Lead's first bank was founded in 1879 under the name of Samuel Wood & Co. and was later renamed Thum, Lake & Co. It became a state bank in 1883 under the name of the Lead City Bank, a name which was changed to the First National Bank in 1891, and most recently to Norwest Bank.
From humble beginnings in Harlow's Feed Store on Mill Street, the bank moved to a new brick structure on the corner of Main and North Mill in 1883, later occupying an even more imposing building on the same site in 1903.
As a result of ground subsidence due to mining, the bank was forced to move to its present location in 1922. The structure seen here was constructed on the foundations of Lead's old Miners' Union Hall and Opera House, which had been razed in the late teens. The new building, constructed by W. W. Beach Co. of Sioux City of brick and reinforced concrete, was designed to conform to the then prevailing style of modern bank architecture.
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