It was in 1910 that the Joliet Volunteer Fire Department decided it was time the town had a real fire hall. Local contractor Jack Howatt drew plans for the building which were accepted by the Department and a $1,000 contract let to the same Jack Howatt, who proceeded to erect the structure. With a bell tower over one end, the building was completed with the placement of the fire bell in June of 1910. At the base of the tower is a large, rather austere, clock with markers for numbers and fairly plain clock hands.
When built, a room was set aside for the use of the town council. In the late 1940s the building was moved on rollers to its present location, becoming the town hall and no longer associated with the fire department. Originally the fire hall was located directly behind the Rock Creek State Bank on Central Avenue. The Architectural Inventory sheet incorrectly states that the Rock Creek State Bank was on Carbon Avenue. It was built in 1906-07 at its present location on the corner of Central Avenue and South Main Street.
The town of Joliet is the service centre for small agricultural areas which stretch along the bottoms of the Clark's Fork River and Rock Creek Valleys. Never previously reaching 600 in population, the town was established in the early 1890s, its first post office opening on June 10, 1893. It has slowly grown from a population of around 200 at the turn of the century to 650 or so at present. The two block long business section of Main Street has several empty storefronts and several small business serving up groceries, antiquities, hair cuts and other grooming services, beer, pizza, gas, legal advice and convenience foods. A brick making business once thrived in Joliet, providing the bricks for many of the commercial buildings in the town.
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The town's historic buildings include the 1906
Rock Creek State Bank, the 1906
Southern Hotel and the 1910
Former Joliet Fire Hall, now Town Hall. At the eastern entrance to Joliet is a large sculpture garden with many "off the wall" sculptures of various subjects and types, using primarily welded steel, though other types of metal sculptures will be found there, as well. Just west of that is the relatively new community centre and library, surrounded with a few dozen dedicated trees.
Fire Hall AKA Town Hall
The structure is significant as an important element of the community. The erection of a Fire Hall marked a new plateau for the town of Joliet as a respectable, progressive community. The building continues to be a "living part of the community" as the city hall and community center. The original building has been moved from its original setting but the movement of the structure has not reduced its importance to the community. Although it was primarily built by the citizens of Joliet as a fire hall, a room was provided to function as the city council chamber and now the entire building serves this function.
Placed on a poured concrete foundation, this rectangular wood frame structure has a daylight basement. A detached one story building, it is clad with white shiplap siding on three sides. Corner boards are present and a vertical wood batten divides the horizontal cladding in half on the side walls. The gable roof is clipped on the west end to accommodate the bell tower. The roof details include flared eaves enclosed with beaded soffit, green asbestos shingles over the original wood shingles, bed molding and wood shingles in the gable ends. The bell tower is centered on the clipped gable end. It is has a square shape and a low pyramidal hipped roof with flared eaves. The square tower is framed by corner boards and has vertical wood strips for detailing. Casement windows framed in a segmental arch enclose the four sides of the belfry. A clock face is positioned at the base of the tower.
From the Montana Historical and Architectural Inventory