HENDERSON BANK BUILDING
A Partnership Opportunity to Protect Elko’s Historic Cornerstone Business Building
The historic Henderson Bank Building, since opening on February 23, 1929, has been a cornerstone building to the city of Elko, Nevada. With sister buildings designed by architect, George W. Kelhem (1871-1936), in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake City, the Henderson Bank Building boasts similar design features reflective of the 1920 era.
In 2012, an opportunity to purchase the building was presented to Antoinette Cavanaugh and Julie Cavanaugh-Bill. The building needed repairs, renovation and revitalization and the owners at the time were interested in selling the building. Having had experience in building construction and building renovation as the former Superintendent of Schools for Elko County School District, Antoinette Cavanaugh, understood the historic value and economic importance of renovating this iconic building. Julie Cavanaugh-Bill, a local attorney and tenant in the building, and Antoinette agreed to partner in the purchase of the building. They had a mutual goal—to restore and operationalize spaces that had fallen into disrepair and protect the Henderson Bank Building as a prized piece of Elko’s history and making it home to the Cavanaugh Business Centre.
Co-owners Antoinette Cavanaugh and Julie Cavanaugh-Bill
Antoinette Cavanaugh:
Co-owner, Antoinette Cavanaugh is a Native Nevadan. She was born in Owyhee, Nevada and is a member of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes and she is also Basque. Her mother was also born in Owyhee and her father immigrated from Natxitua, Viscaya, Spain and became a U.S. citizen in November of 1956. Antoinette, a life-long educator, has worked in the Elko County School District as a teacher, coach, advisor, school, and a district administrator until becoming the Superintendent of Schools in 2003, serving in that post until June of 2010. Serving the greater Nevada public, she has been a basketball official with the Northeastern Nevada Official’s Association and the Northern Nevada Officials Association. In the private sector, she was a contract grant writer for the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes and then an Educational Consultant for Barrick Gold Mines from 2013-2019. She served as the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes’ Interim CEO in 2020 until going back to the University of Nevada-Reno to pursue her PhD in Human Development and Family Science. As a life-long Nevadan, she has volunteered in leadership roles with the Elko Boy’s and Girl’s Club, the Northeastern Nevada Museum, Nevada State Humanities Board, and the Nevada State Historic Preservation Board and other non-profit organizations in Idaho. Antoinette holds a BA Degree in English, Secondary Education from Boise State University and an MA in Higher Education and Educational Leadership from the University of Nevada-Reno.
Julie Cavanaugh-Bill:
Co-owner, Julie Cavanaugh-Bill (Stevens) was born and raised in Iowa and moved to Nevada after practicing law in Minnesota and conducting Indigenous (Native American) rights cases, in particular with Mary and Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone grandmothers. Ms. Cavanaugh-Bill served as a staff director for the Western Shoshone Defense Project and now runs her own law practice in the Henderson Bank Building. She served as President of the State Bar of Nevada from 2023-2024 and brings to the law practice in Northern Nevada over twenty years of Native American and indigenous rights experience. Prior to gaining her admission to practice in Nevada, she practiced in Minnesota with the law firm of Winthrop & Weinstine, P.C. where she served as in-house counsel to the Prairie Island Indian Community, Mdewakanton Sioux. Her experience ranges from intergovernmental relations to active involvement in tribal, federal and international litigation and filings both as legal counsel and staff director. She has worked on two separate U.S. Supreme Court cases involving Native American jurisdictional and resource rights issues and has written several articles and guidebooks on indigenous rights, corporate engagement and human rights lawyering. Ms. Cavanaugh-Bill now handles not only tribal law cases, but a plethora of child welfare and social justice casework out of her law office in rural Nevada. Ms. Cavanaugh-Bill currently serves on the Board of Safe Haven Wildlife Sanctuary and served previously on the Boards of the Family Resource Center in Elko, the Committee Against Domestic Violence, Head Start of Northern Nevada, and Nevada Legal Services.
Property Manager Fermina Stevens
A Labor of Love:
Since embarking upon the partnership in 2012, the owners along with the Business Manager, Fermina Stevens, meet quarterly to review the building project list to determine priorities and strategies to optimize renovation work to restore the building and optimize the Cavanaugh Business Centre office spaces. Major improvements have been made since 2012. The original ceiling on the first-floor business area was restored and the walls repainted to highlight the original architecture. A Venetian chandelier, a replacement to that which was removed and sold by previous owners, was purchased in Murano, Italy and shipped to Elko for installation. The wood floor was repaired and restored then restroom added with additional renovations made for the current business. The failing exterior sandstone base siding was replaced by black marble after the bottom half of the building was painted—work enhancing the exterior architectural designs of the building. All interior steps in the stairwell from the basement to the top floor have been upgraded, with the stairwells repainted to match the interior design concept, and a major roof replacement was completed in 2023. The original, vintage Otis elevator is serviced twice annually by a certified company.
LEGACY OF TRUST: THE HENDERSON BANK BUILDING
Thank you to the August 23, 2013 edition of the Elko Daily Free Press for the following historical information.
The four-story Henderson Bank Building has been an Elko landmark for more than nine decades. It is named for the banking family of Jefferson and John Henderson, who gave Elkoans and ranchers support during financial difficulties, earning a reputation for trustworthiness and reliability.
Jefferson Henderson was born in Fayette, Missouri in May 2, 1832. He married Sarah Watts Bradley, the daughter of Nevada’s second governor, Louis “Broadhorns” Bradley, on June 30, 1857. In Missouri, he owned a pharmacy before moving to Elko in 1876 with their five children, Louis, Belle, John, Joseph, and Charles.
Jefferson managed his father-in-law’s ranching company before he purchased a failing local bank. Jeff became president of the Henderson Banking Company on January 1, 1880, later located at the corner of Fourth and Commercial Street. John took over the company after the death of Jeff in 1902.
The Henderson Bank gained a reputation for honesty, paying depositors in cash, gold and silver, rather than bank-issued scrip. Other members of the Henderson family became prominent in other areas. Most notably, younger brother Charles was appointed to the United States Senate in 1917 and served one term. In 1943, the town of Henderson, Nevada was named in his honor.
In 1925, John Henderson sold controlling interest the Henderson Banking Company to George Wingfield, owner of several banks in Nevada. Four years later, Wingfield built the four-story Henderson Bank Building on the corner of Fourth and Railroad Streets. The new building, was designed by architect George Kelham in the early 1920s with the construction of the building completed in 1929.
Noted as the tallest building in Elko County, it cost $300,000 and featured electric lights, marble, and fireproof construction. First tenants included attorneys Morley Griswold, Milton Reinhart and Dr. W.A. Shaw and Dr. Harry Gallagher. 1978, Mark Chilton purchased the building and deemed it “structurally sound” 50 years after its construction. Today, it is owned by Julie Cavanaugh-Bill and Antoinette Cavanaugh.
RESTORATION HISTORY: A TRIBUTE TO LARSON BILL
Soon after acquiring the Henderson Bank Building in 2012, Julie Cavanaugh-Bill and Antoinette Cavanaugh embarked on a mission to restore its original charm. Drop ceilings were removed, plaster tediously repaired, and the entire building repainted to accentuate its architectural intricacies.
Leading this restoration effort was Larson Bill, husband to Julie and a proud Western Shoshone of the Tosawihii ancestry with deep roots on the Bill Family Ranch in South Fork. Throughout his life, Larson served his community and demonstrated unparalleled craftsmanship as an artist and handyman. His research into traditional plaster techniques and meticulous attention to detail brought the building back to life, using a 1920s color palette to revive its historic charm.
Though Larson passed away in 2021 his dedication to the restoration and preservation of the building are forever etched into its restored elegance.
Larson Bill
