U.S. Post Office — Dillon Main

National Register of Historic Places

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 7, 2024

1. U.S. Post Office — Dillon Main Marker

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From the National Register Nomination prepared by H. J. “Jim” Kolva, Institute for Urban and Local Studies, 9/1985:
The Dillon Main Post Office is exceptional in its late use of Neo-Classical design. Although the facade has been somewhat simplified in comparison to its Beaux-Arts counterparts of the early 1900s, it is not stripped to the degree of the designs which ruled the federal style of the mid- to late-1930s. Thus, the design itself is not unusual, but

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 7, 2024

2. U.S. Post Office — Dillon Main Marker

Marker is mounted directly above the entry.
From the National Register Nomination:  The entry consists of double aluminum-framed glass doors (original doors replaced). A wooden door head with two recessed panels lies above the doors. The doors are framed by fluted flat wooden pilasters which rest on a sandstone belt course (water table). The pilasters support a simple wooden entablature. Molded sandstone springers extend horizontally from the ends of the entablature and support a semi-circular gauged brick arch. A molded sandstone keystone completes the arch. Within the brick arch is an arched wooden panel which is scalloped in a fan pattern. The wooden panel encloses an arched window with mullions of interlocking arch segments (10 lights).

its use during the mid- 1930s is rare.
The building was the city's first federally constructed post office. It was constructed during a period in which the city's economy was beginning a slow recovery from stagnation in the 1920s and early 1930s (during the 1920s the population decreased). The local citizens had been lobbying hard for a federal building. Petitions were circulated in support of the post office so as to demonstrate to the federal government that Dillon wanted the building. The building's construction would give needed employment to Dillon citizens and have a positive economic benefit. The construction of the building is a legacy of success by local citizens in securing a federal building for their city in time of economic hardship.
On June 28, 1934, it was reported that a post office for Dillon was assured. A $100,000 emergency appropriation had been made for the building. Senator B. K. Wheeler and Representative J. A. Monaghan had secured the appropriation as one of 626 projects nationwide. On March 9, 1936, it was reported that “the beautiful new federal building” would be completed in the spring and so it was. The

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 7, 2024

3. U.S. Post Office — Dillon Main (facade detail)

Tribune reported the public opening on June 11th. The “handsome structure is a credit to the city and is admired by numerous visitors.” The building was described as having the appearance of a Georgian mansion with its colonial windows and entry terrace of russet colored tile. The article also stated that Dillon was fortunate to have been selected for a post office, and that none of the government services touches us so intimately as mail service. On June 25th, it was reported that the post office building had received its final inspection and had been accepted by the federal government.
The south end of the lobby contains a mural entitled “News From the States” (approximately 5' by 12', located over the postmaster's door). The mural was executed by Elizabeth Lochrie in 1938 for a sum of $665. The mural depicts a group including ranchers, farmers, and Indians reading a newspaper spread on a rutted wagon road.

The post office in Dillon, Montana was built by the Treasury Department in 1935. It is still in use and listed on the National Register of Historic

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 7, 2024

4. U.S. Post Office — Dillon Main (southeast elevation)

Places. There is a New Deal mural inside.

Elizabeth Lochrie’s mural, News from the States, extends twelve feet across the width of the wall above the postmaster’s door. The painting includes eleven figures, set in the Territorial period, circa 1880. A mixed group of men are depicted in a landscape that calls to mind the topography of the area around Dillon, Montana. The grassy plains set against distant mountains, a wagon trail cutting through the foreground next to a mail box. A ranch house sits in the far right background of the composition. The group includes a Pony Express mail rider with his mail bags, two Native men, two rangers, sheep and a shepherd, a dog sniffing the mailbox post, cowboys, and a miner with a recalcitrant burro, all gathered around, reading a newly delivered newspaper spread out on the ground across the wagon tracks. The text, NEWS FROM ‘THE STATES’ is written across the center bottom of the mural. Many of these elements suggest the themes of westward

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 7, 2024

5. U.S. Post Office — Dillon Main (southwest elevation)

From the National Register Nomination:  Characteristic of mid-1930s federal design, the five bayed facade is flat and devoid of major ornamentation. However, Classical influences are shown in the round-arched Palladian windows which flank each side of the round-arched entry bay. Flat-arched window bays mark the outside corners of the facade. Five smaller window bays, aligned over those of the first floor, break the otherwise plain second floor. A simple projected cornice terminates the second story.

expansion and white settlers’ migration to lands occupied by American Indians.