The former Wells Bank building in downtown Platte City will get a new lease on life.
The bank issued a press release this week announcing the donation of the former main bank building located at Third and Main to The Farmer’s House. Wells Bank and The Farmer’s House will complete the official handoff of the building at the Annual Downtown Lighting Ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 21.
With a mission to embrace, enhance and support the lives of youth and adults with developmental disabilities, The Farmer’s House serves 300 individuals throughout the Northland.
The Farmer’s House was organized in 2006 by Peaches and David Cunningham and Suzanne and Alan Zimmerman as a non-profit organization to provide vocational and community integration services for youth and adults with developmental disabilities. In 2010 the program launched The Seeds of Change Garden along with the Platte County High School special education classroom and the Platte County Board of Services Day Rehabilitation Program. Today, The Farmer’s House provides services throughout the community and in the context of social enterprises including retail markets, catering services, a café and a makerspace.
According to the release, having enjoyed a rich history and tradition of serving the community from the downtown location, Wells Bank saw the perfect opportunity to help a very deserving program and jumped at the chance to help preserve the integrity of the historic downtown. The Farmer’s House is excited about the opportunity to be part of the downtown Platte City community.
The Farmer’s House markets include a downtown Weston location, a location in Westwood, Kan. and the original location, The Farm located in the historic Vaughn’s Orchard site on Highway 273 between Weston and Platte City.
The current Platte City program site, located next door to Dollar General Store, will relocate to the old building at Third and Main streets.
The Wells Banking Company has been a part of the Platte City community since 1879 and was in downtown Platte City for almost 140 years. In September 2007 Wells Bank opened a second location at 1098 Branch St in Platte City. In April 2018, having outgrown both Platte City locations, the bank moved into a new main bank facility located at 1100 Branch Street, leaving their previous location.