Our History

The Citizens State Bank opened for business on June 16, 1900 in the building at the northwest corner of First Street and Douglas Avenue.

By mid-1905, the bank had outgrown its original facility and moved into the Arnold Building, which had already served as home to two banks, Powers Bank and Central National Bank.

The original Board of Directors of Citizens State Bank were:

The first officers were:

• President - A. Young
• Vice President - George L. Levitt
• Cashier - J. B. Handy
• Assistant Cashier - W. J. Stevens.

With an initial capital investment of $25,000 in 1900, the bank's total capital accounts now exceeds over $10,000,000. Total assets have grown from less than $100,000 to over $110,000,000 in the same time period. In addition, the bank's Trust Department now manages in excess of $100,000,000 in assets.

The first day of business was Saturday June 16, 1900 with total deposits of $842.80. The following are a list of depositors for the first business day:

By June 30, 1900 the total deposits of the bank were $2,403.11. The following people also had become depositors:

Drovers Building

Within five years, the bank outgrew its first facility and moved into the more commodious quarters in the Drover's Hall of Fame Building in July of 1905. This was the first door south of the Herzig’s Store, on the east side of Douglas Avenue. This building with its distinctive oriel, already had been the home of two banks, The Powers Bank and Central National Bank.

Law Office

Seven years later, in 1912, the Citizens State Bank relocated to its new building on the southwest corner of Douglas Avenue and First Street. At the open house on November 30, 1912, the interior walls were hung with oak leaves and 50 American roses were strewn along the top railing of the bank fixtures. The roses were a gift from the First National Bank of Kansas City, Missouri.

The exterior of the building was constructed of Bedford stone with four columns in the front. The interior walls were finished in chocolate and cream, with a metal ceiling stained in lights and tints. This with an indirect lighting system gave it a beautiful color effect. The building was vacated by Citizens State Bank in 1931 and then became the Ellsworth post office. In 1969 it became a law office and has been that ever since.

Main Bank

In 1931, the depressed years that the entire nation was experiencing struck in Ellsworth, Kansas. The Central National Bank was closed on March 25, 1931 by the Federal Bank Examiner W. F. Donahue. After several attempts were made by The Central National Bank to reorganize, the building was sold in August 1931 to the Citizens State Bank. The bank building is located on the northeast corner of Douglas Avenue and First Street. Citizens State Bank & Trust Company is still at this location today, 203 North Douglas Avenue, Ellsworth, Kansas.

Ten Presidents have served Citizens State Bank throughout its 118-year history. Two families have guided the bank for 64 of those 118 years. The McManes family owned and operated the bank for 31 years. From 1959 to 1992, for 33 years, three generations of the Britton family (Don, Roy, and Dane) took the bank to new heights.

In 1974 the services of Citizens State Bank were expanded to include a Trust Department to help meet our customers' expanded financial needs. Heather Barta was the first Manager of the Trust Department and helped it grow into the variety of services it offers today.

In 1993, the Brittons sold what was now the Citizens State Bank and Trust Co. to a local group of investors, with employees now having part ownership in the bank.

New Locations

In December of 2010, Citizens State Bank and Trust Co. acquired the Midwest Community Bank formally known as The Farmers National Bank in Lincoln, Kansas. Citizens State Bank and Trust Co. gained approximately ten million in assets and six full time employees with over 165 years of combined banking experience. Long time tenured employees include Steve McReynolds, Galen Liggett, Phyllis Vaupel, Jo Wallace, Glenn Stegman and Bree McReynolds-Baetz at the time of the acquisition.

This was the first expansion for Citizens State Bank & Trust Co. Then the decision was made to build a new facility at the junction of Highway 156 and 40 in Ellsworth which was opened in May of 2012. This facility replaced the drive in facility at 210 N Douglas that was designed and built by the Brittons. This new facility was a drive in and walk in facility with lobby, conference room, and offices.

Not long after that, in March of 2015, Citizens State Bank & Trust Co. acquired The State Bank of Delphos and Ottawa County Bank. With this merger, Citizens State Bank & Trust Co. added three locations: Delphos, Glasco, and Minneapolis. The bank gained approximately forty-five million in assets along with twelve full time employees, and over 210 years of combined banking experience. Long time tenured employees include Tom McGavran, Kristine Nelson, Patty Huffman, Ann Miller, Becky Myers and Darlene Schmidt at the time of the merger.