The State Bank of Tennessee

201 West 7^th Street, The State Bank of Tennessee

The State Bank of Tennessee, a two-story brick, Greek Revival public building, stands on the southwest corner of West 7^th Street and South Garden Street in Historic Downtown Columbia. Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places since November 2, 1978, this structure was built by master builder Nathan Vaught between 1839-1840. Mr. Vaught wrote in his diary ca. 1799-1880; [1] “And quite early in this year, 1839, I contracted to Build a Banking house for the Bank of Tennessee at Columbia including all the Family apartments connected with the same also all the outbuildings…All these improvements Built of Brick and covered with Tin…Also the Banking house was finished in 1840.” This is Columbia’s only remaining Greek Revival public or commercial building. 

The structure rests on hammer-finished, cut, beveled, and coursed stone foundation and water table. The east wall was laid in Flemish bond, and the west wall is attached to the adjoining building hidden from view. Brick, laid in common bond was used in the rear (south) wall. Smooth-cut beveled stone quoins decorate the east wall. The four bays of the east elevation are asymmetrically arranged. The rear section was used for living quarters and the front two-thirds of the building housed the bank. This may explain the unusual configuration; not to mention the bank section of the structure is approximately six inches wider than the residential portion. Adjacent to the east wall was once a small garden enclosed by an iron fence. The two-story portico dominates the north elevation. Arguably, the most prominent features facing West 7^th Street are the four stone Tuscan columns, which are unfluted and baseless. The iron railing on the east end of the portico is original to the structure.

Following The Panic of 1837, the Tennessee General Assembly was besieged by pleas for financial assistance by debt-ridden turnpike and railroad companies. In order to satisfy the need for more banks, the legislature passed The Bank and Improvement Act of 1838 which created the Bank of Tennessee, a state-owned institution with branches in many cities. This proved to be all-for-naught because the Columbia branch’s history was brief and troubled. Shortly after it opened, the bank was robbed, and a clerk was killed. Then in 1843, the bank failed, and the building was used as a private residence and for offices. It now houses the offices of the owner’s firm with restoration ongoing.