M & H Company Store and Offices

M and H Company Store and Offices. . , On this site stood the M and H Company Store and Corporate Offices. In the late 1800's Lewiston was truly a company town. Major stockholders of M and H built their homes here and had streets named after them. The town itself was named for Lewis Jensen, the first Treasurer of M and H and was informally called Lewie's Town for many years. , , The Company Store was the life's blood of the community. It sold dry goods, clothing, cloth, food, and supplies. It had a large basement to store produce. It was operated with a charitable spirit by the company primarily to provide for the workers and it was not expected to make a profit. , , The south wing of the building held the company offices and the vault. Workers would line up here to get paid in cash, and if they wished they could take credit on their wages in the form of Company chits that could be exchanged for merchandise or food at the store. Since much business was conducted in hard currency, the office had a large fire proof vault. , , The M and H Store ceased operations on May 7, 1910, when the main mill closed. The building was destroyed by a large fire in 1914. The closure of the mill meant that the electricity supplied by the company facilities ceased, residents resumed kerosene lighting and fires were frequent. , , The fire hydrants and water system that were also supplied by the mill were now dry so the town would form bucket brigades to fight back the flames often with little success. The fire of 1914 might have destroyed the entire town if it wasn't for the daring of Herman Lunden who dynamited several buildings in the path of the fire and stopped its progression. , , Donated by the Craig and Jennifer Snyder Family in conjunction with Rob and Terri Chapman. , , The Lewiston Heritage Trail is a DDA project funded by private donors with period photos and historical text provided by the Lewiston Area Historical Society.