The First National Bank of Hillsdale was organized on Dec. 16, 1863, with William Waldron as president. Hillsdale county National Bank was a reorganization of the First National Bank, after Governor Comstock forced a "Bank Holiday" in 1933 in response to the Depression. They merged with Jonesville's Grosvenor Savings Bank in 1962 and have continue to grow since then and are now situated in many locations.

The Hillsdale Savings Bank was founded in 1884 with John Potter Cook as president and his son Chauncey Ferris Cook as cashier. Long known as "The Cook Bank" their stately remodeled and pillared building along Howell Street spoke volumes. After the "Bank Holiday" of 1933, they joined forces with First State Savings Bank and continued to prosper.

With Fred A. Roethlisberger as president, Corvis M. Barre as vice president and Paul W. Chase as cashier, the First State Savings Bank first opened for business on June 16, 1902. The original bank building was just two doors down from the corner building renovated for bank purposes in 1922 and which opened in January 1923. On February 14, 1933 the state declared a "Bank Holiday," closing all state banks. On September 11, 1933, the HIllsdale Savings Bank and the First State Savings Bank merged, reopening as the Hillsdale State Savings Banks in the corner building.

Carol A. Lackey