The Lavina State Bank was chartered in 1911 and, like so many Montana banks begun in the same era, failed to live through the 1920s. They all had one major thing in common: all depended heavily on agriculture for a client base. When depression followed drought and grasshoppers, the farms failed, taking the banks with them, this one in 1923. Many that did manage to survive the '20s succumbed to the Dirty Thirties.
After the bank's failure the building apparently remained empty until 1930, when the post office moved in, remaining until 1960. In 1938 the Freemasons bought the building and have met there continuously to this day. In 1995 the Ryegate Temple Lodge joined the Lavina lodge, forming Lavina-Temple Lodge #101, its current identity.
In 2003 the Masons began a restoration of the old bank building, a project which continued for at least two years, possibly more. The Billings Gazette couldn't miss the opportunity for an article on yet another heritage building being restored. Excerpts from their story follow.
Masons put new life into Lavina
remodeling project
MARY PICKETT Of The Gazette Staff | Apr 21, 2007
LAVINA - Francis Rose was painting the outside of a nearly 100-year-old building along Main Street two summers ago when someone with Great Falls plates drove up and asked him why a bank was opening in Lavina.
Although Lavina flourished at the crossroads of railroad and stage routes early in the last century, the population in the area has dwindled over decades of hard times.
The traveler naturally was puzzled that a new bank was opening.
The words, "Bank of Lavina," are, indeed, painted on the front windows of the rectangular building that Rose was painting. But, had the traveler looked closer, he would have seen a "Closed" sign in the door.
That didn't mean the building was shut down for an afternoon or weekend.
The bank went out of business in 1923.
Owned by the Masons since 1938, the former bank building has been remodeled several times. The most recent overhaul started in 2003 in hopes that the building could be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rose, a retired teacher and coach who lives in Billings, has worked on the renovation along with local residents.
The Lavina Bank opened in 1908 as a private bank and became state-chartered in 1911.
Two prominent local men started the bank. Daniel Slayton, a state senator, was bank president. Rancher Ludwig Carl Lehfeldt was vice president.
When a pre-Depression drought hit Montana in the early 1920s, there was a run on the bank. After the two bank officers dug into their own pockets to pay off depositors, they both went bankrupt.
In 1930, the local postmaster bought the building and rented it to the federal government for a post office. Even after the Masons purchased the building, the post office continued to operate in the lower part of the building until 1960.
From the Montana Standard