The building that houses this museum was originally the Bank of Chelsea, established in Indian Territory in the late 1800s. U.S. law did not apply to the Territory then, and just about the only banking rule in the Cherokee Nation was one that prohibited usury, lending money at unreasonably high rates. However, it was usually ignored, and interest charged to borrowers could soar as high as 50 percent. Merchants often acted as bankers, extending credit for purchases, and farm produce instead of cash was an accepted form of payment.
At the dawning of the 1890s, the nearest place for Chelsea residents to bank was Vinita, some 20 miles away. Those who chose to make the two-day trip were often preyed upon by bandits, who, if they were not members of the Cherokee nation, could break the law with impunity. American citizens could not be arrested by Cherokee authorities, and they couldn’t be touched by federal lawmen because they were committing their crimes in Indian Country.
As Chelsea grew, so did the need for a local bank. So, with a capital stock of $10,000, accumulated by the sale of shares at $100 each, a group of local citizens laid plans for the new Bank of Chelsea. It was to be established in a building owned by businessman M.W. Couch, at the corner of Fifth (now Sixth) and Olive Streets. Its first officers were J.T. McSpadden, president and C.W. Poole, vice president, both prominent Chelseans. Most of the original stockholders were either Cherokee or married to Cherokee Nation citizens.
The Bank of Chelsea first opened for business on March 23, 1896, operating under a charter granted by the federal government under the laws of nearby Arkansas. Because of that U.S. charter, it became the very first state bank in Indian Territory.
Six years after the bank was established, in February of 1902, a major fire broke out att he corner of Sixth and Olive. Discovered in the building that housed the Famous Cafe and J.H. Johnson’s grocery store, the flames quickly spread to the bank and beyond. Despite the best efforts of the citizenry – there was no town fire department then -- the Bank of Chelsea was destroyed. Local legend has it that sandstone from the ruined bank building was used to improve Chelsea’s streets.
Soon, however, the bank had set up its quarters in another location, albeit temporary. As a 1902 Chelsea Reporter article noted, “The Bank of Chelsea, as usual, is doing a big business in the Dawes building, and on the spot where it burned out a fine brick structure is going up.” By August of 1904, the bank was in its new quarters, where it stayed until moving to its present location on Chelsea’s Main Street.
Meanwhile, in the succeeding decades, this original bank building was home to a number of businesses. By 2010, however, it was a sad and broken reflection of its former glory, a decrepit edifice offering a dubious greeting to visitors exiting Route 66 for Chelsea’s Main Street.