The Monroe Bank building is located at 117 Main Street in

Woodsfield Woodsfield is a village and the county seat of Monroe County, Ohio, United States located 30 miles northeast of Marietta. The population was 2,384 at the 2010 census. History Woodsfield was founded in 1813 as seat of the newly formed Monroe Cou ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. The building was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

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 rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Samuel L. Mooney, with an initial capital of $50,000. For years it was the only bank in

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

. 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 William Crittenden Mooney (June 15, 1855 – July 24, 1918) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Ohio. His parents were Colonel (United States), Colonel Samuel L. Mooney, a major figure in the development of ...

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 (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

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 or ...

, 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 (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

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 con ...

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 or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...

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