Resource Bank opens new Sycamore branch in rehabbed building that began as a garage

SYCAMORE – The historical fieldstone structure at 351 N. Main St. has had many uses over the past 111 years.

It began as a garage, later was used as a filling station, and then was home to a series of restaurants. This week, it reopened in its latest incarnation as the new Sycamore branch of Resource Bank.

Bank officials decided to restore the building to its original look, and invited the public to celebrate the building’s preservation and repurposing Sunday afternoon. Richard Katz, Resource Bank president, explained the structure’s history to those who had gathered both to tour the building and meet branch manager Kathy Meyer and her staff.

Katz spoke of how F.B. Townsend, a wealthy businessman who also was mayor of Sycamore, built the Queen Anne-style mansion next door in 1882 and then added the stone garage structure in 1905 to house his new motor car and the motor car of his brother-in-law, Elmer Boynton.

There had been problems housing what were commonly called "benzene buggies" in wooden barns because of the fire hazard, so Townsend used uncut boulders from his various farm properties in the area to construct this fireproof building.

Katz said that, coincidentally, Townsend joined with other businessmen to form the First National Bank of Malta, where he became president.

The Malta bank later became Resource Bank, and so it is fitting that the new branch now is located next to the home of its founder.

By 1926, Townsend sold his residence and garage, and the building was converted into a service station, which continued under several owners and different names for 57 years. At one time, it was a car dealership where Sycamore resident Raymond Larson said his father, the late Walter Larson, bought his first Studebaker in 1942.

During the early 1980s, the building was converted into a restaurant and operated under various owners with names such as Carriage House, Gramma’s, Town Square and, most recently, Willow’s Hometown Cafe.

After the last diner closed, Resource Bank bought the property and spent the past year restoring it to its original look, installing decorative antique pumps out front and decorating the interior with local historical photos, signs and other early 20th-century artifacts.

Katz said they took pains to preserve its character “to honor Sycamore’s past and be a part of its future for many years to come.” The property along North Main is the northern gateway to the Sycamore Historical District, which is part of the National Register of Historic Places.

Katz and Resource Bank have made a habit of preserving historic buildings.

At their Shabbona branch at 102 S. Indian Road, a one-room schoolhouse – the Quilhot School – was moved there and restored for use as a community room. Their Hampshire branch at 135 W. Oak Knoll Drive also has a historical schoolhouse on the property.