Filed Under Townsend

State Bank of Townsend

By The Montana National Register Sign Program
State Bank of Townsend
State Bank of Townsend State Bank of Townsend. Front to side view of the building, facing southeast at the intersection of Broadway Street and Cedar Street. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: Date unknown

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.

Images

State Bank of Townsend
State Bank of Townsend State Bank of Townsend. Front to side view of the building, facing southeast at the intersection of Broadway Street and Cedar Street. B&W. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: Date unknown
State Bank of Townsend
State Bank of Townsend State Bank of Townsend. Front view of the building, facing south to southeast on Broadway Street. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Ron Stoolman Date: July 1991
State Bank of Townsend
State Bank of Townsend State Bank of Townsend. Front to side view of the building, facing southeast at the intersection of Broadway Street and Cedar Street. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Ron Stoolman Date: June 1991

Location

400 Broadway Street, Townsend, Montana | Private

Metadata

Related Resources

  1. Read about the State Bank of Townsend
  2. See photos of State Bank of Townsend

Citation Info

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “State Bank of Townsend,” Historic Montana, accessed April 25, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/107.

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