This is a history of the Bank of Florence by Adam Fletcher Sasse for NorthOmahaHistory.com.
19th century, 20th century, 21st century, Banks, Bar or Tavern, Buildings, Commercial vernacular, Florence, History museums, History of Nebraska, Listed on National Register of Historic Places, Newspapers, North 30th Street, Official Omaha Landmark, Pioneer era

A History of the Bank of Florence

The oldest bank building in Nebraska is located in the North Omaha neighborhood of Florence. This is a history of the 1856 Bank of Florence.

Pioneer Banking

This is a circa 1905 photo of North 30th Street, previously called First Main Street in Florence, Nebraska. Business shown along the wood-covered street include the Bank of Florence, the telephone company, an ice cream shop, a drug store, bakery, a dry goods and shoes, and possibly part of Thomas Dugher Meat Market.
This is a circa 1905 photo of wooden North 30th Street. Business shown include the Bank of Florence, the telephone company, an ice cream shop, a drug store, bakery, a dry goods and shoes, and possibly part of Thomas Dugher Meat Market. The Bank of Florence is on the left closest to the camera.

In 1854, a group of wildcat investors quickly built the Bank of Florence on First Main Street in the pioneer town of Florence in the Nebraska Territory. Called Cook, Sargent and Parker, the same group invested in another real estate speculation about four miles south in the boom-and-bust town of Saratoga.

The Bank of Florence was essentially an investment scheme. After building a two-story brick bank, banker James M. Parker (1824-1902) moved in upstairs to stay by his business. Intending to make a healthy profit off both towns, the banks lent money quickly and did a brisk business. Like their contemporaries up and down the Missouri River, the Florence Bank helped launch businesses and farms by printing their own money.

This is an original 1856 banknote from the Bank of Florence, Nebraska Territory.
This is an original 1856 banknote from the Bank of Florence, Nebraska Territory.
Bank of Florence $3 bill
This is an 1856 three dollar bill from the Bank of Florence.

Parker also bankrolled several businesses while he was running the bank. Among others, he was responsible for launching the Florence Courier, which was printed in the bank building. Acting as a booster for the new town and its interests, the paper included promotions of new businesses and buildings as well as highlighting new development plans while it insulted neighboring upstarts Omaha City and Council Bluffs.

However, just over a year after they started there was a financial panic nationwide. Customers came to the bank and emptied out the vaults by cashing in their printed money. This bled the value from the business, but despite what most popular historical accounts say, the Florence Bank never failed. Instead, James Parker paid off all of the debts—including the bank notes—and kept running the bank for years afterwards.

Parker’s press, the Florence Courier newspaper, closed down in 1858.

This is a circa 1903 pic of the Bank of Florence, which was then a rundown homage to the early bank. James Parker had kept the bank's supplies there for years, but it was not in good condition.
This is a circa 1903 pic of the Bank of Florence, which was then a rundown homage to the early bank. James Parker had kept the bank’s supplies there for years, but it was not in good condition.

When he closed up shop in 1860, Parker kept living in the building near town and his family continued to make their name felt. Parker amassed a huge farm, built a large mansion and eventually sold his properties to become Minne Lusa and Florence Field. The Parker Mansion was located at 3021 Vane Street into the 1950s, when it was bulldozed and replaced with suburban-style tract housing.

Bank of Florence, 8502 North 30th Street, Omaha, Nebraska
Cook, Sargent and Parker of Davenport, Iowa, opened in 1856. A wildcat bank built by speculators, it failed in the panic of 1857-58. The building was occupied by various businesses until 1904, when the “New Bank of Florence” was organized there. This second bank of Florence closed about 1940. Pic courtesy of the Durham Museum.

After old man Parker moved away from Florence in the 1870s, he continued to own the bank building. Storing his old banking supplies upstairs with his apartment furniture, it became a bar, a horse stable, and as shown in the picture above, it was a pool hall for a while.

For the first decade or so, it was rented out as a bar owned by future Florence mayor John S. Paul. Between then and 1904, the original building was used as a horse stable, grocery store, dry cleaners, antique store, and as the Florence Telephone Exchange building. The exchange was moved to the second floor in 1904, when the New Bank of Florence opened on the first floor.

The New Bank of Florence

Bank of Florence vault, Florence, Nebraska
This is an 1971 pic of the 1856 Bank of Florence vault, still located in the museum today. The original 1969 application for the National Register of Historic Places, “Shipped by steamboat from western Pennsylvania in 1856, this vault consists of interwoven strips of quarter-inch sheet steel. The vault is ventilated by concealed air shafts and enclosed within three foot thick masonry walls.”

In 1904, the State Bank of Florence, aka the New Bank of Florence, was re-incorporated by several town fathers including John S. Paul, R.M. Olmstead, and others.

In 1909, the bank was sold to John D. Brisbin, H.T. Brisbin and others, and reopened in its original location.  Brisbin served as the president. In 1917, Brisbin retired and Tom R. Riley took over.

Folding in 1930 because of the Great Depression, it was reorganized in 1932. Seven years later in 1939, the Bank of Florence changed its name and moved from 8502 North 30th Street, to become the North Side Bank at 30th and Ames.

Making a Museum

This is a 1930s pic of the Bank of Florence, which was then operated as the New Bank of Florence.
This is a 1930s pic of the Bank of Florence, which was then operated as the New Bank of Florence.

Starting in 1960, the Florence Pioneer Days were centered on the old Bank of Florence for more than 50 years. From the 1940s through 1966, Zerlina Brisbin Lewis (1889-1995), the great-granddaughter of James M. Parker, owned the building. She donated it to the Florence Lions Club in 1966, which reserved the first floor for club meetings and used the second floor as storage before converting it into an apartment.

That same year, the Lions donated the building to the Florence Historical Society, which found the entire second floor messed up. By 1976, they renovated the Bank of Florence building and opened it as a seasonal museum, which it still operates as today. The president of the North Side Bank served as president of the society during the renovation, exhibiting the bank’s ongoing commitment to Florence.

Today, the museum features the original 1856 bank vault, as well as the original layout of the bank on the first floor. Bank furnishings like teller’s cages were installed, and the building resembles a small town bank in the 1870s. The original

The second floor has been restored to appear as James M. Parker left it when his family moved to their farmhouse on present-day Vane Street around 1860. He and his wife’s actual bed is there, along with many other fixtures from the era.

Bank of Florence 8502 North 30th Street North Omaha Nebraska
Built in 1856, this is the Bank of Florence at 8502 North 30th Street.

The Bank of Florence building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and designated an Omaha Landmark in 1980. Today, there is a historic marker next to the building, and the Florence History Garden is cared for next door to the building.

In 1994, the North Side Bank closed permanently, and around 2000 its building at 30th and Ames was demolished.

The Bank of Florence Museum continues though, with the Florence Historical Society as the loving caretakers of the 170+ year legacy of the building. Struggling regularly to find funding to maintain the space, they operate the building with limited hours that you can find online.

Basics

  • Name: Bank of Florence Building
  • Location: 8502 N. 30th St.
  • (402) 496-9923
  • Hours: Open 11am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday from June 1 through August 31
  • About: Built in 1856, it was designated an Omaha Landmark in 1980 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969
  • Architectural styles:
  • Architects:
  • There’s a historic marker at this location
  • Wikipedia article

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MY ARTICLES ABOUT THE HISTORY OF FLORENCE
Basics: History | Banks | Newspapers | Churches | Mayors
Public Places: Florence Main Street | Florence High School | The Mormon Tree | Mormon Bridge | Florence Boulevard | River Drive | J.J. Pershing Drive and Monument | Potter’s Field
Businesses: Florence Mill | Zestos | Florence Home | Florence Bank | Florence Mill | Florence Ferry | Florence Water Works | Florence Depot
Houses: Parker Mansion | Brandeis Country Home | Lantry-Thompson Mansion | Mitchell House | Hunt Mansion
Other Historic Places: Cutler’s Park | Winter Quarters | Vennelyst Park | Florence Building
People: James M. Parker | James Comey Mitchell | Florence Kilborn | Jacob Weber Sr.
Neighborhoods: Winter Quarters | Florence Field | Wyman Heights | High Point
Mormon History Locations: Mormon Pioneer Memorial Bridge | Site of the Mormon Tree | Cutler’s Park | Brigham Young House | Mormon Mill
Other: Directory of Florence Historic Places

Elsewhere Online

BONUS

This is a 1857 ad for the Bank of Florence.
This is a 1857 ad for the Bank of Florence.
This is a 1921 ad for the Bank of Florence.
This is a 1910 ad for the Bank of Florence.
This is a 1910 ad for the Bank of Florence.
This is a 1910 ad for the Bank of Florence.

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