History of the Roe Building
In 1899, C.O. Roe and his spouse, Belle Maxham Roe, traveled to Clermont. They became the proud inheritors of the Hotel Maxham and purchased Archibald Gano’s residence, initially becoming winter guests. Later, they settled in Clermont for good. C.O. Roe, alongside his cousin C.W. Roe, established the First State Bank, constructing its brick building at the intersection of Montrose and Eighth Streets. This structure remains to this day, now known as The Downtown Exchange and Lofts. The bank officially began operations on March 1, 1913, with its closest rival located in Tavares. When the bank underwent a merger to become the Citizens Bank of Clermont, C.O. Roe held a position on the board of directors.
During a time when gangsters held the country in their thrall, the Citizens Bank on the corner of Montrose and Eighth Street, now known as The Downtown Exchange Building, was robbed. George Brady, the assistant cashier, recognized one of the culprits in a subsequent heist as Fred Barker, the youngest son of the notorious Kate “MA” Barker. On June 16, 1931, as described by Harry Stokes, he, Brady, and Paul Settle were in the bank when, just at closing, two men walked in. Without disguises, they locked the door, pulled the blinds, brandished their weapons, and herded the employees into the vault. The robbers, one burly and the other young and slight, restrained the bankers and taped their hands, making them lie on the floor. They made away with about $5,000 – a substantial amount at the time, which was never recovered. A mere forty miles away, MA Barker and her gang were laying low in a rental in Ocklawaha, south Marion County. In a dawn raid, the FBI confronted and killed the infamous matriarch and her son, Fred. When some Clermont locals saw the bodies at the morgue, they instantly identified them as the bank robbers.
