The Kingsbury County Bank, also called the Ruth Bank, was organized in 1880 by A. Ruth and Thomas Ruth and was incorporated in December 1885 under territorial laws with an authorized capital of $200,000. Thomas H. Ruth, born March 5, 1844, in Carmichael, Pennsylvania, was one of six children, served in the Civil War, and lived in De Smet from 1880 to 1908. His first wife, Lara Galbraith, died in 1883 and they had no children; in 1895 he married Amelia Bell, and they had one son, Edwin. His health failed and he died in 1908, after which his wife and son returned to Pennsylvania. The brick building on the northwest corner of Calumet and Third Street was built for the bank in 1886. In 1900 the Kingsbury County Bank became the De Smet, or First National Bank, and it closed on May 28, 1926, after it failed to sell. Built on a corner lot to receive the most traffic, the building contained three large office spaces and at various times housed Dr. Hunter's practice and family residence, a dentist office, a clothing store, and a gift shop, and later again became rental property. Known as Banker Ruth in The Long Winter, Thomas Ruth was one of De Smet's most prominent and influential citizens and bought the last 50-pound bag of flour in town for a dollar a pound during The Long Winter.