Old Fort Banking Company was founded in 1916 by citizens of the village of Old Fort, Ohio. Chartered as a state banking institution, Old Fort Banking Company opened its doors on April 4, 1917. The original building was one-eighth of the space presently being used as the main office in Old Fort.  In 2006, the bank purchased the empty building and lot next to its office. The deteriorating building was torn down to make way for a state-of-the-art Technology center with a training facility, conference room, bookkeeping and proof department and lounge.

In 1957, the Business Men’s Association of Bettsville approached the Board of Directors and asked them to open an office in their community. It was their contention that towns seem to prosper when a bank is part of the town’s business community. The original office opened in an old bank building that had not been used for many years. In 1979, a modern facility with both lobby and drive-thru services was built and opened for service.

In April 1987, Old Fort Bank was the first bank in the area to open a banking office in a grocery store, a novel and innovative way to provide banking services at the time.  In 2006, it was decided to close the office after larger full service Old Fort Bank offices were built in Fremont and in Clyde.

In the 1980’s, as mergers and buyouts began to change the banking scene, Old Fort Bank moved into the Tiffin market. In December 1988 we opened the Tiffin Westgate office and grew a respectable 40% in the next year. As each bank in town sold out to a regional competitor, Old Fort Banking Company continued to attract customers who enjoyed community bank service. As a result, in the mid 1990’s the Westgate office was enlarged, nearly doubling the size of the building.

At about the same time, it became evident that the day would come when no banking institution would have a presence in downtown Tiffin. To fill the void, Old Fort Bank purchased a vacant bank building, 1950 vintage, and set about banking in the Downtown office. What started as a small operation has developed into our second largest banking office in terms of employees working to make community life better.  The full service office opened in 1995.

In the 1990’s mergers also limited the number of community banks serving Fostoria. Again, the bank met a need by offering community banking, Old Fort style, to a town with diversified businesses and a lot of development potential. The Fostoria office, located conveniently close to the Fostoria Plaza Shopping Center, was opened in 1996  and continues to grow by offering products and services that are straight-forward and customer friendly.

The Fremont office was opened in the fall of 1999. It offers a downtown Fremont presence for the business community as well as a centralized location that is just minutes from any location in the city limits. In addition, this office generates a large amount of business from surrounding Sandusky County farms and communities.

In 2000 we moved into the new century offering our services through Internet Banking. While not a bricks and mortar facility, this service continues to prove that community banking, the way it is done at Old Fort Bank, is welcomed in the communities we serve.

The Mortgage Processing Center was established in 2002 to create more mortgage loan opportunities in the Fremont area. The office is located in the Brady Building at 219 South Front Street in Fremont. With the opening of this office we have expanded our real estate loan portfolio to include a variety of mortgage loan options. This leased office was closed in 2006. With the new addition to the Old Fort office it opened up more office space inside our existing buildings to house this department.

In March 2003 as our great state of Ohio celebrated its Bicentennial, Old Fort Bank had a celebration of its own…the opening of our eighth full-service office in Clyde. Old Fort Bank was committed to the Clyde community from the very beginning. The new office located at 651 W. McPherson Highway was constructed and completed by local contractors. We were also pleased to have hired local people to staff the office.

In 2007, as Old Fort Bank transitioned into new leadership it also celebrated the opening of two more office locations.  A new office was opened in North Fremont just off of State Route 53 located at 2140 Enterprise Drive.  The full service office situated in a small shopping plaza brought welcome accolades from clients who shop in the area.

On May 2, 2008, the bank broke ground for a new full service financial center located at 15030 Flag City Drive in Findlay. In September, 2008, while Wall Street and the banking industry were suffering financial instability involving bail outs and buy outs of national "mega" banks, Old Fort Bank celebrated the opening of a new facility in Findlay. This was the first venture into a larger market as Old Fort Bank brought their brand of local community banking into Hancock County.

By November 2008, an opportunity presented itself to open a loan processing office to primarily serve the commercial business needs in the Centerville area.  With local top performing staff in place, Old Fort Bank looked forward to blazing new trails in Greene County.

Old Fort Bank... Safe and Financially Sound - The Old Fort Banking Company is well capitalized, tightly regulated and more risk averse than big banks, and we continue to make loans in the communities we serve.  In spite of the trouble on Wall Street, we will remain committed to taking deposits and making loans on "Main Street."  We take pride in being the cornerstone in our communities and our role in keeping our local economies vibrant and healthy.

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