Though it survived an earlier recession in the 1920s, the Dayton State Bank couldn't make it through the '30s and closed its doors in 1934. Since then it has been used primarily for storage by its various owners and allowed to decay. The sole surviving example of Egyptian Revival architecture in Montana, it was bought 1n 1990 by Jim Lekander for $25,000. He began restoring the bank building to use in conjunction with his marina business.
The bank was started soon after the Flathead Indian Reservation was opened to homesteaders, Jiusto reported, by Clifford B. Harris, who had served as president of banks in Kalispell and Polson.
It was a boom time in Montana, which saw its number of banks surge from 252 in 1910 to 428 in 1920. On the Fourth of July, 1913, Harris proudly displayed plans for the new building that would house the Dayton State Bank.
After construction had started, but before the summer was over, the bank had been sold to F.A. Hacker and H.F. Dwelle. Just four months after moving into its new home – the concrete building the biweekly Dayton Leader termed “a beaut” – the bank was sold again, to W.N. Noffsinger, general manager of the Somers Lumber Company and founder of the Somers State Bank.
The boom was followed by a drought-induced bust that saw 214 Montana banks close between 1920-26. The Dayton State Bank survived that, but not the Great Depression – although it still had assets when it closed for good in 1934, according to Lekander.
“They told me this was the only example of Egyptian revival architecture left in Montana,” says Jim Lekander, referring to his conversation with the folks at the National Register of Historic Places while attempting to get the building listed. Earlier this month, Lekander was informed that his old Dayton State Bank building had been officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
From the Helena Independent Record