Flourishing Papillion Businesses

Flourishing Papillion Businesses. . , In the late 1800s/early 1900s, several thriving businesses operated between First and Second streets, on the west side of Washington Street. Just south of the A.W. Clarke Building was the Fred Hayhow General Merchandise Store (110 N. Washington Street). The store housed the post office and was later renamed Hayhow's Big Store in the 1920s before being torn down. The building currently here was built in 1930. Located north of the A.W. Clarke Building was the J.P. Spearman's General Merchandise store (118 N. Washington Street), which was built in 1905, and remains standing. , 114 N. Washington St. , Augustus W. Clarke built one of the region's first grain elevators in Papillion in 1875. It was located near the intersection of present-day Second and Jefferson streets. A.W. Clarke's Elevator was large enough to handle 10,000 bushels of grain and 5,000 bushels of corn per day. , The elevator became a gathering place for locals and evolved into a general store. Clarke also provided the region's first banking services in the back of the elevator. In 1892, he built The Banking House of A.W. Clarke or Clarke Bank, which was the city's first building built with the purpose of housing a bank. The new bank accommodated the thriving banking business that was developing. The upper story housed doctors and law offices for many years. The basement was home to The Papillion Times until 1903. The bank was passed down, carrying the Clarke name until 1970 when it became the Bank of Papillion. The original building is still standing today, and the bank's original vault can still be found in the basement. Pinnacle Bank can trace its origins to Clarke's bank. , 102 N. Washington St. , The C.S. West Furniture Store was built at this location in 1890. The original building remains today and also served as the post office for a period of time. West was also an undertaker and had a funeral home located almost directly across Washington Street.