Built in the Mission style with Spanish Colonial influence, the cornerstone for the Fergus County Courthouse was laid on August 25, 1907, following a six month delay caused by an inability to design within preset cost constraints. This story is below. In any event, the courthouse got built, the entire town was proud as punch and quickly put their new building to use, in which capacity it remains today. In 1985 the building was honored by becoming the centerpiece of the
Lewistown Courthouse Historic District, to which it is also a contributor.
Fergus County was created by act of the Fourteenth Legislative Assembly, Montana Territory, in the Spring of 1885. The Bill was sponsored by Hon. James Fergus, a delegate to the assembly from Meagher County, then including Central Montana.
The new county covered an area approximately 130 miles from east to west and 90 miles from north to south. It contained 209 townships, over 7,524 square miles and 4,824,000 acres.
The original Fergus County was subsequently divided into what are now entirely or partly the counties of Musselshell, Petroleum, Judith Basin, Wheatland, Golden Valley and the present Fergus County. The size of Fergus County at it's inception was greater than many of the New England States.
From Fergus County
The grandest building in all the town, the courthouse stands about seven storeys tall, its centre capped by a large dome resting on a story tall octagonal belvedere. On four sides of the dome are large round faced clocks, not all of which agree on what the correct time might be.
Overall a quite eclectic design, the handiwork of architect Newton C. Gauntt, the Mission style parapets are accompanied by overhanging cornices with heavy modillions, below which are tiny dentils; the dome's belvedere was given not one, but two pilasters at each of its eight corners, each with Corinthian capitals. While the majority of the building's window openings are square, a large multi part Romanesque window adorns the façade over the centered entrance and each of the parapets has three Roman arched windows with corbeled brick hoods. To finish the building, a pair of round classical columns with Ionic capitals flank the entrance, ending in brick pilasters beginning at the frieze.
The Fergus County Courthouse, begun in 1907 to accommodate the business of the rapidly growing county, represents the move by many fledgling Montana communities to erect permanent, masonry buildings. The finely preserved Courthouse remains a very prominent structure on Lewistown's Main Street, standing in the center of a tree shaded city block.
A significant portion of Lewistown's architecture is native stone, built mainly between 1900 and 1915. This building "boom" and the abundance of nearby building stone drew a large number of stonemasons, who were readily employed to assist in the building of a permanent city.
The Fergus County Commissioners accepted the plans of architect Newton C. Gauntt of North Yakima, Washington, following a competition for the design of the new structure. The bid for construction was let to William Oliver of Spokane, Washington. Dissatisfaction with the letting of the bid to Mr. Oliver and the planned use of brick instead of native stone prompted a great public controversy which culminated in a permanent injunction restraining the commissioners and the contractor from fulfilling the contract. The injunction was granted on the technicality of exceeding the $100,000 authorized by the vote of the electors for that purpose and not the charges of bad faith and fraud charged by a local contractor, who had been an unsuccessful bidder on the job.
Faced with the problem of keeping the Courthouse construction well within the limits of $100,000 and strictly injunction proof, the commissioners reappointed architect Gauntt to draw plans, somewhat reduced in scale, and on August 12, 1907, accepted the only construction bid, that of William Oliver.
Finally, after the six-month delay caused by the injunction proceedings, the cornerstone was laid on August 25, 1907.
The newly constructed Courthouse was turned over to the Board of County Commissioners in mid February, 1909. Total cost of the new structure added up to a total of $130,330.
From the NRHP Registration Form