The name of the settlement was changed from St. Mary's to Stevensville in 1864 to honor territorial governor Isaac Stevens. In 1879, G. A. Kellogg platted the townsite. In 1891, the Bitterroot Salish who remained in the valley were forced to remove to the Flathead Indian Reservation. In 1893, Ravalli County was created, and Stevensville became the county seat until 1898, when the town lost the election to Hamilton. More than forty properties in Stevensville are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.