Among the many successful merchants of Fairview, Lewis Maxson stands out as a leading business owner and as a city council advocate working for the prosperity of Fairview.

Lewis was born in Eldora, Iowa, in 1885 and at an early age moved with his family to Minneapolis, Minn., where his father, Joseph Maxson went into the grocery business with a brother.

Joseph, a native of Wisconsin, was born in 1851 and had just a common school education. He thought he would try farming and moved to Hardin County, Iowa, where he bought land. He worked and improved his farm. But he found out he was more interested in having a career in business and moved his family to Minneapolis. Here he actively and successfully worked in the mercantile business until his death in 1910. In Iowa, he married Mattie West, daughter of Walter West, a farmer. Joseph and Mattie had two children, Warren and Lewis. Lewis grew up in the mercantile business and did odd jobs for his father to make a dime. He also had a paper route in Minneapolis and worked in the Journal office carrying papers from the press to the mailing room. When he was older he worked for his dad at $45 a month plus room and board.

In 1908, Antoinette Belden, a cousin in Austin, Minn., married Earl Varco of Sidney. Earl had high ambitions in the mercantile business. He opened the Yellowstone Mercantile Company in the fall of 1906 along with several smaller stores in Sears, Savage, Crane, Lambert and Fairview. These stores offered quality merchandise that was freighted in from Glendive or Mondak or brought in by steamboat. Mr. and Mrs. Varco stopped off in Minneapolis and between trains visited with Earl and told him of the wonderful opportunities the Lower Yellowstone had to offer. Earl waited a couple of weeks and wrote to Earl for a job. Earl wired back to come at once. Traveling by train, Earl arrived in Mondak. He hired a livery team and driver to take him to Fairview. There he worked in the Yellowstone Mercantile for Len Varco, manager, at $60 a month. He worked from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. with just Sundays off.

Lewis worked for the Yellowstone Mercantile three and a half years, and then had the chance to go into business for himself. Mr. Mitchell who ran the Fairview News offered to buy out a couple of young men on State Street (one record found says Lougheed Mercantile Company) and would give half interest in two years. Lewis agreed, gave himself a raise to $75 a month, and by next spring with the railroad workers and irrigation project workers he had a great business under the name of Lewis L. Maxson Mercantile Company.

Lewis’s brother Warren came to Fairview with his family. In 1915, they merged with the Stewart Mercantile Company, which had come west from River Falls, Wis. With the brothers united in business, the name was changed to Maxson Mercantile Company. The store was moved from State Street, facing the Montana-Dakota line to Ellery Avenue in the Glasspoole Block, situated next to the Fairview Bank.

Most of the business places in the early years were on State Street, but after several major fires that wiped out a block at a time, the ones burned out started over again on Ellery Avenue.

Later Warren pulled out to homestead at Flaxville, and Lewis being an excellent manager – upright and honorable in all of his dealings – developed his mercantile store into a thriving business.

On March 15, 1911, Lewis married Agnes A. Owens. On April 10, 1912, they had one daughter, Dorothy Margret. Agnes’ health was poor, and she passed away in September 1915. Lewis remarried in September 1916 to Bertha.

In 1921, Lewis opened a Men’s Wear Shop across the street from the General Store on Ellery Avenue. In 1928 or 1929, Lewis closed out the General Store but continued to run the Men’s Wear Shop until ill health forced him to sell out to Earl Johnson and George Hove in 1949.

Feeling better after a couple years at rest, Lewis went to work for Lloyd Larson in the Gamble Store, which was located in the Maxson Company building. After working at the Gamble Store for a couple of years, Lewis went to work for Earl Johnson managing the Men’s Wear Shop and succeeded in getting that business back on its feet.

In 1918 during the flu epidemic, Bertha Maxsom and Mrs. Allen opened up a 30-room hospital in the Albert Hotel. Bertha had charge of the emergency hospital and by her careful management saved the lives of many of Fairview’s citizen who were in the institution as patients. Bertha passed away in March 1958. At that time, Lewis did some traveling and still worked in the Men’s Wear Shop until he married Adelaide Kruckeberb in August 1959. Lewis passed away Dec. 25, 1973.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Information compiled from Courage Enough, The Fairview Times and History of Montana.