Ranchester State Bank was founded in 1912 by Clyde C. Trader from Mountain Park, Colorado, who believed that Ranchester, Wyoming would be a good place to start a small country bank. The doors opened on May 22, 1912, in a small room in front of the Nevees building in Ranchester. From there, the bank continued to prosper and grow over the years.
A new bank building was constructed in Ranchester in 1977-78. The bank was sold to First National Bankshares of Sheridan in 1985 and sold again in 1989. A group of investors then purchased the bank in April 2000, and changed the name to Cowboy State Bank in 2001. In 2001, the bank also opened its branch in Sheridan.
There were other milestones along the way. In that first year, Frank Paulus, father of Vieva Jeffers and still a prominent area family today, was elected to the Board of Directors. On March 5, 1932, President Roosevelt declared a bank holiday and closed all the banks until they could be examined to determine if they could re-open with FDIC Insurance. Cowboy State Bank re-opened 21 days later, after it was declared sound. For the first time, deposits were now insured for $5,000 per person, and the bank became a member of the newly formed FDIC.
F. C. “Cap” Rawlings was elected Assistant Cashier in 1939, earning a salary of $70 per month. Total bank deposits that year were $118,000. And in 1959, H.C. Jeffers – who carried on the bank heritage of the Jeffers family – passed away after 36 years on the Board of Directors. Don Steadman, another well-remembered bank alumnus, was hired as President of the bank in 1982.