Bottineau Bank Restoration - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Bottineau Bank Restoration

A Bottineau landmark that has stood for 112 years is about to get some new life breathed into it...

On Main Street in Bottineau you will find this -- the old Stone Bank building.

Built in the early 19-hundreds, it housed the bank for a very short time, only until 1923 when it went belly-up.

But the building remained as an important landmark for decades following...housing numerous businesses for many many years.

Lately however, it has fallen into disrepair.

Touchstones, Inc. has been formed in an effort to save the structure.

The groups is raising money and working to get this old Stone Bank bank for future businesses to use in Bottineau.

(Andy Freeman - Touchstones, Inc VP) "This building was erected from stones carried here through the glacial period so it is from this part of the region and built by local people. Just basically looking at saving a piece of history instead of just tearing it down and moving on. We are hoping to get it up to the point where it can be inhabited by a new office or a coffee place just so the history stays in place in Bottineau."

Of course saving this structure will take funding.

The group has received a grant for 25 thousand dollars from the state historical society...but it will take more donations to get it fully restored.

(Andy Freeman - Touchstones, Inc VP) "I am guessing we will be right near 80 to 100 thousand dollars to get it into working order and replacing the stones to their original setting and re-placing it."

If you'd like more information on the Stone Bank project and how you could help, you can check out their website at StoneBank.org.