The History on Main series with Leonard Cash takes a bit of a detour starting this week, as we begin covering the timeline of block 7, lots 1 and 2, which are now home to First State Bank. While the lots are set just off of Main Street, the property and its inhabitants have had a significant impact on the city of Newcastle, both historically and in the modern day. First State Bank is situated across the alley from the bank’s Main Street parking lot, discussed in the last several installments of the History on Main Series.
While Cash only keeps the Weston County Courthouse records for Main Street businesses in his personal archives, he still has quite the collection of facts, photos and stories for the First State Bank property. His records of the lots begin with the Sanborn Maps, which reference the property as Oliver’s feed warehouse around 1936. According to Cash, the property was vacant, except for a few houses until this time. The bank took over occupancy of block 7, lots 1 and 2, in the mid 1950s. The feed warehouse moved out near Newcastle Motors, and First State Bank built its current building.
However, in order to fully understand the history of First State Bank in Newcastle, Cash said it is important to understand the bank’s timeline and locations up until the 1950s. First, it must be noted that Weston County Bank was located in Newcastle — before First State Bank — in block 11. Then, when a fire burned most of block 11 in 1912, the establishment moved to block 7, lot 10, in the same building that is now occupied by Cash Box Ceramics. Cash said the bank’s residency was fitting, and the building was originally constructed to be a bank in 1890.