Fairview history

Lewis, the second youngest of eight children, was born in Lincoln County, Neb., Dec. 15, 1878. William, Lewis’ dad, brought his family to this territory in 1879 arriving in Ft. Buford by wagon and the steamship “Batchelor,” operated by Capt Grant Marsh.

At the age of 12, Lew moved with his family to Louisiana where his father had a cotton plantation. In 1901, Lew came back to eastern Montana where his older brother, Bob, was a government herder at Poplar. Lew got a job with the Cosier Co. at Poplar. During this time he would visit his sister, Mrs. George McCone, in Glendive and his brother, Billy Newlon, who had a ranch on Fox Creek.

In 1903 Lew squatted on land that now includes the Fairview townsite. The following year he filled a homestead and proved up in 1904. Lew built his store on the main road where the stage came through and stopped on its run from Glendive to Mondak. This main trail followed a line where the irrigation canal is now located. Lew’s homestead house was on the hillside across the road from Pioneer Cemetery where the original log store also was. Because he could not strike water after digging 110 feet, Lew moved the store to what is now State Street which became lots 1-2-3 in block 1 of the original townsite.

There are many different versions of the naming of Fairview. In the “Courage Enough” book under Ed and Clara Myhr, it states, “We were told that the leading citizens gathered on the hills above Fairview and put three names in a hat. One was ‘Myhrsville’ the other may have been ‘Pleasant Valley’ and of course ‘Fair View’ as it was quite a sight with the rich fertile soil and native grass standing waist-high.”

Walt Lanouette remembers and relates to the Fairview News: “It was a beautiful evening back in 1904-5, as the sun was about to retire but was still high enough to light the golden hues of the grassland, the deep greens of the few acres of croplands and woods along the river and the rich rose and lavender tones of the bluffs and hills across the valley. Lew stood out in front of his log store, his foot planted on the hitching rail, his eyes focused eastward awaiting the arrival of the stagecoach, when all of a sudden he blurted out, ‘Boys, that shore is a Fair View.’

“The group of surprised rustics who had previously taken the scenery pretty much for granted suspended their tobacco chewing and spitting long enough to look eastward, and then they all agreed with Lew. Then Lew pulled his foot off the hitching rail and with an almost regal air, he proclaimed, ‘That’s what we’ll call it. The town that’ll build up down there will be known as Fairview.’

“Some folks claim,” Walt explained, “that names were tossed into a hat and then the lucky name was drawn out. But if that was done,” he continued, “I’ll sure bet the hat was stuffed with the name Fairview, because most folks really took to Lew’s choice of a handle for the town.”

On the 8th annual Festival and Old-Timers Reunion, Lew returned to Fairview as an honored guest. During his stay, Lew told his version of the naming of Fairview to the Fairview News, “A few of us neighbors got together when I decided to open the townsite. They wanted to call it Newlon but I said there was already too much Newlon around here, and anyway, a town up the valley had already been named after my father. We finally decided for everyone to write a name on a slip of paper and we would draw one out of a hat and that would be the name of the new town. The name drawn was Fairview and that title was submitted by Grandma Corbett.”

In later years when Fairview started moving more to the west of the state line, Ellery Avenue was named after Lew’s middle name.

Fairview was officially founded in 1906, according to Walt Lanouette, but there wasn’t much here until the “boom” years when the railroad came through.

Among the “firsts in Fairview” was the small makeshift post office located in Lew’s little log house on the side of the hill and was later moved to the new log store on State Street located on the west side. Lew’s sister, Flora, was installed as postmistress… “Fairview’s first!”

Another first in Fairview was Lew Newlon’s first wife, Theresa (Essie) Ladd, daughter of Calvin and Matilda Ladd. She was a teacher in Poplar. Martin Davidsen remembers her as his first-grade teacher. He also remembers in 1906 she died due to a brain fever which she suffered for about two weeks. She was the first person to be buried in Pioneer Cemetery.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Information compiled from Courage Enough, Fairview Times and Lewis Newlon geneology.