Herbst Building

In 1824, the Commissioners of Perryville sold Lot 64 to Clement Knott for $43. By 1842, Henry Hooss had built the Hooss Hotel, also known as the White House, on part of Lot 64, and the hotel was razed in 1927. Leo Herbst, son-in-law of Henry Hooss, erected a fine two-story red brick building on part of the property, where he opened Herbst's Men Wear and lived upstairs with his wife, Myrta, and the building became known as the Herbst Building. The Perry County Savings and Loan Association, organized in 1922, moved there from the Duerr building on the north side of the square in 1957. It was the only lending institution in Perryville to give loans to servicemen with no collateral, and in all its years in business it never had a loss on any loan. Leo Rozier, a respected lawyer and former State Senator, ran Perry County Savings and Loan and served on its Board of Directors. Next door stood the Stuebner & Bergman Hardware Store, a one-story structure with a basement, measuring 25 by 80 feet and constructed by Tlapek Lumber Company in April 1925. Its bright orange wooden entrance doors and orange window trim were especially remembered. By 1943, Leonard Bergman became sole owner of Bergman Hardware Store, and the following year the building was sold to John Endres. Bergman Hardware remained there until 1968, when Leo Rozier purchased the building and Leonard retired. Later, Perry County Savings and Loan bought that building from Leo Rozier, enabling an expansion in which the two buildings were remodeled and converted into a single modern-day office building. Other adjoining properties were purchased to provide drive-through banking, ATM access, and parking. In 1995, Perry County Savings and Loan became Perry County Savings Bank under the direction of Leo Rozier. In January 2001, the bank and building were sold to Jefferson County Bancshares, Inc. of Festus, Missouri, under the name Eagle Bank. Enterprise Bank later came to occupy and own the building, which turned 96 years old in 2023.

Perryville, Missouri · United States