Rushed to completion in the summer of 1889, the Guthrie
National Bank building was the first brick structure built in what
became Oklahoma Territory. It also proudly claimed many other
firsts. It was located where J. W. McNeal of Medicine Lodge,
Kansas, opened the McNeal-Little bank with his partner, A. W.
Little, the afternoon of April 22, 1889. It became, as the Guthrie
National Bank, June 14, 1890 the first national bank chartered in
either of the twin territories.
As premier structure in the infant city, the building housed the
"grand reception" for the visiting delegation of Congressmen in
September, 1889.
Once finished, the building was crowded with tenants. Besides the
bank, it housed Beadle's shoe store on the west side, "Oklahoma Farmer"
newspaper and the Guthrie Club, a booster organization, shared the
basement. Territorial Governor Steele in 1890 had an office on the
2nd floor for a few months, until larger quarters were available.
After consolidating and acquiring various other Guthrie banks,
the parent company crowded out its tenants. It became known as
the First National Bank of Guthrie in 1912. The present building
replaced the first structure in 1923.
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