Kansas State Bank Then and Now

510 N Second Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

The US Signal Service in Dodge City was originally located in the Dodge House, which maybe wasn’t the best arrangement. In June of 1876, the office moved to the second floor of a white pine house at the southeast corner of Second Avenue and what was then Walnut Street.

Martha Lake bought the building from City Treasurer Charles Schulz in December of 1881.

The Signal Service moved to the Hoover building on Front Street in January of 1883 and Lake used their former space for boarding. A storefront was added to the building in April of 1885 for Mrs. A. J. Coady’s new City of Paris millinery.

Mrs. E. Justin took possession of the City of Paris later that year.

In December of 1885, Mrs. Justin incurred a loss of $2,500, mostly due to looting, during the second devastating fire. $2,000 of that was covered by insurance. The fire was stopped at the Lake building by “the finest work we ever saw done by a bucket brigade.”

City of Paris was listed for sale with its full stock in May of 1886 and was replaced by a store called The Fair. A series of businesses operated in the Lake building including restaurants, shoe repair shops, and a bakery.

After Martha Lake died in February of 1892, the building was owned by her estate for some time before being acquired by Benjamin F Milton, who used the main floor for his law office. Milton relocated his office upstairs when S. Everett Sheldon moved his Globe Restaurant to the main level in November of 1907. That restaurant changed hands a few times and closed by the Spring of 1910.

After Walter Locke’s Bargain Store was destroyed by fire on November 1, 1909, the Milton building temporarily housed his clothing department.

Later that year, it was occupied by the Up-To-Date Tailoring and Cleaning Co.

By March of 1912, the business was operated by Julian M Hulpieu.

George Cochran bought the building in December of that year and then resold it to Kansas State Bank in February of 1913. Because the bank had a couple years left on their lease at Second and Chestnut, the old signal office was allowed to stay.

Frank and Arthur Skillington acquired the tailoring business from Julian Hulpieu in the Fall of 1914.

They moved about half a block north when their building was sold at auction for $100 in April of 1915. Sam Baggley moved the structure to West Santa Fe Trail Street, where it was placed next to the home of buyer M. R. Prather.

Kansas State Bank, chartered on October 2, 1907, was ready to build.

Owen and Payson of Kansas City designed a two-story Classical Revival building for bank operations on the main level and three office suites, complete with private lavatories, on the second floor. It would be considered fireproof with its floors and roof constructed of reinforced concrete. The structure would have a temple front with ionic columns on either side of the main entrance and a wide marble base. Striking white enamel brick and glazed terra cotta would be used for exterior finishes. The interior was finished with marble and mahogany.

The building contract was awarded to William Foley in July of 1915 with hopes of completion by the end of the year. However, concrete for the second floor wasn’t even poured until that December. After a series of delays, the real estate and insurance firm of Henry F Millikan and Carl J Turner relocated to Rooms 3 and 4 in April of 1916.

Another real estate firm operated by William P Kliesen and J. E. Bennett occupied the other suite.

Bank employees moved to their new quarters on May 31, 1916 and opened for business on June 1, before the interior was completely finished. Police Judge Walter S Pagan was the first to arrive at the deposit counter. Finishing touches wrapped up in mid-July.

In September of 1916, a large iron drinking fountain was installed on the north sidewalk. The plaque on the fountain read, “Erected to the Memory of GEORGE M. HOOVER By the Citizens of this City 1841-1914.”

It should be noted that Kansas State Bank was the first institution in Southwest Kansas to add a Savings Department in December of 1915.

Dr. Walter F Pine established a solo practice over the bank in March of 1921 which continued into the 1930s.

Kansas State Bank merged with State Bank of Dodge City in January of 1933 to become Fidelity State Bank. Operations were then consolidated at Second and Walnut.

Fidelity was robbed by an indebted Finney County farmer in September of 1939. Carl Kirby got away with $2,071 but was caught about five minutes later by Chief E. M. Olson and Sheriff Claude Dowdy. Kirby received a sentence of 10 to 50 years. At that time, the second floor was occupied by the real estate firms of Walter A Layton and Marion R Zimmer.

Upstairs occupants in the 1940s included the Ford Co. National Farm Loan Association, Dr. H. R. Patrick, Clarence M Zimmer Agency, and M. R. Zimmer Real Estate.

In September of 1950, the neighboring Gwinner building was destroyed by arson.

Fidelity bought the lot directly south of the bank where Sweetbriar had operated. A new two-story addition was constructed there which housed architect Stanley Petro, the Zimmer Agency, and the law firm of Claude W Gould and Ronald R Mitchell. A new glass entrance was constructed just inside the columns at the front door, leaving the original entrance intact.

In January of 1977, the institution’s name was changed to The Fidelity State Bank and Trust Company, Dodge City, Kansas.

Around that time, the south addition underwent a dramatic change. The 1950s windows were replaced by a marble front with a single oriel window on the second floor. To unify the appearance, the glass outside the main entrance was replaced by a combination of tinted glass and marble. While I don’t love it, I have no doubt this change granted quite a bit of relief from the afternoon sun.

Speaking of which, I called the time and temperature line for the first time in ages and am happy to report it is still active.

The bank’s interior has undergone a series of transformations. The building is still quite grand and has been very well maintained with new windows installed a couple years ago. One major feature which has not changed is the original entrance. If you go through the modern vestibule, you will see the original ornate terra cotta over the lobby entrance. It’s such a wonderful surprise to see those details protected from the weather.

This is how the former Kansas State Bank building looks today:

I’ve always thought of Fidelity as Dodge City’s grown-up bank, which I suppose is the whole point. They have somehow stayed local and stayed committed to the same building downtown, through a long series of inconveniences, for 110 years. That’s really something!

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