Horizon Bank’s History

1873 was an interesting year to be an American. Ulysses S. Grant began his second term as President, the Indian Wars raged on in the West, and October marked the beginning of the Long Depression.

At Horizon Bank, we were just getting started. In April of 1873, Horizon Bank received its original charter as ‘First National Bank.’ By the turn of the century, we were already homing in on the importance of innovative customer service. When local railroad industrialist John H. Barker needed a way to protect the pay roll of gold coins for his employees, we opened the first-ever ‘drive-up window.’

In 1962, the Bank merged with another local financial institution, Merchants National Bank (founded in 1909), to become First-Merchants National Bank. And in 1986, the Bank merged with Citizen’s Bank (founded in 1888) to become First Citizens Bank. The Bank was renamed Horizon Bank in 1997.

From the Long Depression to the current recession, our long-term business philosophy of serving local businesses and individuals and providing loans to qualified borrowers has helped Horizon Bank, its shareholders and its customers weather these economic storms.

Here are some fun facts about our history:

• In 1913, Citizens Bank opened its doors in a new building with a massive 12-ton Diebold vault door that was so perfectly balanced that a child could open it.
• In 1958, Merchants National Bank upgraded the correct time feature by phone, by adding the temperature. On a busy day, 7,152 people called for the time/temperature readings.
• There was a choral group made up of bank staff members called “The Bank Notes” who performed in the community.
• In 1973, when bank officials broke ground on a new Citizens Bank building – the current building that is standing today at 502 Franklin – an underground spring was hit while digging for a basement. They tried to incorporate this water feature into the building design, but decided to eliminate the basement because they were unable to “de-water” the site.
• Our current Corporate Headquarters located at 515 Franklin Square: According to a January 1977 ad, the triangular shape of the new building was chosen to represent the three sides of banking: personal, commercial and industrial.

We are still growing strong and are proud to be one of the best banks in Michigan and Indiana. If you have any questions about how to manage your finances, give us a call. We’re here to help you however we can.