Three Valleys State Bank

Built in 1910 when Three Forks was less than two years old, the sturdy Three Valleys State Bank building was financed by John Q. Adams, who founded Three Forks for the Milwaukee Land Company, and its Romanesque arches, rusticated sandstone, thick masonry walls, cavernous entryways, and less elaborate brick second story conveyed security, endurance, and faith in the town’s future while also providing office space for local doctors, dentists, and lawyers. The bank changed hands several times before American National Bank bought it in 1917, but extended drought and low commodity prices soon shattered the homestead economy, thousands of farmers lost their land, land values fell by fifty percent, and more than half of Montana’s banks failed, including American National in 1923. In 1925 an earthquake struck Three Forks, leaving effects still visible in the blond replacement brick and truncated cornice on the building’s west side. After the bank closed, Benjamin Adams used the building for his real estate office until 1942, after which it housed various businesses, then again served as a bank in 1960 when Security Bank of Three Forks opened the town’s first bank in thirty-seven years, and in 1982 it became the Headwaters Heritage Museum.

Three Forks, Montana · United States