Council Grove National Bank

This building was completed in 1887 and was originally home to Morris County State Bank, which was established in 1878. After a fire in 1886 destroyed its previous home, the bank commissioned architect J. H. Leedy and builder Louis Peterson of Council Grove to construct this building. The bank later changed its name to Council Grove National Bank. Together with Farmers & Drovers bank, located just across the street, these two banks represent the immense growth for Kansas and Council Grove leading up to the turn of the century.

Originally chartered in 1878 as the Morris County State Bank, in 1900, it received a national charter as the Council Grove National Bank. After a fire in 1886, the bank commissioned architect J. H. Leedy and builder Louis Peterson, both of Council Grove, for a new building that opened on April 28, 1887. It opened at roughly the same time as the Famers & Grove bank purchased its lot across the corner. Both banks emerged during the last year or two of the town's (and state's) most extensive period of growth. 

Initially known as the Morris County State Bank, when it opened in 1878, the bank received its national charger in 1900 and consequently changed its name to Council Grove National Bank. The bank operated out of a rental facility from 1878 until moving to its first permanent facility in 1887. A year before the new bank opened, in 1886, a fire destroyed the rented bank building along with six adjoining businesses. The fire inspired the bank's board of directors to acquire their own place of business; they purchased a fire-damaged lot one week after the fire. 

The bank hired two Council Grove residents to design and build the new bank. Architect J. H. Leedy designed the historic building while Louis Peterson, a contractor and builder, oversaw its construction, which took place between October 1886 and March 1887. The bank moved its effects into the new bank on April 28, 1887. Additionally, professional and medical offices occupied parts of the building while a barbershop operated out of the building's basement. In 1900, the bank secured a national charter and subsequently changed its name to Council Grove National Bank.

The bank's opening in 1878 coincided with robust growth for Kansas (and Council Bluffs). The state population grew from 364,339 in 1870 to 996,096 in 1880 and then 1.4 million by 1890, a few years after constructing the now-historic bank building. However, just as the bank enjoyed its new facility, the population growth nearly came to a halt. Another historic bank, Farmers & Drovers (located on the opposite corner of Main Street), also purchased their Main Street property in 1887, but the suspension of the healthy growth delayed its construction until 1893. Nevertheless, both banks served as anchors for nearly a century. 

While Farmers & Drovers remains a bank, the Council Grove National Bank ceased operating as a bank in 1978 after a fire severely damaged the building. Restoration work after the fire restored the building to its 1887 appearance and the structure holds a variety of offices. The historic building also serves as a reminder of Council Grove's rapid commercial growth following the previous decades of westward migration during the second half of the nineteenth century. 

Pankratz, Richard and Cornelia Wyma. "Nomination Form: Morris County State Bank." National Register of Historic Places. nps.gov. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/98ef53e7-acf9-488b-ac6d-627be78b7940. 

Powers, Mathew and Clio Admin. "Farmers and Drovers Bank." Clio: Your Guide to History. July 8, 2021. https://www.theclio.com/entry/137201

"A Rich History." Morris County Historical Society. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.morriscountyhistory.com/.

"Statistical Abstract of the United States." U.S. Census Bureau, Population. Digital copy located at Kansas University. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://ipsr.ku.edu/ksdata/ksah/population/2pop1.pdf.