Published November 14, 2024 | Updated May 7, 2026

By my count, the Bank of Florence, built in 1856 just one year after the Nebraska Territory was established, is the oldest building in Omaha. While some will claim the Florence Mill is older, it’s a matter of interpretation. It’s been rebuilt so many times that it’s hard to say how much of it is still original.

With that caveat, let’s explore what I consider to be the oldest extant building in the city. The bank was founded by the Davenport, Iowa-based firm Cook, Sargent and Parker. They gambled that the new town of Florence would become the territorial capital as well as the eastern terminus of the railroad. At the time, there was even talk of a bridge being built across the Missouri River from Florence due to it having a rock bottom. As such, the town and its bank were all but guaranteed to be successful.

To that end, land for a new bank was acquired and a steel vault was ordered from Pennsylvania. Upon its arrival, construction commenced under Levi Harsh, starting with the vault, with three-foot-thick masonry walls while the rest of the structure was built around it. The Society of Architectural Historians described it as a modest interpretation of Greek Revival style, with heavy cornices and treatment of wall openings but lacking any other ornamentation. The two-story brick building was described as the strongest structure in the entire territory when it was completed.

Located at 8502 North 30th Street, the first floor held the teller cages and the vault while the second floor included the office and sleeping quarters for its manager, James Monroe Parker. Banking practices in the west were lax to say the least, so the Bank of Florence, like other banks in Nebraska at the time, printed its own money known as “wildcat currency” in denominations of $1, $2, $3 and $5. The bank’s funds were secured by loans, which worked for a while until the Panic of 1857 hit and customers withdrew their money, draining the vaults. The bank continued for a while before finally closing in 1859 after its owners returned to Iowa.

The building sat vacant for a time but found new life again in 1904 when a second Bank of Florence opened on the first floor. That institution lasted through the start of the Great Depression before closing in 1936, spelling the end of its life as a financial institution.

Also around 1904, the second-floor office was converted into the Florence Telephone Company, where switchboard operators connected calls within Florence. The Parker family maintained ownership of the building and rented it out to various businesses — among them a bar, pool hall, office space, grocery store, antique shop, laundry, dry cleaner and an apartment. All the while, they continued to use the second floor for storage, which included old bank supplies and furniture from the days when its manager lived on site.

From the 1940s through 1966, Zerlina Brisbin Lewis, the great-granddaughter of James Monroe Parker, oversaw the building before donating it to the Florence Lions Club in 1966. It was later donated to the Florence Historical Foundation, which worked to get it added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969 and designated an Omaha Landmark. After considerable volunteer work and fundraising, the building was restored and opened as a museum in 1976.

Today the old Bank of Florence continues to operate as a museum and is open for tours where visitors can view the main bank floor, original bank vault, teller cages retrieved from a shuttered bank near David City, the upstairs office and even the switchboard from the telephone company. Credit to the Parker family, who remained good stewards of a building that outlived everything around it.

I’d love to hear what you have to say so please feel free to comment. Until next time, keep exploring!

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Sources

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Florence_Museum
• https://www.historicflorence.org/Attractions/bank.php
• https://www.nps.gov/places/bank-of-florence.htm
• https://northomahahistory.com/2023/10/11/a-history-of-the-bank-of-florence/
• Bank of Florence | SAH ARCHIPEDIA