When Lakin secured the county seat in 1894, some of the homes and business houses in Hartland were relocated here. As the climatic and economic conditions steadily improved, Lakin’s population again began to grow. By October of 1906, the town was in the middle of another building boom. Among the buildings erected at this time were the Kearny County Bank and the Lakin State Bank.
The Kearny County Bank had been organized February 1, 1888, and was located in the Spivey and Holmes Building on the southeast corner of Main and Waterman. This set-up worked well for the bank until the building also began housing county officers and the court house in 1899. Eventually the county needed more space, and the news broke in March of 1906 that bank officials had decided to erect a new building across the street on the west side of Main.
By the end of January 1907, the fixtures of the Kearny County Bank were all in place, and the safe had been installed in the handsome building which featured red pressed brick with white accents. The only obstacle preventing the bank from moving into the new quarters was the arrival of the office furniture. The official move took place in February. Besides being headquarters for the bank, the building had several offices on the first and second floors. A suite of rooms was occupied by the real estate and insurance business of E.R. Thorpe and Charles Loucks, and dentist J.H. Rardon’s office was on the second floor.
Catty-corner from this location was the site chosen for the Lakin State Bank which was chartered in March of 1906. Although the Kearny County Bank had about a four-month head start on construction, Lakin State Bank was the first to move into their new facility. The move took place Christmas 1906. Made of cement stone with steel ceilings and attractive metal cornices, the building committee spared no expense in making the building up-to-the-minute in every respect. The bank was situated in the first room on the first floor with Kansas Real Estate and Abstract Company in the second room. A third room was initially used as a board room for the directors. The first suite of rooms on the second floor were occupied by attorneys A.R. Hetzer and H.O. Trinkle, and the Kearny County Advocate moved into the second suite on the upper story with editor C.N. Walls sleeping next door to the printing office. The basement was leased to C.H. Sanford of Garden City and used as a café, but that business was short-lived. The Advocate was removed from the top story and relocated in the basement in August 1907.
The ownership and control of both banks remained in Kearny County from the dates of their origin until May of 1946 when officials of the Garden National Bank acquired majority control of the banks, consolidated them and liquidated the Lakin State Bank. The new institution continued under the name of Kearny County Bank, carrying on business in the same location. In 1955, majority control of the bank was returned to local hands when the investor group of Dan Ratzlaff, J.R. Hutton and Clyde Beymer, Jr. acquired the shares controlled by the Garden National Bank owners. A new building was erected in 1962 two blocks north.
The old Kearny County and Lakin State bank buildings still stand and have housed many businesses throughout the years from pawn shops to beauty shops and insurance agents to computer wizards. Bri’s Burritos is currently stationed in the former Kearny County Bank building while Bryant Chiropractic operates out of the Lakin State Bank location. The upstairs offices in both buildings have been converted into apartments, and the entrance to the basement on the south side of the Lakin State Bank building was filled in with concrete many moons ago.
SOURCES: “We’re 100 Years Old” written by Clyde Beymer, Jr. for the Jan. 28, 1988 Lakin Independent; Archives of The Advocate and Lakin Investigator from 1906 through 1909; May 17, 1946 Lakin Independent; History of Kearny County Vol. 1; and museum archives.