New Bank at Townsend - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

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New Bank at Townsend

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12T E 460187 N 5129813

Established in 1899 and built beginning in 1916, the State Bank of Townsend, though it has since expanded, is still housed in its historic building.

Designed by Albert Mooreman and Company of St. Paul, Minnesota, the Neo-classical styled State Bank of Townsend was built in 1916-1918. It is the longest running bank in Montana operated by the same family which chartered it. Not only is the bank's exterior essentially unchanged from the time it was built, the interior is, as well. It is one of the last banks in the state to have not remodeled its interior, still using the original facilities installed at its opening.

While the country was forced to suffer through the "Great Depression" of the '30s, Montana had a much tougher experience as its depression began in 1917, with the first year of drought in the state. Since many Montana banks were heavily invested into agriculture, as the drought continued, Montana banks began to fail. Though the situation had improved somewhat by the end of the '20s, the crash of 1929 plunged Montana back into (or further into) depression, taking still more banks to the brink and beyond. Fortunately for the town of Townsend, the State Bank of Townsend was not one of them, soldiering merrily on to this day.

On the day the articles of incorporation for the bank were filed with the Secretary of State, copies of the following short news article appeared in several southwest Montana newspapers. This particular example was taken from the Winston Prospector of Winston Montana.

New Bank at Townsend
The Winston Prospector, March 23, 1899

Townsend, the county seat of Broadwater county, is to have another bank. The articles of incorporation of the State Bank of Townsend were filed with the secretary of State today by W. E. Tierney, J. G. Blessing, of Townsend, and A. W. Schreiber of Diamond. The new bank is to have a capital stock of $25,000, in shares of $100 each.

The stock is fully paid up, the following being subscribers: John Kearns, 70. shares, $7,000; W. E. Tierney, 48 shares, $4,800; W. C. Eversole, 10 shares, $1,000; T. E. Collins 20 shares, $2,000; Mike Shovelin, 10 shares, $1,000; L Rotwitt, 10 shares, $1.000; A. W. Schreiber, 10 shares, $1,000; Thomas Cotter, 10 shares, $1,000; A. M. D'Arcy 10 aims, $1,000; W. W. Harvey, two shares, $200; Mails & Kaunuse, 20 shares $2,000; A. W. Smith 10 shares, $1,000; Ea. Durneu 10 shares, $1:000.

The following are named as directors of the new institution for the first three months: W. E. Tierney, J. G. Blessing, J. E. Kauouse, L. Rotwitt, Townsend; A. W. Schreiber, Diamond; E. P. Durnen Winston; A. W. Smith, Radersburg.
—Helena Herald.
From the Winston Prospector

State Bank of Townsend

In 1916, the architectural firm of A. Moorman and Co. of St. Paul, Minnesota was selected to design the State Bank of Townsend. Constructed along classic lines of the Ionic order, the bank typifies many small banks constructed during the period when the temple front format became popular throughout Montana, as elsewhere in the nation.

Conveying a sense of solidity and security, the temple front format was most often employed on bank buildings of the early 20th century. Typical of such design as it evolved through the 1910s, the State Bank of Townsend employs Neo-classical decorative elements in the temple front, the Ionic order columns, and refined symmetry of the building.

A major institution in Townsend, the State Bank of Townsend continues to lend its financial support to the development of ranching enterprises and community growth in Broadwater County. Still owned and operated in principal by members of the family which chartered it in 1899, the bank's current president, William Kearns, is the grandson of the bank's first cashier and major stockholder. The State Bank of Townsend has been operated by one family for over 90 years, a record unmatched by any other bank in the state.

The building and the institution of the State Bank of Townsend have been a stalwart financial anchor to local business for almost a century now. Entering the bank is like taking a step back in time, it remains one of the very last banks in Montana to retain and use its original, interior banking facilities. Proven by time to be a survivor, the bank today is one of the few small rural banks to remain vital, recalling a more vibrant era in the history of small town banking in Montana.
From the NRHP Registration Form

STATE BANK OF TOWNSEND
J. P. Kearns came to Townsend from Benton, Wisconsin, in 1899. Business-educated and experienced, Kearns astutely recognized the town’s need for a new financial institution and founded the State Bank of Townsend only three months later. The bank was first located at 312 Broadway Street. Then in 1916, plans for a new building were begun. Albert Mooreman and Company of St. Paul, Minnesota, a firm specializing in bank plans and construction, designed the Neo-classical style building. The structure features an imposing entrance in temple motif framed by columns and pilasters with a pediment of colored sandstone. Completed in 1918, its secure and commanding presence came to be especially significant during the hard financial time ahead. Despite drought, depression, and the area’s dependency on an agricultural economy so devastated by these circumstances, the State Bank of Townsend managed to survive when many small-town banks did not. J. P. Kearns’ cautious loan policies and conservative banking methods provided a solid foundation for long-term success. For almost a century, the State Bank of Townsend has been owned and operated in principal by members of the same family that chartered it, thus setting a record unmatched by any other bank in Montana.
From the NRHP plaque at the building