People's State Bank (Orangeville, Illinois)

The People's State Bank building is located in the

The People's State Bank building was constructed in 1926 when the two of the three state banks in Orangeville merged. The area had enjoyed success as a commercial hub in the years preceding the bank's construction. In 1928, just before the onset of the Great Depression, Illinois State Highway 74 (later Illinois Route 26) was rerouted through the eastern part of Orangeville, bypassing the downtown business district. Though the district no longer had a major thoroughfare passing through it many of the business were able to survive, at least initially. By 1928 the decline in the business community of Orangeville was evident; the bypass, coupled with the depression continued to negatively affect the village. In 1932 the People's State Bank, the last open bank in Orangeville, closed its doors.^[2]

The American Legion Post #720 bought the bank building after its closure and it served as the American Legion Meeting Hall until 1956. A group of local residents purchased the building in 1956 with the intention of restarting a bank in Orangeville. Until 1980, the People's State Bank building once again operated as a financial institution under the name Orangeville Community Bank. A radio repair and sales business bought the structure in 1980 and held it until the business closed, leaving the premises vacant, in August 2002. An organization called A Community Together bought the bank from the radio business and in turn sold it to John and Caryl Buford in October 2003.^[2]

Architecture

The People's State Bank was cast in the

• Charles Fehr Round Barn
• Union House

References

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