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Bank of Bramwell

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1891. 1906, Walter J. Smith. Southeast corner of intersection of Main and Bloch sts.
  • Bank of Bramwell (HABS/HAER)

This surprisingly modest structure, almost residential in character, belies the importance of the institution for which it was built. Constructed of solid, uncoursed, quarry-faced bluestone (the name given the warm, brownish sandstone obtained nearby), it has a pedimented gable end facing the street. First-floor windows and the Main Street entrance are arched, but all other fenestration is rectangular. The interior, remodeled in 1906 by architect Smith, still has a tiled floor, ornate woodwork, and the brass nameplate of the first cashier and later president, I. T. Mann (see ME25).

The bank, incorporated in 1889, was once one of the country's richest in ratio to the number of depositors. Largely because of Mann's acumen, the Bank of Bramwell financed the Burning Tree Country Club in Washington, D.C., and invested in real estate throughout the country. It failed in 1933, a casualty of the Depression. The First National Bank of Bluefield acted as its liquidation agent, and by 1958 all creditors had been fully paid.

Writing Credits

Author: 
S. Allen Chambers Jr.
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Data

What's Nearby

Perry House
Bramwell Presbyterian Church
Edward Cooper House
Commercial Block
I. T. Mann House

Citation

S. Allen Chambers Jr., "Bank of Bramwell", [Bramwell, West Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/WV-01-ME22.

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