Fire swept through Glendive’s wood-frame businesses in January of 1886, destroying Henry Dion’s saloon and general merchandise store, established on this corner in 1881. Dion constructed a kiln and built a more substantial fire-resistant brick building, completed later that year. The striking Gothic style building was featured in an 1889 issue of The Northwest Magazine. Dion’s businesses occupied the two storefronts while the Glendive Club, the center of the town’s social life, shared upstairs space. The club opened to ladies one day a week and hosted frequent dances in its handsome quarters. Remodeling of the building in 1929 included a new façade of better quality brick accented with marble and limestone panels. The original “Glendive brick” may still be seen in the elevator foyer. Dion served as Dawson County’s first sheriff and in many other public offices. He was president of the Exchange Bank established here in 1901 and retained presidency of the Exchange Sate Bank when it was founded in 1911. While many financial institutions failed during the 1930s, this bank remained solvent thanks to the private funds of its stockholders.
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