July 16, 2012
Happy 112th Birthday, Stone Bank!
Here’s the cool thing — 112 years ago this month, work began on the stone building that we now call the Stone Bank.
Pioneer craftsmen shaped each stone on the building’s facade by hand. And the building was completed, COMPLETED, before Christmas 1900.
The Stone Bank was built as Bottineau County Bank in 1900 — it took local workers less than six months to complete. Wow!
It was an astounding feat. A 60′ x 20′ building of hand-hewn stones built in a half-year. A building that has stood the test of time.
Now we face our own test. We must rebuild the back section of the building this year — and we hope it gets done long before Christmas.
What will it take? Money to pay our modern-day craftsmen. We have $20,000 in grant money from the Historical Society of ND and $5,000 from Preservation ND. But the cost to rebuild the back of the building over a new foundation is just short of $65,000.
Every penny will help. So, how about a symbolic donation? $19.00 or $112 to help move our work along. (You know, $19 for the year 1900, or $112 for all 112 years of the Stone Bank’s existence. Or, $5,000 — just because!.)
Scott Wagar of the Bottineau Courant recently found a trove of info about the bank’s beginning. This is how we know that it’s time to celebrate the building’s birthday. Check out Scott’s article here and a story about Scott here!
Here are some pictures of the bank over time and one showing the work to be done this year.
Can you help? Please click the PayPal link in the right column or send a check to the Stone Bank Project, 524 Main Street, Bottineau, ND 58318
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