A Buxton History Webpage
An Article On Budd Reeve
A Picture of Budd Reeve
Reeve Cemetery
Adapted From The History of First State Bank.
Date written is unknown.
Some of the records for First State Bank are dated in 1879 when North
Dakota was still a part of Dakota Territory. Opened by L. G. Phelps, the
bank was sold to A. L. Hanson, A.L. Plummer and O. S. Hanson in 1884.
They chartered it as the Bank of Buxton in 1885. It obtained a national
charter in 1916 when it became First National Bank. In 1938 the name was
changed to First State Bank of Buxton. This name was used until 1985 when
it became First State Bank.
Several area banks became a part of this bank. Farmers State Bank in
Buxton was added in 1927 and First State Bank of Thompson in 1936. The
deposits and liabilities of the State Bank of Reynolds were assumed in
1939.
O. S. Hanson became its first president when he was only 22 years old.
He remained in that office for 56 years. The Hanson family also had banking
interests in many North Dakota and Minnesota towns.
A member of the early board of directors was Buxton's first physician,
Dr. James Grassick. He later moved to Grand Forks, but continued to serve
as a bank director. Dr. Grassick was known for his work in the fight against
tuberculosis. Camp Grassick, located near Dawson, ND which serves handicapped
children, is named in his honor.
Two
armed robberies are part of the bank's history. The first occurred in
1928 when three men made off with $8,500 after locking a salesman, a customer
and three bank employees in the vault. In the second robbery, three robbers
entered the bank, took a woman and her daughter hostage and fired shots
over the heads of some men who were across the street. Leonard Hanson,
bank cashier and son of O.S. Hanson, apparently tried to activate the
tear gas system that had been installed following the earlier robbery.
He was shot and killed. The robbers made off with $1,000 spreading tacks
and nails on the road as they fled. These armed robberies and a 1959 burglary
at the Thompson branch remain unsolved. Fingerprints of a man found at
the bottom of a well in Oklahoma matched those found at the Thompson bank.
Apparently this man had been thrown into the well by his partners. He
had been on the "Ten Most Wanted List".
The stone building in Buxton used from 1882 to 1976 was turned over to
the Buxton Historical Society following construction of its new bank building.
The bullet holes from the robbery are still evident.
Through its long history, there have been many changes, but the bank
has had only three presidents. O. S. Hanson was president for 56 years.
S. N Lommen followed him in 1940. He served until 1972 when the bank was
sold to a group of area investors including current president, Paul H.
Marchell.
Please contact the County Coordinator if you have interesting additional items on the history of Buxton.
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