The First National Bank of Meeteetse was built in 1901 and is significant because it was the cornerstone of Meeteetse's early downtown commercial district. As such, the bank building played a key role in the town's early commercial development. In more recent years the building has remained a focal point for the community.

By providing necessary services to the surrounding rural region, the town of Meeteetse became a leading center of trade and commerce within the Big Horn Basin. Meeteetse's fortunes prospered throughout the late 1880s, 1890s, and into the first and second decades of the twentieth century. Commercial development commenced after the official platting of the town lots and blocks by W. S. Collins in 1896, and subsequent sale of these properties between 1896 and the turn of the century. The establishment of a town mercantile in 1898 and a bank in 1900 by local entrepreneurs solidified the town's hold on the local and regional commercial market. The banking firm, a partnership established by Angus McDonald, a prominent area rancher, Adam Hogg and H. G. Cheeseman, was formed under the name Hogg, Cheeseman, McDonald and Company Bankers. The following year the brick bank building was built, and in 1902, the name was changed to The First National Bank of Meeteetse. The bank occ

upied the building's first floor until 1975. The second floor served a variety of functions during the period 1901-1975. It was where the town council met, was a meeting place for numerous civic organizations, and was used by the Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Company for a number of years. The interior of the bank was restored in 1987 in preparation for the building to be adaptively reused as a museum.