Welsh immigrant Archibald Hopkins settled in central Montana in the 1870s, where he raised produce for sale to local markets. Hopkins watched Lewistown grow from a small trading post to an established community before linking his fortunes to the town. He purchased this Main Street lot after voters named Lewistown the county seat of the newly created Fergus County in 1899. The following year he and his sons hired a crew of masons to construct this one-story building, distinguished by its cut sandstone façade, curved pediment, and dressed stone incised with the year "1900." An abundance of local sandstone and skilled masons made the decision to build in stone a logical one. So did the lack of a local brickyard. Hopkins and Sons sold groceries, crockery, and kitchen furnishing here until the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railway completed its line to Lewistown in 1908. That year, with the town booming, the Hopkinses moved their business into the large commercial block they had built next door.
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