On January 22, 1881, a meeting of gentlemen was held "to adopt
measures with reference to the organization of a Bank to be located in
the town of Berryville". Fourteen investors subscribed to the initial
capital funding (including a prominent local woman) and the Bank of Clarke
County opened for business on April 1, 1881.
A two-story building with adequate square footage was constructed at
a cost of $3790, including $990 for the purchase and installation of a
safe. The land on which it was built cost the bank $600.
A cashier was hired to "attend the operation" of the bank
and received a salary of $300 annually. If needed, an assistant cashier
position was approved at $250 annually.
The following years marked continued success, with growth accelerating
during 1897 as the local economy of Clarke County, Virginia accelerated.
So busy, in fact, were the members of the Board of Directors that their
meeting for June 26, 1897 was postponed "due to harvest".
The first indication that the 20th century meant modernization to the
bank was documented on August 2, 1900, when the cashier was instructed
to have "water brought into the bank and to have spigots and wash
bowls installed". On August 6, 1903, a telephone was installed.
During the money panic of 1907, a slump was detected in businesses and
especially in the banking industry in the United States. Although profits
were not as good as before the slump, the Bank of Clarke County continued
to grow and show a profit. Growth and profitability continued uninterrupted
for the next several years, surviving such challenges as crop failures,
the 1913 epidemic of hog cholera, several packages of restrictive congressional
legislation and the First World War.
The stock market "crash" of 1929 tested the stability of the
banking industry, as well as the stock market. With the exception of the
forced closings during President Franklin Roosevelt's "bank holidays",
the Bank of Clarke County maintained its daily operations on a 100% basis.
On June 29, 1935, Bank of Clarke County merged with Boyce State Bank,
creating the second branch for the Bank. Since then, Bank of Clarke has
opened seven additional branches in Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia.
The Bank celebrated its 100 year anniversary on April 1, 1981, with
assets in excess of $29 million. There have only been 8 Presidents in the
Bank's 122 year history:
- A. Moore, Jr. - 1881 - 1920
- W.A. Bradford - 1920 - 1946
- Roy E. Potts, Sr. - 1946 - 1963
- Floyd L. McWilliams, Sr. - 1963 - 1978
- Hobson C. McGehee - 1979 - 1980
- A. Garland Williams - 1980- 1983
- Lewis M. Ewing - 1983 - 1999
- John R. Milleson - 1999 - Present
