Built around 1893, the Bon-Ton is one of four remaining pre-1900 masonry structures in the Central Business Historic District. The term bon-ton means “a good or elegant form or style; regarded as fashionably correct.” This structure is an excellent example of early brick remodeling on stone and its construction likely supported the Croatian stonemasons who settled in Lewistown towards the end of the nineteenth century. The Bon-Ton serves as an excellent example of early commercial building design. The building originally housed the Carson Saloon. William A. Carson tended the bar and operated a boarding house on the second floor. A former lodger of Carson’s, Charles Williams, opened the Bon-Ton Confectionery in the building in 1908 featuring an early soda fountain. Mrs. Florence Williams took over operation of the Bon-Ton Rooming House in 1912. The Williams family operated the business continuously for over seventy-six years. The Bon-Ton building has served Lewistown continuously since the late nineteenth century and remains a vital part of the commercial district as the city embarks on the twenty-first century.
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