Doody Homestead

The story of the Doody Homestead is one of corruption to conservation. Located in Glacier National Park, the Doody Homestead was homesteaded by Dan Doody in the late 1800s—20 years before the area became a national park.

Doody was a prospector, outfitter, and one of GNP’s first rangers who was later fired for excessive poaching of the park’s wildlife. His wife, Josephine, purportedly killed a man, became a dance hall girl, got addicted to opium, and was kidnapped and brought to this remote property to dry out. Josephine became a moonshiner whose product was so well-known that passing trains would stop and blow their whistles to signal the number of quarts the engineers wanted to be delivered.

Located on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, rafters float right by the Doody Homestead, where remnants of Dan and Josephine’s two-story hunting lodge still stand. After two centuries of private ownership, the homestead finally has public and protected status as part of Glacier National Park.

Trust for Public Land purchased the land and transferred it to the National Park Service in July 2012, permanently protecting this chapter in Glacier National Park’s history from development—one of the top threats to water quality, clean air, and wildlife habitat.

The land lies along the Flathead, considered one of the purest rivers in the world. Mountain lions, grizzly and black bears, moose, bald eagles, and many species of fish live on and travel through the property, helping maintain the balance of one of the most pristine landscapes—and natural playgrounds—in the world.

“From a natural resource perspective, this is as pristine as it gets,” says Deb Love of TPL. “By acquiring inholdings such as this, we are protecting the investment of the American taxpayer in the history, wildlife, and landscapes of their national parks.”