From its humble beginnings in the small town of Dallas Center in 1881, Brenton Bank grew to be the largest Iowa-based bank chain in the state. By the end of the twentieth century, Brenton Bank operated offices across the state from its original base in Dallas Center to Des Moines to Davenport. Brenton’s large Iowa footprint made it a takeover target, and in 2000, Wells Fargo entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the bank’s 43 offices.
The pictured Woodward office operated as Wells Fargo until May 2010, when three former Brenton Bank locations in Dallas County were closed. Signage was remove, revealing the original Brenton Bank signing in place when the office was constructed.
Local residents were disappointed in August 2000 when the former Commercial Federal Bank chain announced it was closing the branch office in downtown Hanlontown in Worth County, Iowa. The office, which featured an impressive vault and marble teller station inside its two-story lobby, was built in 1920 as Citizens State Bank. It changed hands three times between 1981 and 1998 prior to the 2000 closure. The bank also closed its branch in nearby Kensett.
Fortunately, two charitable foundations purchased the building and donated it to the Worth County Historical Society. It is now home to the Citizens Savings Bank Museum, open Sunday afternoons June through August. Visitors can appreciate the historic interior while perusing a growing collection of Hanlontown cultural and economic artifacts.
The Iowa-Nebraksa Bank is one of a handful of businesses along Main Street in Hornick, a town of 253 residents in Woodbury County in northwest Iowa. The building, which dates to 1931, was originally home to State Savings Bank, established in Hornick in 1904. The present owners purchased the location in 1982. When the bank’s main offices were relocated to Onawa in 1984, the Hornick building was converted to a branch location.
The bank has undergone two name changes since 1984: first to Iowa State Bank in 1997, then Iowa-Nebraska State Bank in 2000 following a merger with Nebraska State Bank. The Hornick location has remained in place through the changes, with a drive through open six days each week. The lobby holds more limited hours, only open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Based in Sutherland in O’Brien County Iowa, Security State Bank operates a small branch in nearby Calumet; it’s open two hours each weekday to serve the community of 181 residents.
