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Alexander City 150th
June 2022
The Banks
I
n 1875 the city had its first banking business operated by the Renfroe Brothers from Opelika. It was under management of J.T. Lancaster, but according to records, it went out of business in 1883. It would be 1888 before the city had another bank. This time, the bank was opened by Reuben Herzfeld and his brother Marcus. The Herzfeld brothers opened a bank with a vault of stone with an iron door, a burglar proof safe, a counter and railing with $50,000 worth of capital stock subscribed. The directors of the new bank were Rueben Herzfeld, Mayor B.L. Dean, A.J. Coley, Sr., W.F. Stearns, H.W. Pearson, J.C. Maxwell, W.S. Thomas, W.H. Thornton and F.M. Douglas. W.S. Thomas was the only salaried employee. He was a cashier and was paid $75 a month, according to Kelley’s writings. The Herzfeld Brother’s bank — named the Alexander City Bank — quickly outgrew where it was located and moved to a location on the corner of Jefferson and Green Streets. B.F.C. Russell and his sons, Ben and Tom, borrowed $25,000 to establish Alexander City’s second bank, named The Citizen Bank. It was located on Main Street. The vault was built from native stone and Tom was cashier and Ben was president. The original building burned, like nearly everything else, in the downtown 1902 fire, as did the Alexander City Bank. The Citizens Bank money was salvaged and carried to the home of Ben Russell and the money from the Alexander City Bank was carried to the home of J.C. Maxwell. The two banks continued to operate from those two homes for some
Submitted photos
TOP: The building in the background toward the left is the three-story building which once housed the Alexander City Bank. BOTTOM: The same building, nearly a hundred years later, is now home to Globe Life Liberty offices.
time until new buildings could be constructed. In 1904, The Citizens Bank became the First National Bank of Alexander City and in 1904, a private third bank opened in Alexander City. It was the Nolen Bank with a capital stock of
$50,000. In 1918 it became part of the First National Bank. In 1927 the Alexander City Bank moved into the three-story building on the corner Jefferson and Green Streets.
