Russell County’s first white settlers arrived in the late 1860s and communities quickly formed and developed during the 1870s.  In June of 1867 the Kansas Pacific Railroad reached the area that would become Dorrance - bringing German, English, Irish, and other immigrants who accounted for much of the town’s modest growth by 1870.  The site along the railroad chosen for the town was named after the Kansas Pacific Railroad Superintendent O.B. Dorrance.  “From 1874-1877 the population of the county increased steadily, and although they came neither in crowds nor colonies, each year saw new farms opened up and new dwellings going up over the prairie…”  Temporary officials were selected to oversee a special election during which the county’s first commissioners were chosen.  This election was held September 9, 1872, establishing a county government.  The U.S. Post Office at Dorrance was established on July 9, 1883.  On April 7, 1910, the City of Dorrance was incorporated as a third-class city.  City officers and councilmen were elected on April 19, 1910.  Located in the heart of Kansas’ Post Rock county, Dorrance was mostly populated by farm families of modest income.

Two banks emerged in Dorrance in 1904 – the Citizens State Bank and the Dorrance State Bank, which helped facilitate the town’s early 20th century growth.  A great need for a source of supplies was met with the construction of a native limestone building in 1911 known as the Rieff Building.  A general store occupied the first floor, and there was an opera floor on the second floor.

Dorrance had a sizeable business district in those early days, which included a hotel, blacksmith shop, livery barn, hardware stores, doctor’s offices, bank, lumberyard, grocery stores, butcher shop, drugstore, dry goods store, and newspaper.  Between 1910-1940, Dorrance served the eastern portion of Russell County as the primary supplier of goods and services.

For a short period of time in the early 1900s, there were two banks in Dorrance.  The Dorrance State Bank was chartered July 21, 1904, with capital of $10,000 capital, with W. D. Jellison as president, E. J. Schermerhorn, vice-president,  and J. E. Missimer as cashier.  The Citizens State Bank was chartered August 3, 1904 with $10,000 capital, with C. J. Poor as president, L. J. Sprinkle as vice-president, and C. G. Winbrenner as cashier.  To the satisfaction of both parties, the two banks were consolidated in November of 1904, with W. D. Jellison as president, J. E. Missimer as cashier, and C. G. Winbrenner as assistant cashier. A new large stone building to house the consolidation of these two banks was built in 1905.  This building was known as the Citizens State Bank until 1915 when it was changed to the Dorrance State Bank.  According to the abstract, on the 8th of April, 1915:  

       “Change of Corporate Name:  State of Kansas, Russell County, ss:  The undersigned president and secretary, respectively, of The Citizens State Bank of Dorrance, Russell County, Kansas, do hereby certify that on the 8th day of   April 1915, at a meeting of the stockholders called in conformity with the bylaws of said corporation, the following resolution was adopted by affirmative vote of two-thirds of the shares of stock of said corporation:  Resolved, That the name of the Citizens State Bank of Dorrance, Kansas, be changed to the Dorrance State Bank of Dorrance, Kansas. In testimony whereof, The President and Secretary of said corporation have hereunto set their hands, this 12th day of April, 1915. F. M. Crabtree, President and Geo. Halbe, Secretary (Corporate  Seal)”  

The Dorrance State Bank operated as the local bank until the Bankers Holiday in 1933.  As the nationwide economic depression deepened in the early 1930s, and as farmers had less and less money to spend in town, banks began failing at alarming rates.  During the 1920s, there was an average of 70 banks failing each year nationally.  After the October 1929 stock market crash and during the first 10 months of 1930, 744 banks failed – 10 times more failures than previous years.  In all, 9000 banks failed during the decade of the 1930s.  By 1933, depositors saw $140 billion disappear through bank failures. 

When a new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was inaugurated in March 1933, banks in all 48 states had either closed or had placed restrictions on how much money depositors could withdraw.  Due to the insolvency of the banks, one of Roosevelt’s first acts as President was to declare a national “bank holiday”- closing the banks for a three-day period.  One of the most memorable lines from the President’s speech in response to the bank crisis was  –  “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. 

Some economists and historians have argued that the bank crisis caused the Great Depression.  But others have looked at fundamental economic factors and regional histories and argued that banks failed as a result of the economic collapse. The Dorrance State Bank became insolvent on or about the 11th day of January 1933.  The State Bank Commissioner immediately took charge on January 12, 1933, and appointed Charles W. Johnson as receiver of the Dorrance State Bank.  Under the direction of the Bank Commissioner of the state of Kansas, Johnson was authorized to take possession of all the assets, property and affairs of the bank, and to wind up the affairs and business of the bank for the benefit of its depositors, creditors, and stockholders.  On November 21, 1936, an order was granted to permit Charles W. Johnson to sell the property.  Charley Kaufman of Dorrance, purchased the real property for $900 and the personal property for $100. 

After the bank closed, the building was used by the Dorrance Telephone Company as a telephone switchboard facility.  This telephone company was first owned and run by John Fritschen and then by Pete and Opal Fritschen.  With the advent of modern telephone technology, the switchboard became obsolete.  In December of 1973, Opal Fritschen sold the property to William and Arleen Huff who developed the front part of the building into a small grocery store.  The building was then sold to Ray E. Cooley in 1981.  He used the building as his attorney’s office until 1986.  The property was purchased by Gerald Steinle in May of 1986.  For the next twenty-one years Steinle used the front part of the building as a barbershop.  In the fall of 2007, the barbershop closed and Tony Mahoney purchased the building to rehabilitate it back to its early appearance.

The rehabilitation process occurred over the course of more than decade.  The property was submitted for listing on the State and then the National Historical registers. A Historical Trust Fund grant was awarded to repair a significant structural damage on the northeast corner of the building.  Following exterior repair many years of part time work continued to prepare the interior for restoration.  Due to changes, damage, and neglect - most of the interior had to be reconstructed. The Halbe photo collection provided valuable information to recreate the original interior bank appearance of the early 1900s. The restoration was completed by Memorial Day 2021.