The Three Valleys State Bank, at 202 Main St. in Three Forks, Montana, was built in 1911. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.[1] It is the current home of the Headwaters Heritage Museum.
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| Established | May 1990 |
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| Location | Three Forks, Montana |
| Coordinates | 45°53′35″N 111°33′07″W / 45.89306°N 111.55194°W |
| Type | History museum |
| Website | www |
Three Valleys State Bank | |
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| Location | 202 Main St., Three Forks, Montana |
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| Coordinates | 45°53′35″N 111°33′07″W / 45.89306°N 111.55194°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1911 |
| Architectural style | Western Commercial |
| NRHP reference No. | 05000256[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 11, 2005 |
The bank was chartered on April 28, 1910, and it purchased the building lot on which the bank stands on July 18. 1910, for $2,800. Construction was financed by town founder John Q. Adams; construction started in November 1910 and was complete in February 1911.[2]
The building is "a well-executed example of the Western Commercial style in two-part commercial block form." The design also included elements of Romanesque Revival style, including use of round arches, pilasters, and a dentilled cornice."[2]
The town and the bank's prospects dimmed in economic depression and crop failures; the original owners sold the bank to American National Bank in 1917. American National survived through a wave of bank insolvencies in the state until it too failed in November 1923 and was taken over by Labor National Bank. Its doors were apparently not reopened, however.[2]
The one other Three Forks bank, First National, was established in 1909, and was liquidated in March 1923.[2]
The town, including the bank building, was damaged in an earthquake on June 27, 1925; the building's parapet and cornice were not completely repaired and so evidence of the earthquake is still visible.[2]
After 37 years with no bank in town, the building again hosted a bank, the Security Bank in Three Forks (or First Security Bank?), beginning in 1960, and ending in 1980 when the bank moved to a new building. It was arranged that the local historical society could purchase the building to open a museum.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Marcia Fairhurst; Kate Hampton (January 2005). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Three Valleys State Bank / American National Bank; First Security Bank; Headwaters Historical Society; Headwaters Heritage Museum". National Park Service. Retrieved September 1, 2019. With accompanying five photos from 2004
External links
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