Pictures of Harlowton, Montana

This is downtown Harlowton, Montana. Even during the height of summer, the downtown of Harlowton can be pretty quiet - despite the main highway (US Highway 12) running a few blocks away. A sizable portion of all the store fronts in Harlowton sit empty - a testament to the fall of the economy in this part of Montana. Yet, despite this, Harlowton certainly does have some charm.

Note, I received an email from a resident of Harlowton recently that stated the following:

“many empty and partially empty buildings” is not accurate as most buildings are in fact fully occupied and many have been remodeled....not “a sizeable portion of storefronts sit empty”. Most are occupied by active businesses and their have been new ones opened and some have been remodeled.

As this section of the site was created in 2003 this could indeed be true now, as I have not visited Harlowton since. However, when I visited this town during 2003, my description was right on-target - the town was very, very empty despite being the middle of summer.

That said, with the booming real estate sector in Montana and the influx of retirees, it is quite possible that Harlowton has undergone a resurgence since I prepared this guide.