Forsyth in Rosebud County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Merchant Bank
Forsyth Main Street Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 13, 2020
1. Merchant Bank Marker
Inscription.
Merchant Bank. Forsyth Main Street Historic District. Pioneer businessman Thomas Alexander founded Forsyth’s first bank in 1892. In 1898, he built this ashlar stone bank building with material quarried within a mile of Forsyth. Three small panels on the cornice commemorate the year of construction and the building’s original function. Although stone was widely used for foundations, Merchant’s Bank is one of the few Forsyth buildings built completely of stone. Large, plate-glass commercial windows and an inset entryway originally marked the street level façade. Inside, “commodious vaults of stone and steel” helped safeguard deposits from theft or fire. Capitalized at $12,000 in 1900, Merchant’s Bank was a small bank even for its day. Nevertheless, it remained Forsyth’s only bank until 1901. By 1903, the bank had moved, and two storefronts, occupied by a barbershop and a carpentry/tin shop, shared this space. Not long after, J. Z. Northway opened a butcher shop here, where he sold meat and fresh sausage, which he manufactured in the circa 1910 rear brick addition. A community institution, the Forsyth Meat Market operated on Main Street into the 1930s.
Pioneer businessman Thomas Alexander founded Forsyth’s first bank in 1892. In 1898, he built this ashlar stone bank building with material quarried within a mile of Forsyth. Three small panels on the cornice commemorate the year of construction and the building’s original function. Although stone was widely used for foundations, Merchant’s Bank is one of the few Forsyth buildings built completely of stone. Large, plate-glass commercial windows and an inset entryway originally marked the street level façade. Inside, “commodious vaults of stone and steel” helped safeguard deposits from theft or fire. Capitalized at $12,000 in 1900, Merchant’s Bank was a small bank even for its day. Nevertheless, it remained Forsyth’s only bank until 1901. By 1903, the bank had moved, and two storefronts, occupied by a barbershop and a carpentry/tin shop, shared this space. Not long after, J. Z. Northway opened a butcher shop here, where he sold meat and fresh sausage, which he manufactured in the circa 1910 rear brick addition. A community institution, the Forsyth Meat Market operated on Main Street into the 1930s.
Location. 46° 15.957′ N, 106° 40.699′ W. Marker is in Forsyth, Montana, in Rosebud County. It is on Main Street near 10th Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 971 Main Street, Forsyth MT 59327, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Nation, in Southeast Montana, in Custer Country and in the Powder River Basin. It is also in the American Mountain West, in 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 walking
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 13, 2020
Credits. This page was last revised on November 4, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 16, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 442 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 16, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
