Citizens National Bank

The Citizens National Bank was organized in 1886, when it bought out the Bank of Fargo which had been in business since 1879. The Bank of Fargo was owned by Charles Sweatt and H. F. Miller. Mr. Miller bought out Mr. Sweatt’s interest and organized the Citizens National Bank with $100,000 capital. This bank was located on the northwest corner of Broadway and N.P. Avenue. The bank was destroyed by the fire of 1893, which devastated most of downtown Fargo. The building shown at right replaced the previous structure. It was designed by the architectural firm Orff & Joralemon of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The completed building cost $35,000 to construct. In early 1897 the Citizens National Bank failed. Later that year the Fargo National Bank would open in the same location headed by Martin Hector. The building in the image at right stood until June 1911 when it was replaced by a newer structure.

Sources:
"Citizen's National Bank; History of one of Fargo's best financial institutions" Fire Anniversary Edition. Fargo: Daily Argus, (7 June 1894): 19.
Fargo and Moorhead City Directory. Fargo, 1881-1927.
"A Business Palace, something about the new and elegant home of the Citizens' National Bank of Fargo" Fargo Forum and Daily Republican (13 June 1894): 1.
Souvenir of The Fargo Fire, pg. 10.