Glendive took root as a steamboat landing on the Yellowstone River and as a railroad center in the middle of prime stock country. When the Northern Pacific reached Glendive in 1881, its first cars transported buffalo hides and bones back to the “states” and river travel became a thing of the past. Soon countless head of cattle were unloaded at Glendive, filling Montana’s empty prairies. Sheep and cattle ranchers enthusiastically promoted the region’s grazing lands and the town’s business opportunities grew when it was designated as the county seat. The Glendive Times encouraged newcomers, even promising single women “...a ‘right smart’ chance to catch on to husbands.” By 1884 the town supported three hotels, several churches, a school, a courthouse, at least ten saloons, and a variety of other commercial enterprises. A calamitous fire in 1886 destroyed thirteen businesses, but the spirited community rebuilt in more substantial brick. A few buildings, like the Italianate style Masonic Temple, reflect this early period. Dryland farming and homesteaders in the early 1900s had a profound impact on Glendive’s economy. The 1914 Neo-classical style City Hall designed by influential Miles City architect Brynulf Rivenes and the 1922 Prairie style depot that anchor the district’s opposite ends illustrate this prosperous era. Although railroad-related warehouses, grain elevators, and lumber yards no longer line Merrill Avenue’s southeast side, this six-block district represents the years from 1886 to 1930 and tells the story of ranching, railroading, and farming in eastern Montana.

The district’s buildings were associated with a number of notable residents including Charles Krug, Henry Dion, and others. Henry Dion lost his saloon and general merchandise store on this corner in 1886, but he wasn’t about to give up. Instead Dion constructed a kiln and built a more substantial fire-resistant brick building. The striking Gothic style building storefronts housed Dion’s businesses, and the upstairs hosted the Glendive Club, the center of the town’s social life.

Continue to explore the Glendive Talking Trail throughout the community and at the Charles Krug house–where the town’s first alleged millionaire once lived. Krug is credited with providing the town with the resources necessary to survive the 1920’s without any bank failures, during a time when over half of the banks in Montana closed their doors…