| City/Town: • Culver |
| Location Class: • Government |
| Built: • 1902 | Abandoned: |
| Status: • Abandoned |
| Photojournalist: • Aaron Peck |
A town having a bank is a significant milestone to meet, it shows growth, people establishing the town as a lifelong home, money flowing through it, and more. So when a group of men got together after the first of the year in 1902 to organize the Culver State Bank, excitement rumbled through the citizens.
The bank started with a capital of $10,000 and E.F. Keezel as the cashier. Work had commenced on the building by the end of January 1902. Eager to appease the excitement of the people and get business rolling there was a very quick turnaround with the bank opening for business on March 24, 1902.
Reports the following year headlined CSB as “an institution to be recognized as one of the solid concerns of the county,” as well as highlighting its significant growth in the last year.
These newspaper headlines of significant growth and the bank being brand new might have tipped off the Midwest bank robbers because on May 17th the CSB was robbed of $3,000 in cash. They blew open the safe and wiped everything from it. The robbers got away on a hand car and then abandoned said car on the train track a mile north of Salina and escaped on the west night train. But thankfully On June 3rd the bank was reimbursed through insurance of the total amount. The execution of the robbery was similar to that of the Assaria State Bank just three weeks earlier.
But like many banks when the Great Depression hit in the 1930s, the CSB couldn’t sustain business. It officially announced its closure on July 9, 1932. It never reopened as a bank again.
In its later years, it served as a drugstore after being a bank and then turned into the City of Culver Post Office until the mid-1970s. The building was unfortunately torn down sometime around the 1993 flood that Culver experienced. All that remains standing is the intricate tile flooring that still says “BANK” and the bank vault. Also check out the Culver Jail that still stands today behind city hall!
Gallery Below of Culver State Bank Vault
https://www.newspapers.com/image/374942321/?terms=culver%20state%20bank&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/374943954/?terms=%22culver%20state%20bank%22&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/478030328/?terms=culver%20state%20bank&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/483811749/?terms=%22culver%20state%20bank%22&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/478025109/?terms=culver%20state%20bank&match=1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/478023730/?terms=%22culver%20state%20bank%22&match=1
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This actually looks pretty cool. Not worth the pain of driving halfway through the Sunflower State but, if for some reason I find myself either going to Denver for “recreational purposes” or making a stop in that cesspool known as Manhattan to watch KU bitch slap the KSU Kittens, I’ll definitely wayze myself to Culver to check out the solid tile work just chilling outside.