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Bearcreek Bank

Coordinates:45°9′40″N109°9′30″W/ 45.16111°N 109.15833°W/45.16111; -109.15833
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Bearcreek Bank
Bearcreek Bank in 2015
Bearcreek Bank is located in Montana
Bearcreek Bank
Bearcreek Bank is located in the United States
Bearcreek Bank
LocationMain and Second Sts.,Bearcreek, Montana
Coordinates45°9′40″N109°9′30″W/ 45.16111°N 109.15833°W/45.16111; -109.15833
Arealess than one acre
Built1906(1906)
Built byRussell, John
Architectural styleRomanesque
NRHP referenceNo.04000251[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 31, 2004

Bearcreek Bankis a site on theNational Register of Historic Placeslocated inBearcreek,Montana.It was added to the Register on March 31, 2004.

Initially the bank was a branch of Carbon County Bank headquartered inRed Lodge, Montana.In 1907, the bank was renamed the Bearcreek Bank withCopper KingWilliam A. Clarkas the president.[2]Beginning in 1911 the nameClark-Wright Bank in Bearcreekbegan appearing in advertisements. The bank closed in 1920 after the International Coal Company defaulted on a $170,000 loan.[3]In 1921 it reopened asMiners' State Bankwith former mine foreman Tom Frasure as president.[2]The bank closed permanently in 1928.[2]

The bank building serves as a hub for the Bearcreek commercial district. When the nomination form was submitted in 2002 the building housed the town hall. Purchased by Bert Vaill and built by prominent areastonemasonJohn Russell, it is a one-story Romanesque style with sandstone quarried just north of town. According to the site placard: "Symbolizing Vaill’s faith in Bearcreek’s future, the bank’s thick stone walls were also meant to assure customers that their money was safe from theft and bank failure, a tenuous assumption in the days before Federal Deposit Insurance."[3]

References

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  1. ^"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.July 9, 2010.
  2. ^abcJon and Lisa Axline (September 11, 2002)."National Register of Historic Places Registration: Bearcreek Bank;Carbon County Bank in Bearcreek; Clark-Wright Bank in Bearcreek; Miner's State Bank;Bearcreek Town Hall/24CB1206".National Park Service.RetrievedAugust 12,2017.Withtwo photos.
  3. ^ab"Montana National Register Historical Marker Sign Text".State of Montana. July 13, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon August 2, 2017.RetrievedAugust 12,2017.