After the Civil War, Carthage’s growing population attracted wealthy entrepreneurs such as Gustavius Cassil, who made his fortune in land speculation. Noticing that the city lacked a bank, and after having to carry large sums of cash personally, Cassil founded the Bank of Carthage in 1868.  Located at 301 South Main Street, the one story building stood on a site where an earlier building had been destroyed during the Battle of Carthage.

​

The bank expanded as the city grew. A larger two-story brick building replaced the original in 1884, and in 1890 it was remodeled with a third floor.  A portion of the remodeled Bank of Carthage Building would be refaced with rough, red sandstone designed in the Romanesque Architectural Style, while the rest of the building would keep its original facade, designed in the Italianate Architectural Style.

 

A major renovation in 1909 added marble walls, mahogany stairs, and wood trim. The building housed the bank, storefronts, professional offices on the second floor, and a lodge hall for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, though the third floor was removed in 1949 due to structural issues.

​

After nearly 90 years at the site, the bank moved across 3rd Street to a new building in 1960. The Bank of Carthage later became part of Boatmen’s Bank and eventually Bank of America. Although the Bank of Carthage is no longer, original vaults, woodwork, marble interiors, and the original exterior sign remain in the original building.  

​

FUN FACT:  

The building’s distinctive red stone façade is Lake Superior Sandstone, now commonly called Jacobsville Sandstone.  Valued for its durability and fire resistance, the stone was widely used as a building material during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  It was quarried extensively in Michigan’s northern Upper Peninsula, around Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands, and from deposits beneath Lake Superior.

​

Getting the stone to Carthage was no small undertaking.  It arrived by train, and a large derrick was erected to unload the massive blocks, which were then used to create the building’s distinctive façade.