Memories from the Homestead: The Hollister Bank building 1910

George Hall's picture postcard image of the Bank of Hollister, summer 1910. Today this is the location of All Teased Up Salon on the north end of Downing Street. (Photo courtesy of the State Historical Society of Missouri)

Today, I bring to you another vintage view, from the Hollister community, a building that still stands today.

Photographer George Hall took an awesome photo of Hollister's new bank building, another one of William Johnson's structures when Hollister was still in its development stage.  

Johnson married Irene Nora Everett in 1909 and was looking for more steady employment as he was no longer in the drug store business. Johnson decided to build a bank. 

Construction had just wrapped up on Hollister's new train depot in early 1910, so he hired the same architect to design the bank. This was Miller-Opal & Torbitt from Springfield. Archibald Torbitt would have the new structure completed by summer of 1910. It was the first stone building on what is now Downing Street. Soon, it would also feature Hollister's first concrete sidewalk. 

William Johnson knew nothing about banking!  He was a good cashier but that was all. So he turned to one of his Springfield friends, Victor Simmons from Farmers Merchant Bank, who showed him everything he needed to know. 

The Hollister Bank opened with $10,000 in assets, and the Johnsons owned 2,500 shares.

Will and Irene would remain with the bank until 1914 when they moved back to Springfield. 

Unfortunately, the bank dried up during the Great Depression and never reopened. Like many of those early structures, it remained vacant for quite some time. 

The building is still with us; it's at the north side of Downing Street next to Ye English Inn. It's the All Teased Up Salon.  

A special thanks to the State Historical Society of Missouri and historian Richard Crabtree for researching and discovering some unique details of Hollister's second oldest stone building. 

Happy trails, everyone!