Attic finds spur First Farmers to open museum in Amboy bank

AMBOY, Ind. (AP) - Terri Bond always knew there were boxes of old stuff sitting in the attic of the First Farmers Bank and Trust branch in Amboy.

But she didn't realize just how much old stuff there really was in the 102-year-old building located at 115 S. Main St. until a few years ago.

The bank celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2010, and management asked each of its 27 branches to do something special to commemorate the occasion.

Bond, who has worked as a debit card processor at the branch for seven years, said she's always had a passion for history, and that gave her an idea: Installing a make-shift museum documenting the bank's history in Miami County, where it was founded in 1885.

When she was done with the project, bank officials liked it so much that they asked Bond to make it even bigger and better.

So she headed to the attic with Branch Manager Pam Camden to see what they could find out about First Farmers' past.

"We prowled around the attic and found a lot of old things," Bond told the Kokomo Tribune (http://bit.ly/1EnjDWe ). "There was ton of history here."

Sifting through the boxes scattered around the attic, they came across old calendars, bank ledgers, notes and letters from the bank board and a wall-sized map of Miami County that documented who owned every piece of property.

"When we got up there, we really had fun," Camden said. "It was surprising to see what was all up there."

But the documents, ledgers and map aren't living in a dusty attic anymore. They're on display at a new museum that opened last week inside a room in the bank that used to serve as an office for the Indiana BMV.

The museum not only documents the history of First Farmers Bank and Trust, which was founded in Converse, and is one of the oldest banks in the county, but part of it is also dedicated to Amboy's history.

Camden said she's a life-long resident of Amboy, and wanted to make sure the museum also documented her hometown's unique past.

"I love my town and I love the company I work for," she said. "I'm very proud to say I'm a member of both."

Camden said it makes sense to include both the bank and the town in the museum, since their history is inextricably intertwined.

Decades of banking

Bond said the building that now houses First Farmers was built in 1902 as Amboy Bank. In 1913, the business merged with Miami County Bank located just down the street and became Amboy State Bank.

That's when trouble hit. Bond said the man hired as the bank manager began pilfering off funds, claiming he was using the money for investments.

One day, he walked out the door with most of the bank's money and never came back.

The enterprise quickly went under, but was salvaged after the townspeople pooled their funds and loaned the bank enough cash to keep it afloat.

The moved worked. In 1919, the bank received a new charter and became State Bank of Amboy.

And that's what it remained until 1975, when it merged with First Farmers, becoming the bank's second branch after 90 years of only operating in Converse.

In 1990, First Farmers opened its third branch in Windfall.

Since then, business has exploded. The bank now has 32 branches and will open five more next month in Illinois. It's now the largest agricultural bank east of the Mississippi River, as designated by the FDIC.

All that history can be found inside the bank's new museum, along with lots of other interesting facts, tidbits and archival material.

Camden said one of the most interesting items is a $5 bill printed at the Converse branch in 1929, when the federal government allowed local banks to print their own money right after the Great Depression hit.

There's also a section dedicated to antique banking equipment that Camden and Bond found in the Amboy branch.

"We've had some old bank employees come in who've used those things, and they're pretty thankful they don't have to use that stuff now," Camden said with a laugh. "They're glad things have changed."

Camden said the new museum isn't the largest one around, but it's unique to find something like it in a small town like Amboy, which had a population of 384 in 2010.

"It's a small area, but we've packed a lot of information into it," Camden said.

It's also generating a lot of interest in town.

Camden said most of the items in the museum dedicated to Amboy's history were donated by locals, and more townspeople have come forward with archival material and artifacts to give to the museum.

"I think the town people really enjoy our interest in this community," Bond said.

Camden said as they get more material, they'll change and expand the portion of the museum dedicated to the town.

"We'll always be a bank museum, but we'll also always be a community museum," she said.

It's taken five years to get the museum up and running after Bond first set up the temporary exhibit in 2010, but the wait has been worth it, Camden said.

"It's taken us a few years, but we finally did it," she said. "I think people are excited this is here, and I'm very proud of what we've done."

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Information from: Kokomo Tribune, http://www.ktonline.com