Clarence Barker, Salem, Oregon, purchased the stately red brick structure and has been responsible for it's restoration as a memorial to his Great Grandfather, Clinton Hogue, one of the original founders of the Bank in 1911.
The Barnes State Bank was orginially built in 1911 and was robbed at gunpoint twice between 1911 and 1924. The bank became insolvent in 1924 and the building served as a post office, cafe, plumbing shop and electrical shop.
The "Barnes State Bank" was listed on the the Kansas Preservation Alliance Endangered Sites List in 2006.
The building fronts historic Highway 9 (also known at the Great White Way) along Railroad Avenue.
Rescued from the brink, in one of those serendipitous moments where one connot help but see the hand of fate, a couple from Oregon drove into Barnes to do some research on a distant relative. Their path cossed that of other, each of whom directed them to try another person, another place. In the process they found new cousins, new friends and rescued a historic piece of Barnes history.
