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 Slayton Mercantile Co. - Lavina, MT Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 46° 17.683 W 108° 56.288
12T E 658803 N 5128859
Ninety years young when entered in the National Register in 2000, Slayton Mercantile seems to have changed personalities in the last few years.
Waymark Code: WMWA9W
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 08/01/2017
Views: 1
Finally closed 94 years after it opened, today it appears that Slayton Mercantile has found a new lease on life as an entertainment venue. In recent times the building has hosted a
fundraiser hoedown for the Lavina School Association, a pottery show and sale, a fundraiser for the Billings-based International Deaf Education Association, an old-fashioned community dance and auction in support of school activities, scholarships and community projects and the fifth annual Lavina Spirits haunted house.
We can now say with relative certainty when the store closed. This newspaper article, from the Billings Gazette, apprises us that the store was to have closed on August 22, 2004 and that:
The general store, which sells food, housewares, hardware, Montana-made goods and Western-themed souvenirs, will stay open until Aug. 22. On Aug. 28, Tryans Auction Center of Billings will conduct an auction at the store, selling off hundreds of antiques, some of which have been on display for years and some of which the Ainslies have only recently discovered in the expansive building.
The original Slayton Mercantile, a wood-frame building, was constructed in 1908 and burned down in 1910. It was rebuilt in brick two years later. The store was renamed several times over the years and was called the Lavina Country Store when the Ainslies bought it.
They restored the original name and in 2000 succeeded in having the Slayton Mercantile listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They also repainted the washed-out "Slayton Mercantile Co." signs on the front and the south side of the building, replaced the roof, refinished the fir floors and put up a new awning out front.
From the Billings Gazette
A central character in the life of the town of Lavina for its entire life, Slayton Mercantile was without a doubt the best known and most visited of all the buildings in the town. For much of those 94 years it was the town's major supplier of everything from farm implements to food and dang near everything in between. It was even the post office for about 13 years, from 1910 to 1923, when the post office moved across First Avenue into the old Lavina State Bank, which had failed that year.
The Person:
The single most important individual in the history of the town of Lavina and of Golden Valley County, Daniel Webster Slayton built and operated the largest mercantile business in Lavina. Beginning in 1908 his mercantile business stocked and sold everything from food to farm implements, tractors and Ford cars. He became postmaster of Lavina, operating the post office from his store until 1923.
In 1923 the Bank of Lavina failed as a result of several years of drought and a heavy dependence by the bank on agriculture. In that year the post office moved into the bank building. It was Dan Slayton who established that bank in 1909, the first Bank of Lavina.
As well as being a successful rancher and businessman, Slayton also entered politics, being elected a county commissioner of Fergus County in 1897. In 1910, he was elected to represent Fergus County in the State Legislature. Beginning in 1916 he was twice elected to the state senate.
Daniel Webster Slayton was born in Concoton, Steuben County, New York, November 6, 1862. He grew up in New York and Fairfax County, VA. In 1884 at the age of 22, Mr. Slayton traveled to Montana to join his brother Dalon in White Sulphur Springs. Daniel found himself in Livingston, Montana, without transportation to White Sulphur Springs until the following week. Instead of waiting he walked the 75 miles in two days. Mr. Slayton began working on the Catlin Ranch, five miles from White Sulphur Springs. The Slayton brothers soon settled near Lavina the in 1885. Daniel located a homestead 12 miles north of Lavina on Currant Creek, and began raising sheep.
During the fall of 1887, Mr. Slayton wrote to his fiancee asking her to join him in Billings, Montana. On November 8, 1887, Daniel W. Slayton and Miss Lizzie Ellis were married in Billings. The couple returned to the log cabin built on Currant Creek. The couple had five children: Lydia, Daniel Ellis, John Albert, Ernest Gardner and Ruth. In 1896, Daniel built a cement blockhouse, known as the "White House," down stream from the original log cabin.
By 1897, he had become a successful sheep rancher and businessman with 5500 sheep and 2000 lambs. Sheep shearing sheds were built and 30 to 40 thousand sheep were brought to Slayton to be sheared at shearing time. In 1902, Mr. Slayton acquired the Trask Ranch, and a two-story frame wing was added to the original log cabin and was then covered with board siding.
In 1909, Dan Slayton established the first Bank of Lavina and a sheep shearing plant. Within a few years Lavina became a thriving economic center with the addition of the Radford Hotel, stock yard, meat market, livery, lumber yard, cafes, harness shop, two grain elevators, flour mill, real estate sales, telephone, blacksmith, tailor shop, green house, churches, school and Slayton Wool Warehouse.
Daniel Slayton was an influential citizen in the emerging town of Lavina, Montana and a prominent member of the business community. In 1897, he was elected a county commissioner of Fergus County. In 1910, he was elected to represent Fergus County in the State Legislature. It was this legislative session that was instrumental in bringing about the formation of Musselshell County. Mr. Slayton was elected twice to the State Senate in newly established Musselshell County beginning 1916. In May of 1920 he entered the race for Governor as a Republican candidate, but was defeated during the primaries.
From the Slayton Mercantile NRHP Registration Form
Year it was dedicated: 1910
Location of Coordinates: At the store
Related Web address (if available): [Web Link]
Type of place/structure you are waymarking: Building
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