Belva Dilly
The Tucker County Bank started in 1898 but they didn’t have a home of their own until 1903. It was the first bank in Parsons and its first home was in the Circuit Court Clerk’s office in the Court House. The building is located on the corner of Walnut and First Street. It is no longer being used as a bank. It moved to a new building in 1969.
The bank built a new building located on the corner of Third Street and Walnut Street. Early photo above right is from the Tucker County Historical Society collection. They bought a house and moved it to another lot and built the new bank. After the Flood of 1985 the bank was purchased by The Citizens National Bank.
While the Tucker County Bank Building was being used as a bank, other floors and parts of the bank were used as a drug store with a soda fountain, bus Depot, law firms, doctor’s offices, insurance agencies, a telephone company, Tucker County Board of Education, and the third floor was used as a Masonic Lodge. It is said that the third floor was designed to be used as the Masonic Lodge. The Parsons’ lodge formed in 1905 and was located in this building until the early part of Twenty First Century when they moved to a building located on Route 72 N next to Adkins Builders Supply.
The part that was used as a drug store was sold to Rodney Barb in 1944. The rest of the building was sold to Jane and Nick Barb after the move to the new bank located farther down the street. There was a drug store in the building from 1904 until Barb’s closed their doors just a few years ago. The building was later owned by PRO {Parsons Revitalization Organization), with the exception of the part where the drug store was located. That part of the building is owned by Warren Judy. It was a paint store and is now occupied by a restaurant. The second and third floors have had very little interior change. Photo below is a recent view of the building.
This article appeared in the April, 2002 edition of the Tucker County Historical Society quarterly newsletter. The TCHS is a tax-exempt non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It meets monthly in Parsons with membership open to anyone for annual dues of $10 mailed to PO Box 13, Hambleton, WV 26269.
