The town of Saco got its start because of the need of a place for a Great Northern Railroad water tank. A boxcar served as the section house for two years until a real section house was built in 1889. The railroad agents could not decide on a name, so they spun a globe and a finger landed on Saco, Maine.

The post office was established in 1892 and the town was incorporated in 1918. At one time Saco was a bustling town of 1500 or more people and had numerous businesses. Some of the original buildings still remain. It is now a community of 224.

In the early days it had its local outlaws such as Kid Curry and Long Henry. In the early 30’s gravel and rock that was used in the building of Fort Peck dam came from an area 18 miles northwest of Saco. A community called Cole sprang up there that consisted of people who dug and hauled the gravel and rock. Now the holes where the gravel came from have filled with spring water. Known as Cole Ponds they are a great place to fish for Bass and Trout. The drilling of Natural Gas was started in the early 1930’s in the Bowdoin Field “Big Dome.” The town of Saco drilled its own gas well in 1936, which took 6 weeks to drill.

During this same time period, natural gas was discovered in the area surrounding Saco. It since has established a municipal gas distribution system and has supplied the town with low cost natural gas for 75 years. During this same time period while drilling for gas in the area an underground hot water spring was discovered. The CC’s built pools and buildings from the native rock around the well. The American Legion ran it, and it was called the Plunge. It is now privately owned and the name was changed to The Sleeping Buffalo Resort. The name pays homage to large rock that resembled a sleeping buffalo. It was found just north of there along the Milk River overlooking Cree Crossing, a historic river crossing of the Cree Indians. The rock was moved from there to its current location along US highway 2 at the turn off for the resort and Nelson reservoir. Native Americans still visit the rock and leave offerings today.

Nelson reservoir was created to provide irrigation for local crops. It has since become a popular recreation area with 113 cabin sites. Boating, water skiing, swimming, and fishing for walleye, northern pike, and perch are all enjoyed today.

Some of the first explores of this area were the dinosaurs which lived here millions of years ago. Many real fossils have been discovered in the area including “Ocasphil.” Many, many years later Lewis and Clarke passed through the area on their exploration of the west.

Saco was also the proud home town of Chet Huntley, national news commentator, who attended the one room Huntley school which is now located in Saco. “Be patient and have courage—there will be better and happier news some day, if we work at it” (Chet Huntley, on his final broadcast)