Community Bancshares of Mississippi history

Richard L. Baily, son of a bank founder (J. Ewing Baily) was employed by The First National Bank of Carmichaels as a teller in 1913 and eventually became president and chairman of the board.

In 1924, Frank Mitchener (FNB of Carmichaels' first president) died and was succeeded by L.T. Laidley.

Then in 1926, First National Bank of Carmichaels celebrated its silver anniversary with assets at $979,244.79.

Richard L. Bailey, cashier, and L.T. Laidley, president, signed this 1929 FNB of Carmichaels $20 bill issued by the Federal Reserve.

In 1930, FNB of Carmichaels recorded assets at $1,153,217.

In 1942 about $11.5million was invested in war bonds in Greene County.

The largest drive was in July 1945, when $2,255,000 was subscribed.

By 1949 the bank was expanding once again, and acquired both the Merchants & Farmers Bank of Ecru and the Bank of Sherman.

--Written in 1951, this 50-year-old passage from FNB of Carmichaels' commemorative anniversary book could have been written today, as neither history nor human nature have changed.

Community Bank was founded in 1955 by a group of Joseph, Oregon business leaders as the Bank of Wallowa County.

When Nanney died in 1959, Whitehead became president of the bank.

On December 1, 1961 FNB of Carmichaels was held up by four armed, liquor-laden robbers who made off with $8,000.

Then in 1964, FNB of Carmichaels opened its first branch, located in Greensboro.

In 1979, Present-day Chairman/CEO Ralph J. Sommers, Jr. joined the staff of FNB of Carmichaels as executive vice president.

In 1980, FNB of Carmichaels opened its first Waynesburg office on High Street in July.

FNB's Greene Plaza office opened in July 1983.

Since statewide banking was first permitted in Mississippi in 1986, the bank has opened more than 80 branches from Biloxi to Vicksburg.

In 1987, after considerable deliberation and market research, the First National Bank of Carmichaels changed its name to Community Bank, National Association to reflect its expanding role as the "community bank of choice" for superior customer service in Greene and Washington counties.

By 1990 the Bank of Mississippi had grown to more than 70 offices and branches operating in more than 40 cities and towns.

The bank remained relatively unchanged until 1991 when a new ownership group purchased the bank.

The vision of 153 local investors came together on August 4, 1997 when First Community Bank opened for business at 710 St Louis Street in Batesville, Arkansas with 14 employees and $3.5 million in capital.

The bank purchased land in Southside, and the grand opening of a 2,000 square foot facility at 1 Allen Chapel Road was held on June 18, 1999.

Although the "big-board" hit all-time highs, investors' enthusiasm was tempered in 2000 by three Fed rate hikes and a sharp economic slowdown.

Also, in May 2002, a new location at 2801 East Race Street was officially opened.

The new main bank opened for business on September 2, 2003 and is now The Cornerstone of Our Community.

On July 19, 2004, First Community opened a branch in Cave City in a temporary building while a new 2,100 square foot building was being constructed.

A grand opening for the new building at 102 South Main Street was held on July 25, 2005.

On January 6, 2006, construction began on a new 2,500 square foot facility.

62/412 officially opened on July 25, 2007 and the Cabot branch at 3084 Bill Foster Memorial Hwy. opened on October 1, 2007.

On May 19, 2008, First Community expanded into Missouri with the acquisition of Goodman State Bank.

Cabot celebrated the grand opening of a new permanent facility on September 24, 2009, and Race Street cut the ribbon on a new 4,560 square foot state-of-the-art facility on October 29, 2009.

The purchase was finalized on February 22, 2010, and this became our fourteenth banking location.

The southwest Missouri region celebrated the grand opening of a second full-service branch in Neosho on August 30, 2011.

The grand opening celebration was held on March 7, 2014.

At the close of business on July 17, 2015, the Broad Street Lyndonville office and the Federal Street St Johnsbury offices were closed and the other two offices in Caledonia County remain open

On December 19, 2016, First Community Bank acquired Little River Bank in Lepanto, AR, giving the bank a presence in neighboring Poinsett County.

The branch opened on September 18, 2017.

On March 12th, 2018, a second location in Cabot opened on 11 Prospect Court, giving the bank a total of 21 banking locations.

In May of 2019, the bank opened a third branch in Jonesboro, Arkansas at 222 East Washington.