The Monroe Bank building is located at 117 Main Street in Woodsfield,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The building was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on March 11, 1980.

History

The building was built in 1903 and was the headquarters for Monroe County Bank. The bank was chartered 1874 by

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Samuel L. Mooney, with an initial capital of $50,000. For years it was the only bank in Monroe County. The fine crafted interior gave a glimpse of the bank's wealth to its clients. The bank acted as the main office for the O.R.&W. Railway from 1905 until it was purchased and moved out of state in 1917. When Samuel Mooney died in 1916, his son William C. Mooney took over as President of the bank, but he died in 1918, leaving the Presidency open. J.D. Mooney took over as president and remained in that post for the remainder of the bank's operation. The bank remained one of the prominent business of Monroe County and seemed to weather the first years of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

well, until 1931, when the bank was forced to close all of its branch locations, leaving just the location in Woodsfield open. However, the financial situation did not improve and was forced to close its doors 1933. The liquidation of the bank was a long and arduous one and lasted for years. The bank housed various offices, including a few of the county officials, and even served as an apartment building. The bank is currently owned by Gary Rubel, who has renovated the bank back to its former glory and has rented out many of the offices inside.

Building Appearance

The building was constructed of rusticated stone blocks with the upper floors built with red brick on a primarily square footprint. The four-story building contains three entrances on the ground floor, two on the main facades and the third on a flattened corner. The entrances on the south facade are surrounded by

Ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...

, the entrance on the corner has a panel above the second floor windows reading "1903", with decorative scrollwork stone panels separating the second and third floors. Above the entrance on the south facade rises two large

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

with balconies and a

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

panel bearing "1903" on the panel. This piece is part of what was once a complete balustrade running along the roofline. In 2006 construction began on an observation deck giving panoramic views of Woodsfield. The octagonal room is lined with long windows and topped by a roof rising to a weathervane in the shape of a

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Commercial buildings completed in 1903 Buildings and structures in Monroe County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Monroe County, Ohio