J. B. Watkins is an interesting figure in Lawrence history. He was a Grover Cleveland Democrat, which in this Republican town meant he was already open to scrutiny and his sanity might have been doubted in certain quarters, because of their deep attachment to Republicanism after the Union cause and Quantrill's raid. Watkins had come here in August 1873 and operated out of the basement of Lawrence National Bank until he built this building in 1888. In some ways this building represented the height of his career as an active mortgage lender. It says WATKINS right here in the marble as we step into the doorway and then on the second floor it says BANK and on the third floor it says MORTGAGE. His only business between 1873 and 1888 was the Watkins Land Mortgage Company. Only when he moves into this building does he create the bank in order to facilitate his mortgage transactions.

His company made loans to farmers in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Nebraska, offering 7% return on the investment dollar when 5% was the going rate. He had branch offices in Dallas, New York, and London. He was one of the first to seek foreign investment in American agriculture