Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
TEKOA — After finishing an extensive renovation project, two local siblings have listed the historic bank, located at the intersection of Crosby and Henkle Street, for sale.
Susan Creger and Jim Lee settled into retirement six years ago with their spouses. They opened The Homestead General Store Antique Gift Shop on Crosby Street. Both Lee and Creger reported their initial desire to purchase the old bank when they first moved here. However, the building was not for sale.
“When we originally came to town, we wanted to buy it as we saw it as something we needed exactly as we are antique collectors,” said Lee.
“We actually really wanted to put our store there originally when we started five years ago. We couldn’t get a hold of the owner, so we bought this building instead. So when it went up for sale, we loved to renovate and restore, so we did it, knowing we would sell it,” added Creger.
The bank was first incorporated on August 16, 1904, under the name Lombard and Company Bankers. On February 26, 1908, the name was changed to the Citizens State Bank of Tekoa.
Citizens State Bank eventually closed its doors in 1921.
The building would go through many owners and remodels as it became the local post office until 1951 and, eventually, an insurance office, which closed its doors in 1993.
At this point, Lee reports that the building would go through cycles of housing a business and closing.
“When it was a post office and insurance office, they had remodeled it to make it not look like a bank. We had been putting it back to what it looked like originally. We restored the wood and put everything back to what it was in 1917. It was in pretty rough shape,” said Lee.
Renovation of the building began in April 2023. It ended at the very end of November when the brother-sister duo opened it up to the community to see for the first time.
“As you can guess, it had been closed since 1993, and nobody had seen it as a bank or seen it at all, so we wanted the town to see,” said Lee.
The siblings report that the remodel was extensive; however, Lee credits the fast turnaround time to retirement.
“We just worked pretty steady. We are all retired, so we had time. It was quite a bit of work. There are a lot of starters in the world, and there are very few people who finish. We are finishers. We just kept working,” he said.
Throughout the renovation project, some historic artifacts of the old bank were found in the basement.
“It had been sitting for so long. But unbelievably, all the old 1917 bank records were sitting in the basement. We got those out to give to the museum, and it was really interesting,” said Creger.
The antiquer brother-sister duo hopes to share their excitement about the remodel with the community as a new owner may soon purchase the historic site.
“It’s caused so much Buzz in town because it is such an iconic Tekoa business building. It has been shut up for so many years and is just one of those buildings everyone wants. It’s a beautiful building, and we want to share it with everyone,” noted Creger.
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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