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| Additional information |
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| First National Bank of the North |
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History:
In 1894, a great fire swept through the Sandstone area destroying Sandstone and the surrounding communities. The rebuilding process started immediately. The quarry was in full swing with the increased need for stone not to mention all the required labor that brought lots of new people to the community. Also, thousands of acres of land were cleared with soil enriched from the fire. It was once said that the crops during this period were remarkable—“clover to your armpits and corn over your head”.
In 1896 the Quarryman’s bank started business as a private bank by F.L. Dennie, (a rising attorney from Minneapolis and, at the time, mayor of Sandstone) that saw Sandstone’s situation as “truly indicative of future prosperity and certainly must lead many business’s and professional men to locate here”. Consistent growth prompted the bank to officially incorporate in 1902 as a state bank, which was quite common at the turn of the century, under the guidance of Dennie, J. A. Smith and Matt Bullis. (We use 1902 as our anniversary date as there is an assured legitimacy upon incorporation.) The original building was abandoned as the new bank expanded into new quarters on Main Street. This building still stands two doors north of the Main St and Co Hwy 123 intersection.
In 1929 the stock market crashed and people lost faith in banks. President Roosevelt declared a 4-day bank holiday in which banks across the entire nation were closed. They were reopened one by one and only upon permission from their regulator—which in Minnesota was the Commission of Banks. The disastrous impact of just a few years during this time in history included 1/5th of all banks in America being forced to close and around 15% of Americans losing their life savings.
In order for the Quarryman’s State Bank to reopen the bank needed to decrease its fixed assets by $17,000. Stepping up to the task at hand, the assistant cashier, Frank Hurley, personally purchased the assets to secure that the bank would reopen for the community despite the national crisis. Remember that this was during the depression and $17,000 was A LOT of money. We take pride in this part of our history because it would have been very easy for these founding men to give up and join the thousands of banks that just up and closed. Instead they bore the hardship, re-evaluated the industry and community needs and survived.
Upon diminishing quarry business and with the banking crisis of 1933 still fresh in their minds, the bank originally for the quarrymen moved to Askov in 1936 which offered a smaller town and no competition. Once settled in Askov, stock was sold to the local businessmen, including E.L. and Sine Hueglen, T.N. Thompsen, Chris Nielsen, Hans Mosbaek, Arnold Sorenson, C.R. Pedersen, Conrad Christensen, and Anton Sebald. In 1953, M.L. Ambers, a FDIC bank examiner out of St. Paul, purchased controlling interest in the bank and under his management the coveted FDIC insurance was gained. In 1963 the bank’s controlling interest was sold to John D. O’Brien. The bank evolved under his supervision including a change in status to a national bank, becoming a member of the Federal Reserve System, and moving back to Sandstone to form First National Bank of North Pine County with the acquisition of the Sandstone State Bank.
Over the years First National Bank of the North has changed names to fit the ever-increasing area and customers we serve. They are as follows:
Quarryman’s State Bank (1902)
Security State Bank of Sandstone (1922)
(assumed the Gronigen State Bank-1926)
Security State Bank of Askov, (1936)
(Kerrick State Bank became a branch-1979)
First National Bank of Askov (1980),
(purchase of Sandstone State Bank-1985)
First National Bank of North Pine County (1986),
and now First National Bank of the North (1990).
You’ll note the changes in name reflected what was important to the community--quarry, security, national status and insurance, and northern roots and values.
In July 2004, First National Bank Hinckley merged with First National Bank of the North, offering our newest services such as check imaging, internet banking, and bill-pay to our Hinckley customers.
Today our goal is still to be large enough to meet our customer’s needs, yet small enough to be customer focused and responsive as a community bank. We are committed to providing the best financial services and exceptional customer service. We continue to invest in ongoing training and technology advances to better equip our personnel and customers with what they need and require. We are dedicated to providing positive leadership for the well-being of the communities we serve and encourage our employees to give of their time and talents in the community.
Our success depends on the success of our communities and we will continue to maintain our commitment to the individuals and businesses that make our community great! |
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