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 Wheatland County Courthouse - Harlowton, MT Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 46° 26.205 W 109° 50.126
12T E 589462 N 5143234
Built in 1910 as the Harlowton High School, in 1938 this Romanesque Revival styled building became the Wheatland County Courthouse, 21 years after the establishment of Wheatland County.
Waymark Code: WM17NJE
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 03/14/2023
Views: 0
Harlowton School District No. 16 came into being on November 12, 1900. The first school erected was a wood framed structure, built in 1900. The second was this two storey, Romanesque Revival style sandstone High School, built in 1910 and designed by architect John Hackett Kent. In 1917 the original school was moved to what was then the high school area, the location of the present courthouse, and used as a shop and agriculture building.
Carved out of portions of Meagher and Sweetgrass counties, Wheatland County was created in 1917 by an act of the state legislature. The first official use of Harlowton's Wheatland County Fairgrounds was on June 5, 1917, celebrating the creation of Wheatland County, which had become the 41st county in Montana as of April 1, 1917. The largest town in the new county, Harlowton became the county seat. The first Wheatland County Courthouse was the old bank building at 124 Central Avenue North. In 1938, as the result of a need for still more school classroom space, construction of a new school was embarked upon, leaving this building available for other use. Given that it was still in quite good condition, it was decided that the perfect use for the building would be the new Wheatland County Courthouse. It remains so today.
Wheatland County
Location: 201 A Avenue NW / 2nd Street NW
Built: 1910 – 1911
Style: Romanesque
Architect: John Hackett Kent
Contractor: Richard E Wright of Augusta
Description: The building faces northeast and is a two story course gray colored stone and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Harlowton. The northeast front has a projecting center section with large arch on the first story and rising to a point with arched window above the roof line. The green colored roof is hipped. The building houses the County District Court of the 14th Judicial District and County Justice Court. The building was built as a school and was converted in 1938 to the courthouse. The building was renovated in 1940. The architect was Angus V McIver of Great Falls.
The county was created in 1917 and Harlowton was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was the old bank building at 124 Central Avenue North and 2nd Street NE. The second courthouse was the school built in 1910 to 1911 and converted in 1938.
From U.S. Courthouses
NEW COUNTY HEART OF STATE
Thomas Jefferson | June 29, 1917
The new County of Wheatland, which celebrated its creation recently, contains about 1,200 square miles of territory in the very heart of Montana. It is almost entirely an agricultural and stock growing country, and its estimated assessed valuation has been placed at $10,000,000, Starting with more wealth than any county previously created in the state.
Seven years ago the first Winter wheat was grown in what is now Wheatland county. In fact, prior to that time there was very little agriculture in this section. The success of the original effort has had a splendid effect on the development of agriculture and thousands of acres are being tilled, and more being put under cultivation every year. In the course of 10 years its assessed valuation should reach $25,000,000.
As an index to the development There are fully 150 tractor plowing outfits operating in the new country, and this development has brought into being a number of robust towns.
How Harlowton Started.
Harlowton has a high school that has attracted the attention of educators all over the country.
Harlowton is the county seat. It got its first good start with the completion of the Jaw Bone railroad, and was named after Richard Harlow, the man who built and equipped a railroad almost on 'jaw bone.' Other towns of importance are Two Dot, Judith Gap, Hedgesville, Shawmut, Nihill and Oka. All of these towns are centers of fine agricultural districts, and Two Dot is reputed to be the central point of the best beef producing section of Montana.
From the The Ronan Pioneer, Page 9
Public/Private: Public
Tours Available?: Yes
Year Built: 1910
Web Address: [Web Link]
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