Grant County Bank - Petersburg, West Virginia

Brief History

The Grant County Bank of Petersburg WV, was chartered as a West Virginia state bank on August 6, 1902, and established to provide financial services to the residents, farmers and small merchants of Grant County and its adjoining areas.

Its first office was in the Baker Building, owned by Bernard J. Baker, also the founder and cashier of the Grant County Bank. Other charter members of the bank were D. P. Hendrickson, J. W. Day, L. J. Forman, A. A. Parks and William C. Moomau.

The bank began operation August 15, 1902 in small quarters in the Baker building, which was located at the south corner of Main Street and Virginia Avenue. Employees were Mr. Baker, cashier and young Mr. Moomau assistant cashier. Organizational expenses consisted of the following: charter - $21.00, safe - $415.00, burglary insurance - $20.00, furniture - $41.50, and stage charge for currency shipment - .60 cents. Some early depositors other than directors were B. Grant Roby, J. D. Rinehart, William L. Smith, Beulah Foley, C. A. Bergdoll, G. W. Hill, T. J. Grove, J. T. Scott, Haught and Freese Company, M. F. Hott, N. M. Harris, W. H. Siple, Isaac W. Sites and Max Boor. Initial loans were made to J. Bowers, N. M. Harris, M. R & Company, T. J. Grove, J. N. Sites, S. G. Cook, Job Sites and Samuel Cosner.

In 1908, the bank moved into its new building, a two-story frame building located on the south corner of Main and Water Streets. It occupied these quarters until 1925, when it moved across the street into the prestigious two-story granite building at 1 North Main Street. It occupied this building until 1974, when it moved to its present location at 3 North Main Street.

Reorganization

In an effort to provide GCB with more leverage and flexibility for pursuing new financial services, branch offices and increased market share, GCB directors approved the reorganization into a one-bank holding company (Highlands Bankshares, Inc.) in May 1985. GCB's ownership, directors, officers, employees and daily operations were not affected by the reorganization.

Highlands Bankshares, Inc. entered into a joint affiliation with Capon Valley Bank on March 11, 1986. This affiliation increased the total assets of the holding company from 59.6 million to 91.9 million. Capon Valley Bank is headquartered in Wardensville and has three branch locations.

Total assets of Grant County Bank as of 12/31/05 were over $205 million dollars and Highland Bankshares, Inc. had total assets in excess of $337 million dollars.

The bank has expanded over the years to include several branch locations. The North Fork Office in Riverton was the first branch bank of the Grant County Bank and opened in 1989. Since that time the bank has opened offices in Keyser (1996), and Moorefield (2000). In 2000, the bank acquired the Stockmans Bank of Harman, which became the bank's fourth branch office. The most recent addition to the Grant County Bank family came in November of 2005, when the bank acquired the National Bank of Davis, bringing the total number of branch locations to six.

Mission Statement

Grant County Bank is a member bank of Highlands Bankshares, Inc., serving the financial needs to the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia and contiguous areas. It was organized and operated to provide financial services and support economic development of the communities it serves. Our dual goals of service and profit will be met by recognizing and responding to the needs of those individuals, businesses and governmental entities in our service area. We must deliver convenient, affordable financial services to our customers and a competitive return on our investments to our stockholders.

More Historic Photographs of Petersburg

Your Local Community Bank Since 1902