Old Bank Building

The Old Bank Building

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

118 West Main Street Plains, GA

Designation:

part of the National Historic Preservation District

MANAGED BY:

Friends of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Plains Bank was organized in 1901 by R.S. Oliver, who served as President, W.L. Thomas, Vice-President, and C.C. Lunsford as cashier. The Plains Bank belonged to a chain of eighty-three banks operated by Banker’s Trust Company of Atlanta. The bank closed in the summer of 1926. After the bank closed, the building remained empty for several years. Jimmy Carter and his cousin, Hugh Carter, as young boys, sold hot dogs, hamburgers, and ice cream here on Saturdays. Later, in the 1930s, the Post Office was located here and served in this capacity until 1963. About this time, Hugh Carter began to use the building as the office for his worm farm. After Hugh’s death in 1999, it closed and remained closed until 2002. The Plains Better Hometown Program acquired the building and renovated it, naming it “The Buffalo Café at the Old Bank.”