Historic Buildings
816 N. Washington:Baskin/Clewell Drug StoreHere, in 1978, the last of the "old-fashioned drug stores" in junction City closed. Built in 1904 by pharmacist C.H. Baskin, the building was acquired by Charles Clewell in 1917. Eventually his son, Roy Clewell, became the proprietor.
802 N. Washington:Central National BankSumner W. Pierce founded the Central National Bank in 1884. In 1910, he erected the main bank building on the northwest corner. Pierce added a stone building on the north side in 1911, and on the west side, also in 1911. The Central National Bank continues to operate from the building. Strength has been one of the main-stays of the Central National Bank through its 100 year history. It has gone forward in a positive fashion from its youth to maturity. Even in the worst of times — the Great Depression, the Bank Holiday, and even inflation - it was a viable source to the community it serves.
Its strength comes only from loyal support of the community. The people of Junction City, Fort Riley, and the surrounding rural communities have been its strong-arm through the years. However, the bank had to "crawl" before it could "walk." The "crawling stage" lasted about 40 years but even in those years, the bank never lost its capital base — the main spoke in
any bank's wheel.
We have grown from the darkest days of the 1930's, when management struggled to keep the doors open, to our present-day strength ranking in the top 5% of the nation's banks.
During the first 40 years, many banks were formed, but many were lost. During 1930, more than 1,300 banks closed their doors and by 1933 an additional 7,000 had failed. Only the strongest survived and remain today.
801 N. Washington:Pennell Building J.J. Pennell was a well-known photographer in Junction City between 1886 and 1922. In 1908, he built this building which housed the Miller Drug Co. downstairs and his photography studio upstairs. It was here that Joseph Stanley Pennell wrote his novel of Junction City and the Civil War, "The History of Rome Hanks," a best seller in 1944. "Pennell 1908" can still be seen atop the building. The building was restored and dedicated in 1997 by Geary County and currently houses offices of the Geary County Attorney and other court services.
Photos courtesy of Geary County Historical Society.
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