Filed Under Glendive

Dion Building / Exchange State Bank

Merrill Avenue Historic District

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.

Images

Dion Building/Exchange State Bank
Dion Building/Exchange State Bank Dion Building/Exchange State Bank (PAc 91-51 Glendive R18 F02). Front view of the building, facing west to northwest near the corner of South Merrill Avenue and West Bell Street. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office from the Photograph Archives at the Montana Historical Society Creator: Bill Babcock Date: Apr. 1987

Location

102/104 South Merrill Avenue, Glendive, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Dion Building / Exchange State Bank,” Historic Montana, accessed March 29, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/296.