The Federal Reserve Bank of Montana identifies the Allen and Millard Bank, which opened here in 1864, as the first real bank in Montana Territory. While other businesses in the Territory called themselves banks, most were actually express companies that exchanged gold for cash or offered storage space in their safes. Allen and Millard in fact had the power to write drafts on a New York bank. The building itself, beautifully maintained, is one of the Virginia City's oldest and best-preserved stone buildings. Although the original French doors and tall, narrow windows were replaced circa 1900, the front facade features the original ashlar stone, bracketed wooden cornice and wooden window heads allowing the building to retain its 1860s appearance. The bank operated as Hall and Bennett into the early 1900s and then became the Madison State Bank which did business until 1930.
Comments 0 comments