Firestone & Auto Supplies - Lavina, MT
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 46° 17.678 W 108° 56.292
12T E 658798 N 5128850
Ninety years young when entered in the National Register in 2000, Slayton Mercantile operated as a general merchandise store for a total of 94 years.
Waymark Code: WMWA9X
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 08/01/2017
Views: 1
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.
Finally closed after a run of 94 years, the brick building on a street corner would have been the ideal place for someone operating an auto parts store/tire store to place a sign advertising their business. At some time in the past someone did just that, placing this painted sign on the south side of the Slayton Mercantile Co. building, along First Avenue.
The little "Auto Supplies" sign at the bottom points west down First Avenue. We went down that street looking for a building that at one time may have housed the business in question, a Firestone Tire and auto supply store. Down First Avenue today one finds naught but houses and vacant lots - no sign of a commercial building, unfortunately.
