Riverbank Treasures opened for business October 6, 2018 in the “old bank building” in downtown Lyons, Michigan. In September 2021 the shop moved to 436 W. Main Street Ionia, Michigan and had a grand reopening October 1st.
We had some amazing things happen in that old bank building, like finding a photo of my great great grandfather and his family in our very first vendor’s booth. Neither of us had any idea of the connection until after the discovery. Check out this post for the whole (almost) unbelievable story, It Seemed Oddly Familiar.
The building itself had some great history and thanks to the Lyons-Muir Historical Society and Museum, (one of our wonderful vendors) we know from their history book that the building was originally built in 1876 by John R. Dougherty as the J.R. Dougherty Bank and later sold to S.W. Webber and Company.
For more information about the Lyons-Muir Historical Society and upcoming events at the LMHS Museum, check out their website https://lyonsmuirhistoricalmuseum.com/ or their Facebook page.
Caption on right photo below:
“John R. Dougherty
Was a partner with Frank Gleason in a general store. In 1868, he bought 240 acres of land south of the village. In 1876, he opened the J.R. Dougherty Bank in Lyons, and later sold his interest to S.W. Webber and Company. After his death his widow made her home in Lyons. Mr. Dougherty left the bank building to the township with all earnings from the building to aid the poor.”
Captions on photo below:
“(Tot) Kelley, Harry Gardner, and an unknown gentleman in front of the Ruel Upton Bank.
Victor Upton
Worked in Rochester at a bank owned by Webber, Hale and Company. Came to Lyons to work in a bank owned by S.W. Webber, Sr. and Jr. In 1913, Mr. Upton and Mr. Ruel bought the Webber interest. In 1916, he organized the Savings Bank of Pewamo and was a stockholder in the Newaygo Bank and Lyons Handle and Furniture Company.”
Riverbank Treasures 