Railroad historian dies

Local historian Kevin McCready died last week.

His death was confirmed by Austin Funeral & Cremation Services.

A Whitefish native, McCready spent 14 years compiling a digital archive of Great Northern Railway and Flathead County history. He was also previously the manager of the Stumptown Historical Society museum and was involved with numerous Flathead Valley historical groups.

“I’ve always had an interest in history and my dad was a railroader so those two things came together,” McCready told the Pilot in December 2017. “My mother always said I should study history, but I never took her seriously and then I didn’t have the time to think about it until I retired.”

McCready began his research project for the archive after retiring from a career in information technology and telecommunications, and began searching for information about the history of the Great Northern Railway in Whitefish. His initial curiosity soon grew to include all aspects of the history of the original Flathead County.

He spent hours digging through newspaper articles, conducting interviews and sifting through old family photo albums. He was known to spend time at the Whitefish Pilot and Hungry Horse News offices looking through historical editions.

He eventually compiled his work into the archive that he donated to the Whitefish Community Library, the Museum at Central School in Kalispell, and the Stumptown Historical Society. He also donated his extensive collection of railroad and Glacier National Park history items to the library.