It's difficult to say now who actually built the Lewistown Mercantile Company warehouse. A
newspaper article of January 06, 1916 states that "
The plans and specifications for the new store and warehouse building of the Lewistown Mercantile company have been completed by Wasmansdorf & Eastman and are ready to be placed in the hands of contractors who wish to submit figures on the erection of the structure. Plans can be seen at the architects' office. The Lewistown Mercantile company was formed a short while ago, the principal stockholders being W. K. Nash and E. P. Nash, both of Minneapolis. The capital stock is $150,000".
Conversely, the NRHP plaque states that "
The General Brokerage Company of Grand Rapids, North Dakota, financed this stunning warehouse for the Great Northern Railway in 1916. The local architectural firm of Otto F. Wasmansdorff and George Eastman, whose architectural palette included stone masonry and the masterful use of brick, designed the building.".
And if that didn't confuse you, a December 28, 1916
newspaper article stated
"
BIG DEAL BY NASH
Grand Forks Man Buys All Lindsay's Wholesale Houses.
BUTTE. Mont. The Lindsay wholesale houses in Montana were sold today to the Nash organization of fruit and grocery houses, with headquarters at Grand Forks. N.D. for a consideration of $500,000. Seven establishments in Montana, [including] the Lindsay Produce Company, Lewistown...". So, we don't known whether the Nash Company resided in North Dakota or Minnesota, although we suppose that the company could have relocated from Minnesota to North Dakota during the course of the year.
In any event, this large warehouse, the largest in the town at the time, was just one of several dozen buildings in the town designed by local architects Wasmansdorff and Eastman. It featured all the latest technology and innovations available in 1916 to provide comfort for employees and ideal conditions for the storage of a wide range of produce and other perishables.
Westfeeds, formerly known as the Central Feed Company, took over the building at some time. Given what transpired in the area in the early 1920s, we would surmise that the Nash Company closed the warehouse sometime in that decade. Drought and insect infestations caused a large exodus of settlers from the area, beginning around 1920, causing all the banks in Lewistown and many businesses to fail.
Following is the news article which recounted the beginning of the building.
READY FOR THE CONTRACTORS
PLANS COMPLETED FOR STORE AND WAREHOUSE OF LEWISTOWN MERCANTILE CO.
TO OPEN BIDS ON JANUARY
Fergus County Democrat | January 06, 1916, Page 1
The plans and specifications for the new store and warehouse building of the Lewistown Mercantile company have been completed by Wasmansdorf & Eastman and are ready to be placed in the hands of contractors who wish to submit figures on the erection of the structure. Plans can be seen at the architects' office. The Lewistown Mercantile company was formed a short while ago, the principal stockholders being W. K. Nash and E. P. Nash, both of Minneapolis. The capital stock is $150,000.
The company will engage in the wholesale business. The location of the new building across from the Milwaukee depot grounds and the Judith Basin flour mills. The building will be two stories and full basement in height. and will be 65 by 100 feet in ground space dimension. It will be built of Lewistown brick. The excavation for the building has already been completed, and work on the building proper will start as soon as the contract is awarded and the weather will permit of good working conditions.
From the Fergus County Democrat
LEWISTOWN MERCANTILE COMPANY
Rail transportation in the early twentieth century brought homesteaders to Fergus County and cemented Lewistown’s role as a regional commercial center. The General Brokerage Company of Grand Rapids, North Dakota, financed this stunning warehouse for the Great Northern Railway in 1916. The local architectural firm of Otto F. Wasmansdorff and George Eastman, whose architectural palette included stone masonry and the masterful use of brick, designed the building. Plans called for an innovative design unlike other early nineteenth-century warehouses. It was intended to be an eye-catching addition to Lewistown’s Main Street. The Democrat News, December 17, 1916, reported that the attractive building greatly enhanced the depot area and was an indication that the wholesalers had great optimism for Lewistown as a jobbing and distribution center. The $30,000 grocery warehouse featured up-to-date refrigeration for fruits and vegetables and the most modern system for cooling, humidifying, and ripening bananas. Large peanut roasters, special rooms for candy and nuts, and tempered fresh air ventilation for employees’ offices offered ideal conditions for both produce and workers. The railroad considered this warehouse the best of the sixty it owned at this time. The Lewistown Brick and Tile Company provided the brick, expertly laid to enhance aesthetic appeal. Precast concrete adds contrasting ornamentation. The utilitarian dark red brick forms handsome pilasters at the corners and entry. A grand parapet with precast concrete coping accents the roofline. A “ghost sign” for the Central Feed Company attests to the building’s later conversion to a feed mill.
From the NRHP plaque at the building