Four years after the Bank of Kingstree opened for business, another group of businessmen gathered at the law offices of Stoll & Stoll to form another bank, this one to be called the Bank of Williamsburg. Interest in the new venture was so great that the initial stock offering of $35,000 was increased to $40,000, and stock was offered and sold throughout Williamsburg County. Directors for this bank were C.W. Stoll, F. Rhem, J.F. McFadden, T.A. Blakeley, W.I. Nexsen, W.T. Wilkins, J.C. Graham, W.B. McCollough and P.G. Gourdin. The directors elected Stoll president of the bank, with Rhem as vice president. The cashier's position was not immediately filled, but E.C. Epps would soon leave the Bank of Kingstree to become cashier. The directors agreed to buy a lot on Main Street next to Kingstree Dry Goods on which to build an office. They planned to open for business on January 1, 1906.
The Bank of Williamsburg building as it looks today.
The bank opened in temporary quarters on January 8, 1906, as the new building, begun in November, was not ready, and as it turned out would not be ready until February 1907. However, the bank did well during its first year, showing net earnings of 10.25 percent.
By August 1907, the bank was doing business from its Main Street office. Board member W.B. McCollough used the bank lobby to display several bricks manufactured at his brick works, located at Taft in the southern part of the county. The bank building was included on a set of full-color post cards available at the People's Mercantile in 1908. Also in 1908, Williamsburg Insurance & Bonding located its office at the Bank of Williamsburg.
C.W. Stoll, President of the Bank of Williamsburg
The Bank of Williamsburg prided itself on working with the average man rather than the wealthy, noting in a 1910 advertisement, "The policy of the Bank of Williamsburg has always been and will in the future more than ever be to lend its financial aid and influence toward helping the deserving, progressive, and needy people rather than to aid and assist the wealthy man to carry on his speculations and greedy practice of gain. We shun large, risky loans to any one person, firm, or corporation. This, we foresee, will do much more toward the upbuilding of our country and thereby repay those people who repose so much confidence in our institution and patronize it so largely. Conservatism must attend our every act and doing. We propose distributing our loans with view to safety first, then to uniform development of our section."
The bank helped boost the community, often providing prize money for various competitions, and, in 1913, was one of three businesses in town distributing free tobacco seed to farmers, compliments of warehouseman E.L. Morgan.
A November 1910 advertisement for The Bank of Williamsburg.
In September 1913, the board considered converting from a state bank to a national bank, while doubling its capital stock. Cashier E.C. Epps noted that this move "would enlarge the bank's usefulness in the upbuilding of Williamsburg County." At a special stockholders' meeting in November, stockholders approved doubling capital, but tabled the vote on becoming a national bank until the regular annual meeting in January 1914.
At that meeting, two board members, W.V. Strong and J.M. Cook, were added because the bank now had capital stock of $100,000. During the intervening months, the Federal Reserve Act had become law, and as it allowed state banks with sufficient capital to become members with almost the same privileges as national banks, the stockholders directed the board to become a member of the Federal Reserve as soon as a Federal Reserve Bank was established in this district. In addition, stockholders voted to allow the board to convert to a national bank if they saw benefits for that during the year.
During the summer of 1914, rumors began circulating throughout the county that the Bank of Willilamsburg was paying interest on Williamsburg County Treasurer accounts into the personal account of County Treasurer J.Wesley Cook. Both Cook and cashier Epps were adamant that no wrongdoing had transpired. Cook requested that a special committee of the Grand Jury examine the treasurer's records. That committee, W.H. Carr, J.B. Gamble, and A.C. Swails, asked that an accountant from the state Comptroller General's office audit the records. When the state was slow in responding, the committee began to examine the records themselves and found some questionable transactions. Louis A Searson of the Comptroller's Office eventually arrived in Kingstree and conducted an audit from July 1, 1906, when Cook took office, until June 30, 1914.
Searson's report noted that as of June 30, 1914, the treasurer's records were thorough and accurate. He did find, however, that during Cook's tenure, some interest payments on county money had been credited to Cook personally, and that on another occasion, interest had been credited to county accounts and later withdrawn by Cook personally. Cook had, however, replaced the funds before the audit was conducted, but after the rumors started.
The Williamsburg County Grand Jury asked that the sitting judge admonish Cook about his actions, and that appears to have been the end of the matter.
Bank of Williamsburg ad in September 1909.
During the summer of 1914, with war raging in Europe, cotton prices plummeted in the United States. That fall, the Bank of Williamsburg leased Nelson's tobacco Warehouse to provide its customers a place to store cotton. Receipts would be issued so that farmers could use the stored crop as collateral.
When the United States entered World War I, the bank received a shipment of hand grenades that had been used in the fighting in Europe but had been repurposed as savings banks. These banks were given to elementary school children "on loan." If children could save enough money to buy $5 in War Savings Stamps, they could keep the bank.
In August 1924, the bank expanded its reach, opening a branch office in Hemingway. R.N. Speigner moved to Hemingway to work as branch manager.
Five months later, however, the Bank of Williamsburg was forced to close the doors of both branches after a "run on the bank by its largest depositors." A story which ran in both the Post and Courier and The State on January 20, 1920, began, "A calamity of inestimable magnitude struck this town and community Saturday when the Bank of Williamsburg closed its doors about 11 a.m."
P.G. Gourdin, President of Williamsburg Bank & Trust
At a meeting in February, stockholders turned over the assets of the bank to the state bank examiner to be liquidated. However, following the formal meeting, a group met informally and subscribed $25,000 in capital stock to form a new bank, Williamsburg Bank & Trust, which set up its offices in the old Bank of Williamsburg's quarters. The directors of this bank were P.G. Gourdin, C.L. Porter, J.D. McCollough, G.T. McIntosh, E.C. Epps, W.H. Welch, S.S. Mitchum, J.R. Barrow and J.H. Nexsen. Gourdin was named President, and the news reports noted that while he was a civil engineer by profession and not a banker, he was a businessman of unusual ability. W.H. Welch was named vice president. The new bank was up and running by March 5, 1925.
Although other banks continued to close, including the Bank of Kingstree and the Wee Nee Bank, Williamsburg Bank & Trust prospered. In January 1928, it absorbed the Citizens Bank of Johnsonville, and in February that year took over the operation of the Bank of Greeleyville. Its resources now stood at $750,000, and it maintained offices in Kingstree, Johnsonville, and Greeleyville.
W.H. Welch, Vice President of Williamsburg Bank & Trust.
The next year, though, Williamsburg Bank & Trust merged with nine similar banks to form People's State Bank, which continued to operate into the 1930s.
By 1934, the bank's building on Main Street was office to the Williamsburg County Farm Extension Agent. A sour cream making station was operated from the building, and sour cream was shipped from Kingstree to other areas.
A 1970 photo of Drucker Drugs, fourth building from the left.
Source: Kingstree High School, 1970 Garnet & Black
For many years in the mid-to-late 20th century, Drucker Drugs operated from the building. The building is now owned by Cedar Swamp Properties.
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