The Bank
1878

 
 

Hi, my dad & I have researched the story of the Augusta Bank building on the northeast corner of Lincoln street and Stone Street in Augusta, Wisconsin.  Right now the building is mostly used by the Augusta Public Library, but it was not a library to begin with...

This is what the building looks like today.  It has had some additions over the years but the original brickwork still remains.

    The Augusta Bank was established in 1875 and was located at approximately 120 West Lincoln Street.  Most of the buildings in Augusta at that time were made of wood.  In the 1800's kerosene lamps and wood stoves were used for lighting and heating.  Between the years 1877 and 1897, four large fires plagued Augusta's downtown area.  The bank burned down in the fire of 1877 and was rebuilt in 1878, using brick, at the corner of Lincoln and Stone Street.
    In 1911 the "Tuesday Club," a women's group, who wished for "a higher, broader, truer culture" in Augusta, started a library in a corner office of the building.
    In 1932 the bank closed, and the "Tuesday Club" and other organizations donated funds and resources to expand the library's inventory and to move to a larger part of the building. Sometime after, the town of Augusta moved City Hall to the building and shared space with the library.  Also, in the past and present, the building has housed doctors, apartments, lawyers, and a cafe.
    In 1996 City Hall moved into its new space on Lincoln Street and the library was renovated and now uses most of the building.

• Augusta Public Library
• Wally Shong