The Farmers Bank of Unionville was founded in 1900 in Unionville, Missouri, with $15,000 and nine original stockholders.  The bank was located at the northeast corner of the square in 1902 but was moved to the northwest corner in 1909. 

At the beginning of the Great Depression, there were 12 banks located in Putnam County.  However, Farmers Bank was the only bank to survive the Depression. 

In 1953 a new bank building was constructed which is still utilized.  The bank added the drive-up window and lane in 1966, along with a night deposit safe and an outdoor walk-up window on the front of the building so customers could conduct their business from the sidewalk.

In the history of Farmers Bank, there have been 11 Presidents/Chairmen:  William H. Holman, G. Everett McCutchen, L. S. K. McCutchen, H. L. Holman, Dr. J. H. Holman, Henry Gardner, Ailey Williams, John Gardner, Lindley Holman, Gary Tribble, and since 1994 David Tribble has served as the President. 

As a progressive bank, a huge in-house computer system was installed in the early 1980's.  Prior to that, all bank transactions were handwritten each time a deposit or withdrawal were made to accounts, and also for all loan transactions. 

After surviving the agriculture crisis and droughts of the early 1980's, Farmers Bank was the first bank in the State of Missouri to establish a branch outside of its home county with the opening of the Mercer facility in 1986.

In 1990 the purchase of First National Bank of Bethany was made, and later on was merged into Farmers Bank.

The year 1992 saw the purchase of the Trenton banking facility for Farmers Bank.  Also in 1992, the bank expanded the stockholder base from 30 to 140 community stockholders further cementing the spirit of an independent community bank.  With growth to a larger geographic area, the bank's official name was changed to Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri.

In 1995, Farmers Bank started to issue ATM cards and installed the first ATM machine in Unionville.

The year 1996 made Farmers Bank the first Missouri bank to also have a branch in Iowa with the opening of our Centerville location in Appanoose County.

Farmers Bank purchased the First National Bank in Gallatin, MO, in the year 2000, making it the sixth location. 

The Unionville main office had a large addition built in 2006 to accommodate the need for more offices. There had been a collapsed store building in that space for quite some time, so the new bank updates improved the view of the north side of the square in Unionville. 

In 2006 a new bank branch was also created in Leon, Iowa, to serve the banking needs of Decatur County.

The bank had another first in 2011, by establishing Farmers Risk Management – an insurance branch that offers Crop and Livestock Risk Protection Insurance for farmers and ranchers. 

In 2016 Farmers Bank acquired Flowers National Bank in Bethany and Cainsville, Missouri, and our downtown office in Bethany was moved to the current location along Highway 136, for a total of eight branches in northern Missouri and southern Iowa. 

The bank continues to grow, and in late 2022 a new facility was established in Jamesport, MO, and shortly thereafter a newly constructed branch opened in Princeton in mid-2023.  A decision was made to close the small Cainsville, MO, office, and employees were transferred nearby.  In December, 2023, the latest branch office announced its grand opening in the heart of Corydon, Wayne County, Iowa, which helped bridge the gap between branches in Appanoose and Decatur Counties along the southern Iowa border. 

Today Farmers Bank of Northern Missouri is a strong, thriving bank with 10 locations and 11 ATM’s throughout five counties in northern Missouri and three counties in southern Iowa.  The bank now holds more than $490,000,000 in assets and employs about 100 local men and women to provide banking products and services with friendly smiles and outstanding customer service. 

Please come inside our beautiful lobbies to visit any branch location and say hello!  Our customers are truly special, and we appreciate each and every one who helped this locally‑owned community bank grow and prosper for over 120 years.  We look forward to the next 100 years of banking in our Midwest rural communities alongside friends and neighbors like yourself and local business owners and entrepreneurs, and we hope you will encourage our future growth and success! 

Other Accolades:

• • 1993 - Named the #1 Agriculture Community Bank in the United States by American Banker Magazine.
  • 1995 - Created Putnam County Community Development Corporation to foster business development and jobs in Putnam County.
  • 1995 - Gary Tribble served as Chairman of Missouri Bankers Association - the first Putnam County resident to do so.
  • 1996 - David Tribble served on the American Bankers Association National Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee - the first in Missouri for decades.