Joe Mitchell State Farm moves into former Joslin’s Furniture building

The former Joslin’s Furniture building on Euclid Avenue is getting a new commercial tenant, and the move signals more than a simple office relocation. Joe Mitchell State Farm Insurance is set to move from 601 Euclid Avenue into 301 Euclid Avenue in August, giving the long-known retail property its first use that is not tied to a furniture store.

Marketing manager Whitney Mitchell said the office has about 15 employees and five Carroll College interns, and the current space no longer gives the team enough room to operate and grow comfortably. The company will keep its East Helena office open, so the shift appears to be a realignment of its local footprint rather than an exit from the Helena market.

The building itself has been part of Helena’s commercial landscape for decades. Local historian Kennon Baird said it was purpose-built for Joslin’s Furniture and opened in September 1959. Property records list 301 Euclid Avenue as an 8,960-square-foot retail building on an 18,989-square-foot lot in B-2 zoning, with 1959 as the year built.

That makes the State Farm move a notable turning point for one of the city’s older west-side commercial properties. Mitchell also said the company is looking at a future buildout for commercial tenants, although no tenants or number of spaces have been finalized. If that plan moves ahead, the building could become more than a single-tenant office and help create additional business activity along the Euclid corridor.

The site has already shown some adaptability. In November 2025, the Clay Arts Guild of Helena used the former Joslin’s location for a holiday pop-up shop featuring work from about 50 local artists, a short-term use that hinted at the property’s potential beyond retail furniture sales.

The shift also fits a broader commercial pattern in Helena. Current listing sites show 36 commercial properties available in the city, including 23 office properties for lease, underscoring a market with room for repositioning and reuse. Lewis and Clark County’s growth policy is designed to guide economic development, land use, housing, infrastructure and future growth decisions, which makes the next phase at 301 Euclid Avenue part of a larger planning and investment picture for Helena’s business corridors.

Joe Mitchell is already a familiar name in local business circles. His agency website says he opened his Helena doors in 2016, serves as vice president of the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce board and sits on the Green Meadow Country Club board. A Helena Area Chamber podcast also described him as one of only two State Farm agents in Montana with two offices, one in Helena and one in East Helena, making this move a consolidation of growth rather than a reinvention.