Glasgow in Valley County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

First National Bank of Glasgow

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 15, 2019

1. First National Bank of Glasgow Marker

Inscription. Glasgow merchants John and Robert Lewis did not face much competition when they opened a bank in a corner of their general store in 1891. Their bank was the only one within over two hundred miles. Despite an initial lack of experience, the Lewis brothers successfully steered the enterprise through economic shoals that doomed many other Montana banks: the panics of 1893 and 1907 and the agricultural depression of the 1920s. During Glasgow’s boom years, the bank thrived, moving first to a brick building in 1900 and then, amidst the homesteading boom, to this Beaux Arts business block. National banks, prohibited from investing in real estate other than their own buildings, often constructed banks with surplus office space. First National Bank of Glasgow was no exception. Designed by prominent St. Paul architects Charles Buechner and Henry Orth, this 1914 building housed retail stores and the bank on the first floor and business offices and an apartment for Robert Lewis on the second floor. The two-story building displays the symmetrical façade and exuberant ornamentation associated with the Beaux Arts style: entry porches

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with roofs supported by graceful Corinthian columns, second-floor balconies, elaborated pilasters, and decorative terra-cotta detailing. Built on the community’s busiest street, both for security (to deter bank robbers) and for customer convenience, the building helped mark Glasgow’s coming of age. Its architecture expressed a solidity, stability, and grandeur that symbolized safety and permanence, both for the bank and for the community itself.

Erected by Montana Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Montana National Register Sign Program series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1891.

Location. 48° 11.681′ N, 106° 38.184′ W. Marker is in Glasgow, Montana, in Valley County. It is on 5th Street South near 1st Avenue South. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 110 5th Street South, Glasgow MT 59230, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Montana’s Missouri River Country.

It is also in the American Mountain West,

First National Bank of Glasgow snd Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 15, 2019

2. First National Bank of Glasgow snd Marker

The marker is on the left side of the building, behind the white car.

the Lewis & Clark Corridor,

on the prairies,

on the Great Plains,

and specifically on the Northern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 15 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Glasgow, MT (approx. 0.3 miles away); Boulder Carvings (approx. 0.7 miles away); V. F. W. Post 3107 Memorial (approx. 0.9 miles away); Buffalo Country (approx. 6.7 miles away); The Old Milk River Bridge and Tampico (approx. 11.7 miles away); The Ice Ages (approx. 14.1 miles away); Liquid Gold (approx. 14.1 miles away); Swing Bridge (approx. 14.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Glasgow.

More about this marker. The marker is on the east side of the building near the entrance.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 25, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 589 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 25, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.