Chartered on April 5, 1866, with a capitalization of $100,000, this was initially a private bank under the name S.T. Hauser and Company, Samuel T. Hauser being responsible for its organization. The first two buildings, on the corner of of Main and Wall streets, went up in smoke in 1869 and 1874, but each was rebuilt on the same site. Finally, in 1886, this magnificent Romanesque Revival (or Richardsonian Romanesque, depending on who one reads) bank was built at the corner of Main and Grand streets, at a cost of $35,000 to $40,000.
When the bank was firmly ensconced in this building they ran this ad on Page 4 of the September 03, 1887 edition of the Great Falls tribune. Note the misspelling of the founder and president's name, Samuel Hauser. The bank actually ran ads in essentially every issue of the Tribune for years.
For many years its primary business was the handling of gold dust from the nearby placer diggings. Although initially organized to serve the needs of the mines and miners, the First National Bank grew and changed with the times and shifted its emphasis to serving the growing cattle and sheep industries. The bank sailed along until the "panic of '93", which ultimately took the bank down, along with a great many of its peers.
By 1893, Helena had six national banks and several local banks... ...However, the Panic of 1893 brought an end to this prosperity. During a two week period in July 1893 more than a million dollars in coin and currency were withdrawn from Helena's banks. On July 27, the First National Bank suspended operations. With the cooperation of the Bank's depositors and creditors business was resumed on January 23, 1894... ...In September 1896 the First National Bank closed and a Receiver was appointed. The Bank's failure was due to a combination of national and local problems. Nationally, the currency system and banking laws were inadequate to deal with the major depression of the 1890s. Locally, Helena's economy was in decline. The Bank had been mismanaged for a number of years, with excessive loans granted to bank officers, deficient legal money reserves and excessive overdrafts and overdue paper.
From Archives West
The bank managed to pull itself out of receivership in 1903, continuing in operation in the building until moving to a new
Art Deco Building in 1931. A primary contributor to the Helena Historic District, the silvery granite building is richly decorated with contrasting red Wisconsin sandstone. Floral and foliage patterns carved into the sandstone grace the building - above the corner entrance transom, in the beltlines between each floor, in the window frames and elsewhere. Contrasting stonework, checkerboard work under the dormers, Ionic pillars and pilasters, along with the large and monumentally framed Romanesque window openings, finish the building in a manner which would doubtless please the sensibilities of the typical nineteenth century banker.
Today the building continues to serve the city, though not in its original function, having been renovated and converted to apartments and office space.