Home > About Us > History
|
 |
The Farmers Bank, headquartered in Frankfort, Indiana, has been doing business in the Clinton County area since 1876.
As America's first century hustled to a close, big changes were happening everywhere. A golden spike united the two coasts in May of 1869, completing the transcontinental railroad.
The railroad was completing a vital link in Clinton County as well. On the nation's 98th birthday, July 4, 1874, a section of track opened connecting Frankfort and Kokomo. The first railroad in the county had opened only four years before.
By 1875, the Frankfort and State Line Road was formed to build a track southwest from Frankfort. Three other lines had been organized and spokes of track were stretched out to Chicago, Terre Haute, Lafayette, and Louisville.
Clinton County farmers suddenly had access to the markets of the world. As new steel mills and oil refineries were opening in the East and Chicago was becoming "hog butcher for the world", Clinton County farmers' livestock and crops could find new buyers…..if the farmers could find funds to expand their own production.
Among the 2,500 residents of the county seat were some "progressive local businessmen" who saw the new financial needs of the farmers and other community members. The county had only one bank, First National, and these men saw the community's growth being aided by a new financial institution.
The country moved into the centennial year with an eye on both the past and the future. A man named Custer made a "last stand" against the Indians of the West, while a man named Bell patented a long distance talking machine called the "telephone."
In Frankfort, six months of discussions about a new bank culminated on June 17, 1876, in the law offices of McClurg and Kent…..The Farmers Bank, Frankfort, Indiana, was born, with initial capital of $100,000.
The first office opened on the west side of the square, but the bank soon moved to the south side of the square, where it still conducts business today.
|
Home > About Us > History
|
