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LEARN ABOUT HISTORIC LEWISTOWN
Lewistown has a brief and fascinating history The classic snapshot that captures the traveler and keeps us residents here in Lewistown, is the panoramic view of our Main Street, with the Judith Mountains nestled into the background. Lewistown is blessed with natural beauty and resources. Located in a basin between several mountain ranges with a pristine Spring Creek running through, it doesn’t get any better than that! Lewistown’s rich cultural heritage started when the Metis in their Red River Carts followed the dwindling buffalo herds and settled here in 1879. Open range ranchers, gold miners and homesteaders soon followed. Lewistown became an incorporated city in 1899. Our beautiful golden domed Fergus County Court House began in 1907. My Granddad Fogarty helped plant those beautiful trees that surround it!
Two railroads provided service to Lewistown; the Milwaukee depot and the Great Northern depot. Immigrants, in search of a better life and free land arrived by the 1,000s and settled in Central Montana. The railroad also made it possible for local architects and contractors to bring in materials and goods for elaborate building. Immigrants brought their skills with them. The Croatian stone artisans are legendary. The stone buildings in Lewistown attest to their mastery and craftsmanship. Lewistown brick became another outstanding quality building material. Add architects and visionary businessmen to the mix and Lewistown’s Main Street became a 20th century architectural gem.
Decay has set in and our streets and sidewalks are crumbling. But most of our historic buildings are still here. Urban renewal, strip malls and tearing down old buildings, in favor of parking lots, passed us by. We are fortunate. Our fine old buildings give our town character. I believe Lewistown’s period of prosperity, 1905-1919, is about to be matched again, in this century, 2005-2019. The quality of life in our beautiful town lures people here to stay! Lewistown’s “retro” Main Street
To add to the “retro” look, we have the original 1952 Dash-Inn on one end of town and the 1950s Drive-In Theater on the other. The Dash-Inn serves up the same bonus burger wagon wheels as it did when it first opened. If you drive up in one of those old 1950s sedans with fins and chrome, you will get extra attention! The Westernaire Drive-In still shows movies, but instead of a speaker cord dangling from your window, you just tune-in on your radio dial. On a warm summer’s evening, a lot of folks bring their lawn chairs and coolers and sit beside their vehicles. Our Main Street has the Bon Ton, an old-fashioned soda fountain. There are several coffee shops and eating places, offering really good food, made from scratch! Stop in at the Empire Café for a counter lunch and you’ll see what I mean. Main street also has Reid’s clothing store and The Connection dress shop. You can get your watch repaired at Rogers Jewelry and buy a Yogo sapphire. There’s good shopping at a hardware store, a drug store and several mighty fine gift and floral shops. Browse several art galleries and the antique mall. There are furniture and appliance stores. Or, you can buy a car! Just off Main Street, Daylight Donuts, open at 6 a.m., in my opinion, makes better donuts than Krispy Kremes. We have it all, right here, in downtown Lewistown! Starting with our majestic Court House and its opposite building, the old Carnegie Library, the tour down our main street boasts many fine old buildings with most of their historic features still visible. The Warr-Lane building at 309 W. Main has recently been restored to its former splendour and now houses Studio Milan. The Brooks Building is under renovation and will feature Spring Creek running underneath it! Did you know, at one time, there were 6 banking institutions on Main Street? By 1924, they had all failed, but, their buildings still stand! Where Flaments Office Supply is now, was the oldest of the banks, 1899. The other Main Street buildings that were once banks are: the Bank-electric building; the Moose Lodge building; the American Legion building; the Montana Building, still housing Lewistown’s oldest bank reopened in 1924; and the Bank of Fergus Building across the street. We love our 7 block-long old-fashioned Main Street! I invite you to visit and walk our historic “retro” Main Street! Come explore our Silk Stocking District! The “Silk Stocking” houses indicated the society of the day where ladies gathered for afternoon tea or bridge parties. They were the few women in town who could afford to wear silk stockings, leaving the rest of us to wear dowdy cotton. That’s the story I have been told, and I’m sticking to it! Further up W. Boulevard, turn left at 7th Ave. and then a right on W. Broadway, part of the Courthouse Square historic district. You will see a lovely stone house just opposite the courthouse. This house not only represents fine hand cut stonework by the skilled Croatian stone masons, William Fergus bought the house in 1910 from an Ivan Hobensack. William was the brother and business partner of James Fergus, considered the founder of Fergus County. His descendants continued to live there until 1978. Next door to the Fergus House is another famous landmark. It was an Officers’ Quarters House, built in 1880, and moved in from old Fort Maginnis by David Hilger. His family lived there until they moved across the alley into a larger house, built of Lewistown brick, in 1913. Both of these residences are referred to as the Hilger Houses, adding to the confusion. Another fine old house is the Annie and Dan Crowley residence at 208 8th Ave.North. Directly across the street from the front of the Court House is the old Blackford residence. It was built during the same period as the Carnegie Library next door. Further along 8th Avenue South you will find the old Huntoon house. It is another fine example of Croatian stone work. Lewistown’s first “housing development” was Judith Place. It was located out on Buckskin Flats, east of town. To get to it, drive out past the Dash Inn and turn left at Symmes Park. Then, turn left again and view the lovely old houses. This is part of the Judith Place/Scott Addition Historic District. From 1912 until 1919, houses were built by developers on speculation in 3 distinctive styles, Craftsman, Prairie and Period Revival. A 6 room bungalow, with a bathroom and electricity could be bought for $3,500! Exploring our historic heritage! Lewistown has six Historic Districts on the National Register of Historic Places. If you need a guide, for the price of a cup of coffee, I will take you! Call me at 535-8797 or write to: Mary Mendel, 1202 W. Broadway, Lewistown, Montana 59457, m.mendel@midrivers.com Historic resources available in Lewistown: Besides some local residents that I can put you in touch with, your best resource for learning more about historic Lewistown and communities in Central Montana is the Lewistown Public Library. It is a great repository of old books, maps and photos of the area. The friendly library staff has a phenomenal amount of information to share with you! Visit the Lewistown Public Library at 701 W. Main, Tel. (406)538-5212, or at http://www.lewistownlibrary.org/. There are historic photos on-line and a history of Lewistown, plus a card catalog. 500 historic photos can be viewed in the on-line card catalog. The Lewistown Genealogy Society is located in our library. Those folks have a wealth of information on the early day documents of families and events.
The best book on Lewistown’s short history, History of Lewistown, was compiled and edited by the late Robert L. Dissly and was published in 2000. His family owned the early day Fergus County Creamery. The book is well-organized and has a great index for looking up specific names and places. It is available for $22.95 at the library and at the News-Argus Publishing Company, 521 W. Main, 406-535-3401. A book that is out-of-print, but wonderful is: Sievert, Ellen & Ken, A Guide to Historic Lewistown, 1999. Ellen and Ken did definitive research on Lewistown’s architectural treasures in the 1980s when Ellen was the Historic Preservation Officer here. They are responsible for the first five Lewistown Historic Districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The book is a masterpiece and easy to read. The photos are outstanding. A copy is available at the Lewistown Public Library. Selections of fiction and non-fiction Montana books and books by local authors are available at Don’s Store, 120 2nd Ave. South. You can also get your Western wear, hunting and fishing gear there! Another valuable resource is the Historic Preservation Office, City Complex, 305 W. Watson, Tel. 406-535-1775 |
Hello there! I am Mary Mendel, a resident of Lewistown. I grew up near Lewistown, in Winifred, Montana, to be exact. I went away and pursued a school teaching career, in Choteau, Montana, Spokane, Washington and then overseas, most of it in England. When it came time for retirement, I fell under Lewistown’s charm and boomeranged right back here, with no regrets. It’s a great place to live. 
Between 1905 and 1919, Lewistown experienced a period of rapid growth and prosperity. Prominent businessmen invested in elaborate buildings on Main Street and created mansions for their families within walking distance of their business ventures.
That architectural gem remained virtually intact for the next 100 years. Not by design but by fate. As fast as Lewistown developed, it declined. Drought, marginal land plowed under, poor commodity prices, and gold mines playing out, hastened a massive exodus in the 1920s. Lewistown languished after the boom period and for the remainder of the 20th century.
We have a “retro” main street, literally, “Fashionably out-of-date”. Main street is not all boarded up and some very fine shops are miraculously still in business. 
If historic houses are your forte, the Silk Stocking District is just a stone’s throw away from Main Street. Walk or drive up W. Boulevard from 1st Ave. North and you will see where the first businessmen and their families lived. 
The Central Montana Historical Museum traces Lewistown’s brief history with poignant displays of artifacts, pictures and commentary. Give them a visit at 423 NE Main or call them tel. (406) 535-3642. The museum is open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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