The following has been submitted by the Logan County History Center:
By: Mary E. Mortimer
DeGraff’s banking history dates to 1869. Its second bank, established in 1885 as The Citizens Bank of DeGraff, continues today as Buckeye State Bank, Ohio’s oldest surviving state-chartered bank.
The Farmers and Merchants Bank of DeGraff was founded in 1869 by D.W. Harris, Mr. Michael, Mr. Reynolds, and Mr. Stuts. It operated until 1883, when the last of its four founders died. Two years later, I.S. Williams and B.F. Loofborrow established Citizens Bank of DeGraff, using furniture purchased from the former bank. Its first customer, Albert A. Bell, deposited $100 on August 24, and opening-day deposits totaled $1,940.46.
About a year after Citizens Bank opened, Mr. Loofborrow withdrew his interest, leaving Williams as sole owner. In 1889, William E. Harris, son of Farmers and Merchants Bank founder D.W. Harris, became a part owner and assistant cashier.
Following I.S. Williams’s death in 1890, the bank was reorganized, and its capital stock increased from $15,000 to $20,000. Dr. F.M. Galer became a stockholder and president, while Harris served as cashier. In 1908, Citizens Bank was incorporated by Dr. F.M. Galer and local investors William E. Harris, H.W. Koogler, C.G. Weller, J.C. Myers, D.E. Strayer, A.H. Moore, David Fuson, Denton Crowl, and B.W. Pool. The bank received state charter number “3”; it is not known which banks held charter numbers 1 and 2. Additional stockholders included Frank Felyer, S.B. Hamsher, C.R. Peter, J.S. Doan, and L. McAlexander. At incorporation, the bank’s capital stock increased to $45,000.
The bank’s history also includes an unusual lobby display linked to DeGraff’s 1919 “Wolf Hunt.” From the 1910s through the 1930s, coyotes and wolves threatened local livestock. Sightings near DeGraff prompted the hunt, which drew about 1,500 hunters on January 22. They tracked the “wolf” from the Stony Creek Church area east toward West Liberty but failed to hit it.
A week later, hunters and dogs surrounded a ten-mile-square area near DeGraff and advanced inward, flushing out rabbits, pheasants, and quail. Hounds picked up the “wolf’s” scent near an old mill, and several hunters fired at the animal. Harry Harner was credited with the fatal shot.
An examination identified the animal as a coyote, though many still believed it was a wolf. The mounted coyote was displayed for years in the Citizens Bank lobby, but its current whereabouts are unknown.
In January 1934, Citizens Bank of DeGraff and several other Logan County banks joined the newly formed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation plan, providing depositors with insurance against losses of up to $2,500. After July 1, 1934, the coverage limit rose to $10,000. Today, FDIC deposit insurance covers up to $250,000 per depositor at each FDIC-insured bank.
By 1975, Citizens Bank had outgrown its original space. It purchased the Strayer building at the corner of Main and Hayes Streets and razed it to make way for a new bank building. Located at 101 N. Main St., the Strayer building had housed a general store operated by three generations of the family since 1869.
Construction of the new 3,000-square-foot red brick building began that August and was completed in April 1976. It was designed by architect Walter H. Lautenbach of Zanesfield and built by Thomas & Marker Construction. The new facility featured a new state-of-the-art belt-driven “auto-veyor” drive-thru system.
In 2004, the bank completed a 1,728-square-foot addition designed by architect Karen Beasley and built by Thomas & Marker Construction. At the time, Citizens Bank held more than $28.7 million in assets and remained a cornerstone of the DeGraff community.
A new chapter began in 2014 with the formation of Buckeye Nation Interim, a company comprising a diverse group of local business leaders. The company ultimately purchased the bank and renamed it Buckeye State Bank. Its founders include former Ohio State University football players Dan “Big Daddy” Wilkinson and Stanley Jackson.
Though the name has changed, DeGraff can still take pride in being home to Logan County’s oldest surviving state bank. Buckeye State Bank’s mission remains “to serve our communities with integrity, innovation, and a personal touch.”
Discover more local history at the Logan County History Center, open for tours Wednesday through Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free.
