Blown up, burned, embezzled, and rife with fraud, the Shoshoni State Bank had a wild 12 years, with only eight of those in operation before the foreclosure hammer fell in December 1929.
There were three businesses that dominated the main streets of Riverton, Lander, Hudson, Shoshoni, and Dubois in the early days of the 20th century. Until the arrival of the Falstead Act, and the prohibition of alcohol, bars and saloons outnumbered all the other businesses of these small towns combined.
A distant second were newspapers and banks. They proliferated in every community. Lander had five banks and an equal number of newspapers, Dubois had one of each, and the mining enclave of Hudson had a pair of banks and two newspapers.
Riverton wasn’t as large as Shoshoni until the mid-1920s, so its banks and newspapers trailed the crossroads town 22 miles to the northeast.
Shoshoni had four banks and three newspapers during the first 20 years of the town’s existence.
Shoshoni also had the tendency to burn its business district to the ground. That happened three times in town history.
The first fire in 1908 leveled the east side of Main Street. A second fire in 1925 wasn’t quite as pervasive, but it damaged the opposite side of the same street.
A final fire, in 1978, ended the eastern half of the business district, leaving it an eyesore for the next 40 years until it was finally leveled and hauled away in 2018.
The Wind River National Bank and the First National Bank of Shoshoni were early contenders for the banking interests of ranchers, miners, and speculators as the Wind River Reservation opened for settlement in 1906.
The Wind River National Bank anchored the northeast corner of Main Street. The imposing stone structure, built by Charles H. King, was directly opposite on the northwest corner. King’s First National Bank building still stands today. It is a testament to his foresight, emphasis on quality, and lasting construction design.
The Wind River National Bank was burned out of existence by the 1908 fire. The First National Bank eventually moved to Riverton, where it became Riverton State Bank, operating on the first floor of the massive Teton Hotel.
Lewis Andrew Shawver built the Shawver Hotel on the ashes of the Wind River National Bank. It was a viable hotel from its inception in 1908 until the late 1970s.
Shawver was a businessman, an entrepreneur, and an innovator. He learned of plans to move the First National Bank of Shoshoni to Riverton and gathered fellow investment-minded citizens.
They chose Harry Jerome Shad as cashier. Shad was born on January 2, 1878, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Andrew and Catherine “Katie” Mather Schaad. Harry arrived in Wyoming in 1905, changed his name to Shad, and began working in Cheyenne banks. He heard of the booming little town of Shoshoni, almost 300 miles to the northwest, and arrived there soon after World War I began.
Worland Grit – March 23, 1917
SHOSHONI STATE BANK WILL OPEN SOON
“Incorporation papers for the Shoshoni State Bank have been filed with the Secretary of State at Cheyenne and this new business house expects soon to be in operation in Shoshoni.
The directors are Harry J. Shad, James B. Stuchell, Lewis A. Shawver, Charles C. Rate, Fred A. Gabaus, Charles F. Moore and Wm. Tracy. Mr. Shad will be in charge of the new institution.
It is understood at the present time that the new bank will take up its quarters in that part of the Lichtenweis building now occupied by the waiting room of the Tracy Transfer company.”
Excitement was high in the business community of Shoshoni and in the neighboring towns of Moneta, Lost Cabin, Lysite, and Bonneville. Interests in Riverton, Hudson, and Lander purchased shares of the new bank and conducted business there.
The idea was good. The follow-through left a lot of questions. It seemed the Shoshoni State Bank had a perpetual “black cloud” hovering over it for the short eight years of its existence.
The first incident came before the bank celebrated its third anniversary. Land speculation was big business in early Fremont County, with mines popping up on Copper Mountain, in Hudson, on the Wind River Reservation, and in the many spots where coal seams broke the surface around Fremont County. Sheep, cattle and crop speculation was a close second.
Riverton Review – February 18, 1920
BIG RANCH DEAL AT SHOSHONI ENDS, A FRAUD
SMOOTH STRANGER BUYS WOODRUFF AND THOMAS RANCHES, NOW IN ARIZONA JAIL
“The name of Lemon, S. D., is a very suggestive one in the light of some recent occurrences which have attracted a good deal of attention at Shoshoni, says the Enterprise.
A couple of weeks ago one Sam Bazant, ostensibly of the firm of Bazant Bros., who gave his residence as the above mentioned city, was in Shoshoni on business and while here purported to have bought the ranches of J. D. Woodruff and J. R. Thomas on Dry Creek, a total of 500 acres, on which said land and the adjoining range the firm would place 1000 head of cattle in the spring. All parties interested in the deal carried out their part of the performance in good faith, then a great awakening took place.
In making the supposed deal Mr. Bazant gave checks on the First National Bank of Milbank, S. D., to the amount of something over 500 dollars. These checks were turned into the banks at Lander and Shoshoni, Mr. Bazant seeing that he got some cash for expense money out of the deal. The contracts were made and the ostensible purchaser went his way, agreeing to return with the balance of the money to close the deal within ten days. After the checks went thru the regular banking channels word came back that they were worthless and that no such account existed at the bank on which they were drawn.
The wires were put into service with the result that the Shoshoni State Bank received a message from the First National Bank of Yankton, S. D., that Bazant Bros. were swindlers and were wanted in two towns of that state as well as other places for passing worthless paper on deals similar to that pulled off here.
The Shoshoni bank reported the matter to the American Bankers Association and received in return a wire to the effect that Mr. Bazant had been grabbed up while engaged in a crooked deal at Flagstaff, Arizona, and was now languishing in jail awaiting penalty for his illegal acts.
It is said that the local banks do not stand to sustain a loss on account of this high financier’s spectacular transactions, although one man in Lander, who is said to have endorsed the man’s checks, is holding the sack for a few hundred. Of course, the owners of the land are out nothing but some time and inconvenience, as they still hold the property, together with a little less confidence in the human race.
Thus ends the story of a spectacular real estate deal.”
The second incident almost defies logic. In the wee hours of the morning, bandits entered the bank, set nitroglycerine charges and blew the doors off the safe. All without drawing any attention to the incident, even though the bank was situated between two prominent hotels, the Shawver and the Central Hotels, each holding many guests.
The news of the bank demolition spread nationwide, with many references to the old days of the “Wild West” when Butch and Sundance and the Wild Bunch were busily blowing up rail cars and banks across the west, albeit with dynamite, not nitroglycerine.
To successfully set off a charge of nitroglycerine required skill and advanced training. It was evident these men knew about explosives, but the world will never know; they vanished after the incident and were never captured.
Riverton Review – Wednesday, May 31, 1922
SAFE DYNAMITED AND $3,500.00 STOLEN FROM SHOSHONI STATE BANK
“The safe in the Shoshoni State Bank was blown open this morning at about half past two o’clock and $3500 in cash stolen. The job was not discovered until about 7:30 o’clock when Assistant Cashier Stewart went to the bank to prepare for the day’s business.
In the time that intervened the robbers had sufficient time to make their get-away and did not leave behind even the slightest clue that might lead to their identity.
Nitroglycerine was undoubtedly used in opening the safe as one of the outside doors was blown off and also the inner door to the cash vault. No great amount of damage was done to the furniture of the bank and the loss from this source can be covered by the $1,000 insurance carried on it.
One of the plate glass windows in the front of the building has a hole near the center and top and is also cracked, caused presumably by a piece of flying steel from the safe. The sounds of the explosions did not arouse any of the residents of the town although one man claims to have heard two reports as though from a gun fired at a distance but gave them no serious thought.
The wall clock stopped at 2:30 o’clock and it is believed the robbery took place at this hour, the concussion from the blasts stopping the clock.
Harry J. Shad, cashier of the institution, came to Riverton on the train Monday evening and therefore did not know what had taken place until called on the telephone this morning. He hired an auto and made a hurried trip to Shoshoni to ascertain the loss.
The bank carried $10,000 burglar insurance with a strong company and their depositors and themselves were therefore fully protected.”
With the bank’s reputation almost as shattered as the blown-out plate glass window facing Main Street, provisions were made to bolster consumer confidence in the bank.
Despite their best efforts, the bank couldn’t get a break. On a cold, windy night in February 1925, a fire ravaged the Shoshoni State Bank.
Wyoming Press – February 21, 1925
Wyoming Town Suffers Fire Loss of $100,000
“Casper, Wyo., Feb. 16. (By the Associated Press.) Ten buildings, comprising most of the business section of Main Street, were destroyed by fire last night at Shoshoni, 100 miles from here, says a dispatch today to the Casper Tribune.
Flames were fanned by a high wind, and low water pressure hampered the work of the firemen.
The loss is estimated at more than $100,000. Including the buildings destroyed was the Shoshoni State Bank and the Savoy hotel.”
News Letter – News Journal – February 26, 1925
FIRE AT SHOSHONI — $100,000 DAMAGE
“Shoshoni, Wyo., Feb. 16.—Practically every business house on the west side of Main Street here was destroyed in an hour’s time by a fire of unknown origin which started about 2 o’clock Sunday morning. Property loss is estimated at $100,000. Places wiped out by the conflagration were: The Shoshoni State bank, Savoy Hotel, John Bray pool hall, Price barber shop, Parks Sweet Shop, Park Cafe, Bancroft Sweet Shop, Leichtweise barber shop, and a restaurant and soft drink parlor, both belonging to Mrs. Emmett Candle.”
The 1920s were a tough time for many rural banks across the United States. Nationwide, over 7,000 banks closed in the years from the end of World War I to the Stock Market Crash of October 1929.
Lower farm prices after the Great War ended, combined with reckless speculation by Wall Street investors, and hedge-buying closed the doors of many banks, especially rural banks that depended on agriculture, mining, and oil and gas exploration. The Shoshoni State Bank could have been a poster child for the failed banking trend.
The bank board of directors needed a scapegoat, and they found one in cashier Harry Shad.
Wyoming Press – November 28, 1925
“Harry Shad, formerly cashier of the Shoshoni State bank which burned last summer, then later receiver for same, and now faces a charge of embezzlement, was released from the custody of the Sheriff of Fremont County last week when several prominent Lander men and women went on his bond for $10,000. Friends of Mr. Shad all over Wyoming will be pleased to learn that some of his acquaintances have proven genuine.
The prosecution was a sham. Shad was an honest businessman who acted in the bank’s best interest, but the bank was failing, and he was the head cashier. The board tried to frame him in the trial.
Wyoming State Journal – February 26, 1926
Shad Trial Nearing Close
“Trial of H. J. Shad for embezzlement of the funds of the Shoshoni State bank began at 11:30 Tuesday morning when a jury was finally secured composed of W. A. Montgomery, Wm. Nicol, W. L. Grubbs, W. Gustin, D. T. Gasperetti, Aksel Henriksen, Jule Farlow, William B. Nipper, Ed Stelsner, Austin Wroe, A. O. Keys and G. A. Bell. The state is represented by C. G. Christie, county and prosecuting attorney, assisted by Attorney M. C. Burk of Riverton. Mr. Shad is defended by John Dillon of Cheyenne and W. E. Hardin.
The state’s witnesses include State Bank Examiner S. A. Brown, Assistant Examiner W. R. Powers, George Nottingham, special deputy examiner in charge of the liquidation of the Shoshoni State bank, L. A. Shawver, president of the bank, L. A. Blackwell, William Tracey and William Henry, directors, and Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Gabus. The defense will use Harry Hall of Lusk, U. S. national bank examiner, J. Ashley Howell of Worland, an insurance man, Pearce Stewart of Midwest, a former bookkeeper in the bank, and F. C. Mettler of the Big Muddy Country.
the details of the books were worked out in the hearing of the testimony of the examiners in matters regarding the alleged irregularities and this morning the intimate workings of the bank were placed before the court by the officers and stockholders who testified as to the number of directors’ and stockholders’ meetings held and the various examinations made by the state which at times lapsed over a period of 18 months when the state’s funds were exhausted in taking care of failing banks over the state and the bank examinations had to be neglected.
The defense is expected to place its testimony before the court and jury late today or tomorrow and with the arguments of the attorneys it is expected the case will occupy much of the week.
Due to the prominence of the parties concerned, the case is attracting wide attention and the court room is crowded much of the time. Mr. Shad came into Shoshoni with the railroad and he and those who were associated with him in the bank were pioneers in the frontier town and he was held in high esteem. He owned 50 per cent of the stock and their confidence in him resulted in a one man bank according to the testimony. He took an active part in all civic affairs and was considered a banker of extraordinary ability.”
Shad was acquitted, but it was barely covered in the local newspapers. Statewide, it had widespread coverage. Shad moved back to Cheyenne, where he lived until passing in 1961. The Shoshoni State Bank, now further embarrassed by Shad’s acquittal, promised to reopen after paying depositors back the money they’d lost. It was a monumental, but hollow promise.
Fort Laramie Scout – March 4, 1926
“George Nottingham, special deputy state examiner in charge of the closed Shoshoni State bank, is preparing to distribute checks settling in full $5,139.79 of preferred claims against the bank and paying a dividend of 40 per cent on other claims. The unpreferred claims which have been allowed total $102,533.79. The bank closed about a year ago when a fire destroyed a portion of its records. Harry Shad, cashier of the bank, recently was acquitted of embezzlement of funds of the bank.”
A year after the trial, the bank made one more effort to reopen. Their hiring practices were questionable at best. Shawver knew Harry Lindou of Basin, where he served as the Big Horn County Clerk.
Lindou arrived in May 1927. You might say things went crazy at the bank.
Big Horn County Rustler – October 6, 1927
Lindou Adjudged Insane
“Harry G. Lindou, former county clerk of Big Horn County, who resigned last May to accept the cashiership of the Shoshoni State bank, was adjudged insane on Saturday last by a jury which heard the evidence submitted in the district court before Judge Percy W. Metz.
Evidence was introduced to show that Lindou’s actions had been very erratic at times during the past few months and upon this evidence a jury composed of Art Burns, John Zane, C. O. Johnson, B. B. Morton, F. L. McNown and J. R. French returned a verdict finding Lindou to be of unsound mind and ordering him to be committed to the insane asylum at Evanston with the very laudable suggestion that he be placed in the Veterans Bureau Hospital at Sheridan, providing such arrangements could be made.
The following day Deputy Sheriff Elmer Barrett took Lindou, his wife and one child to Shoshoni and from there to Casper. At this place an order was received from the United States Veterans Bureau to take him to Sheridan and this was done. Mrs. Lindou proceeded from Casper to Laramie, where she joined her parents.”
Lindou served as an aircraft mechanic with the Army Air Corps in France during World War I.
That was the last straw. The bank’s assets were sold at auction. Depositors received at best 30% of their original holdings, with many getting nothing at all.
By Christmas 1929, there was only one bank in Shoshoni. The First State Bank of Shoshoni opened in September 1929.