Our History

150 Years as a Community Bank

At First National Bank in Fairfield , we have been privileged to call this beautiful community home for the past 150 years, serving area families, farmers, and business leaders. Read on to learn about our humble beginnings.

First National Bank in Fairfield was founded in 1865, shortly after the close of the Civil War. Sixteen stockholders signed the first Article of Association at a meeting held May 9, 1865 less than a month after the death of President Lincoln. Capital stock totaled $50,000.

The bank’s first President was James F. Wilson, who served continuously in that office for 30 years. Wilson was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and, during his association with the bank, he also served two terms in the U.S. Senate.

First National Bank has provided continuous banking service to the Fairfield community for well over a century, closing only briefly in 1933, when Congress declared a banking holiday for all banks which had not failed. The bank did not liquidate, as many banks did, but reopened with no depositors suffering any loss.

In 1985, First National Bank in Fairfield was purchased by the Iowa First Bancshares Corporation, headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa. In 2015 First National Bank celebrated 150 years of service to our community. In the last 150 years, the bank has brought many new services to this area. The bank was the first to introduce 24-hour banking with an automatic teller machine, first to provide drive-through teller windows, and first to offer account transactions any time of day via telephone.

Now more than ever, the hardworking professionals at First National Bank are committed to putting our customers first, as we continue to provide financial services and economic stability to the Fairfield community.