Montana Building
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Built in 1924, the Montana Building is one of Lewistown's most prominent landmarks.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The idea for the Montana Building originated from a group of local businessmen who expected the town's development to continue. They hired well-known Montana architects J.G. Link and Charles Haire, who designed many buildings around the state including county courthouses and St. Leo's Church here in Lewistown. One of the businessmen was George J. Wiedeman, the owner of the Montana Hardware Company, which, along with the Bank of Fergus County, originally occupied the building. However, the construction of the Montana Building came towards the end of Lewistown's early period of growth. After 1916, the town experienced periods of drought and economic uncertainty, especially in 1924 when the banks closed after homesteaders left the area. In December of that year, the First National Bank (the predecessor of the First Bank of Montana) opened in the building and has remained ever since. The hardware store moved to a new location in 1960.
Sources
"Lewistown Central Business Historic District." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. June 27, 1985. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/85001405_text.
"Montana Building: Lewistown Central Business Historic District." The Historical Marker Delight. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=143364.
Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LEWISTOWN_CENTRAL_HISTORIC_DISTRICT,_FERGUS_COUNTY,_MONTANA.jpg