Albion State Bank facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Albion State Bank
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 Location in Oklahoma
Location in the United States
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| Location | Off U.S. 271 Albion, Oklahoma |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1910 |
| Architect | John T. Bailey |
| NRHP reference No. | 79002024 |
| Added to NRHP | December 11, 1979 |
The Albion State Bank was an important old building in Albion, Oklahoma. This town is located in the beautiful, rugged Kiamichi Mountains in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. The bank building is considered a historic place because of its past and how well it has been preserved.
History of the Bank
The bank was built in 1910. This was a time of great hope for Oklahoma, right after it became a state on November 16, 1907. People settling in the area thought it was a great place for farming.
Logging was also a very important business in the Albion area. The town's train station was busy with timber being shipped out. Because of this, the town grew quickly.
Local business people, like John T. Bailey, were sure Albion would be very successful. John T. Bailey was the person who named the town. He built the Albion State Bank in 1910. The bank was located on the northwest corner of the town's main square, at Pearl Street. Today, the square is no longer there because U.S. Highway 271 now runs through it. John T. Bailey's brother, Edgar Bailey, even had a dentist office in the back two rooms of the bank building.
However, Albion did not become as successful as people had hoped. Around 1927, the bank's owner, John T. Bailey, moved the bank to Talihina, Oklahoma.
The Bank Building Over Time
After the bank moved, the building was empty for a few years. Then, in 1930, a well-known Albion businessman named J.M. (John Melvin) Armstrong bought it. He opened a grocery store there.
In 1950, Mr. Armstrong closed the grocery store. He turned the building into his family's home. He lived there until he passed away in 1963. His wife continued to live in the building until she passed away in 1972.
In 1975, Mrs. Lorene Barnett bought the building. She ran several small businesses from it. In 1979, experts looked at the building to see if it was historic. At that time, the building was empty but still in good shape. Its original wooden floors were also in good condition.
The building was a single-story structure. It was made of red brick and shaped like a rectangle. It was about 40 feet long and 25 feet wide. The windows originally had a rounded, arched shape at the top. Inside, the ceilings were made of pressed copper with pretty designs. The original bank vault was still there in 1979. It was built into a brick wall and had the words "Albion State Bank" painted on it.
Outside the back door, there was a water well that was dug around 1933.
The experts who surveyed the building said it had "considerable integrity." This meant it was still strong and mostly unchanged. Because of this, they recommended it to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a list of places in the United States that are important to history.
