench Fire that almost destroyed the entire community on September 7, 1988. The fire "destroyed 25 homes, the
Polebridge Ranger Station, the community's namesake 'pole bridge,' and consumed numerous barns and outbuildings". Today Polebridge is a popular addition to the itineraries of tourists visiting Glacier National Park and the surrounding area because of its historical significance and
off-the-grid way of life. ==Climate==