100 Main - Starion / 1st National Bank

100 Main - Starion / 1st National Bank

This building was the largest brick structure in the business district when it was built in 1906. The First National Bank had its roots in a bank started in 1892 by F.B. Gannon in a structure located at the present site of the Ellendale Bakery. In 1901 Gannon became partners with B.R. Crabtree and C.A. Morrison and the group formed the First National Bank of Ellendale.

The area’s rapid growth led the partners to construct this building in 1906. A spacious structure, it also housed a post office, a lawyer’s office, a barber shop, and private living space. Early in his Ellendale practice, Dr. Roy Lynde kept an office in the upstairs section, as did Dr. A.S. Maercklein, who also served Ellendale for many decades as a primary care physician.

This building was the only structure on this section of Main street to survive the devastating fire of 1916. It likewise weathered the financial calamities of the mid 1920s. In 1928 it absorbed the Farmers National Bank, which had earlier absorbed the Ellendale National Bank. This bank and the First National Bank of Oakes were the only two Dickey County banks to survive into the Depression.

The First National Bank remained in the hands of the Crabtree family until 1907, when it was purchased by the Larson family of Valley City. In 1986 the first floor was enlarged to house an insurance agency and investment center. In 1992 it was remodeled to restore the appearance of the original structure, complete with stained glass windows and ornamental décor. In 2003 the name was changed to Starion. Starion now has multiple locations in North and South Dakota.