In 1920 the bank placed this ad on page 40 of a Montana History book entitled
Lincoln County Montana - History, Resources, Industrial Development and Record in The Great War, published in that year. The 55 page booklet offered a fairly complete look at Lincoln County and its cities, towns and villages as they were in 1920.
The bank building had just been resold (for the umpteenth time, I'm told) before our arrival in the town. The new owners happened to be in the front room of the bank and spied me taking pictures of the building. Very cordial, they invited me in to see the inside.
Inside, the original teller's window remains, but has been moved back several feet to open up the main room. The safe is still in place, as is a second safe in the basement. The interior retains its original flavor, with the tin ceiling, original wood floor and much of the woodwork. It will become the home of
The Concierge, LLC.
Farmers and Merchants State Bank
The Townsite Company began promoting Eureka’s agricultural potential in 1907, spurring the need for a local bank. Kalispell and area investors responded by subscribing $25,000 to fill this need. When the bank opened in 1908 on its prominent corner, the Tobacco Plains Journal pronounced it “without doubt the handsomest brick structure” in the western part of the county, and the Kalispell Journal declared the town quite fortunate since “the most important factor in the development of a new country is a solid banking institution.”
The $12,000 bank building featured the most up-to-date safe and interior furnishings from Chicago. The Townsite Company shared the bank’s ground floor while the town rented the upstairs for police court and council chambers for $14 a month. The bank’s investors had promised a “good, wide awake man at the helm” and named one of their own, C. A. Hamann of Kalispell, bank president.
Deposits of more than $7,000 on opening day were a grand prelude to the bank’s early success, but heavy irrigation investments and closure of the local lumber mill resulted in its failure in 1925. Subsequent owners included the first town clerk, H. G. Pomeroy, and former bank board member and county sheriff Frank Baney.
Simple lines and elegant brickwork provide an excellent example of Western Commercial architecture while an unusual wide central arch with a multi-paned cut-glass transom adds particular distinction to this long familiar landmark. Sensitive restoration of the first floor has preserved the original open commercial space, tin ceiling, and wood trim.
From the NRHP Plaque