On July 1, 1930, patrons to the bank in the Taylor County community of Gravity were greeted by the following notice posted to the front door:
In view of the continued financial drain due largely to short crops of the last year of this community, the Board of Directors of this bank voted to close the same for the protection of the depositors and all concerned.
The Gravity Independent from July 3 notes no direct statements have been made by bank officials, though a meeting was held between the bank’s Board of Directors and Henry Erwin, a state bank examiner. The paper was “assured that the condition of the bank is better… than it was two years ago, and that the depositors will fare better… than they would have if the institution closed at that time.”
The Taylor County town wasn’t without a bank for long: In 1931, a bank of the then-Sharpsburg-based State Savings Bank opened a branch in the Gravity building. As Gravity’s population declined, bank operating hours were shortened before the Gravity office closed entirely in the 1990s.
Published October 25, 2011 |
Banks |
Taylor County
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The limestone and brick Stacyville Bank building in Stacyville in Mitchell County dates to 1899, one year after the bank was originally established. Ownership and name changed temporarily in the early 1900s before the Stacyville Savings Bank moniker was reestablished in 1925. The building, which included a vault and safety deposit boxes, served the community until 19512, when the Stacyville Savings Bank moved to a new location. The bank building later was home to the Stacyville Post Office and is currently occupied by a local insurance agency.
Published August 30, 2011 |
Banks |
Mitchell County
The beginning of the State Savings Bank in the Taylor County seat of Bedford dates to 1915, when a new bank opened in the nearby town of Sharpsburg. From Sharpsburg, the bank grew with new offices added in Gravity in 1931 and Clearfield in 1935, and then Bedford in 1945. At that time, the bank charter was moved from Sharpsburg to Bedford, and in 1966, the pictured bank building was constructed.
State Savings Bank was the only financial institution in Bedford to survive the 1980s farm crisis. The charter moved again in 1998 to Creston, where a new location was established; today, the Creston, Bedford, and Clearfield offices remain open. The State Savings Bank recently announced a merger with Valley Bank & Trust, which has locations in Cherokee and Marcus in northwest Iowa.
Published August 29, 2011 |
Banks |
Taylor County
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The Wadena Savings Bank was organized in 1906 with a capitol investment of $10,000. After two locations within other buildings, a permanent structure for the bank was completed in December 1920. Like numerous other banks across the state and country, the Wadena Savings Bank folded during the Great Depression, closing in 1931. After five years without a financial institution, the Elgin State Bank opened a branch in the Wadena Savings Bank building. Open four hours daily, the bank branch office continues to serve the Fayette County community of Wadena today.
Published August 23, 2011 |
Banks |
Fayette County
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In 1906, the growing First National Bank of Moulton moved to a brand new building on the west side of the town’s Main Street. Constructed in a quasi-Greek Revival style, the facility served the community for two decades before the bank was shuttered. In 1936, a group of Moulton businessmen requested the Davis County Savings Bank of Bloomfield investigate opening a branch in the unused building. A charter was granted and the Davis County Savings Bank began its Moulton operation the same year.
The historic bank office has been unoccupied since 2005, when Davis County Savings Bank (now known as Success Bank) constructed a modern facility across the street.
Published July 4, 2011 |
Banks |
Appanoose County
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