History of Farmers & Merchants

The Oklahoma Land Run of 1889 opened up the Oklahoma Territory to settlement and Crescent came into existence due to this historic event.  Crescent became a thriving community with various businesses and a hard working farm community.

Articles of Incorporation were filed on August 25th, 1902 with the secretary of Oklahoma Territory and it named the organizers of the Farmers & Merchants as Arno Beyer, Eugene Beyer and R.S. Smith.

In 1904, the bank moved to the Southwest corner of Grand and Monroe and continued to operate there until 1969, when it moved to the new banking quarters East across Grand Street and has remained in that location to the present time.

The Farmers & Merchants Bank has continued to grow and prosper with our community due to the strong dedicated leadership.  Since 1902, the bank has had seven Presidents that have continued the tradition of safety, soundness and stability.  The bank has been locally owned since inception and continues that tradition today.

In 1936, during the depths of the Great Depression, our bank merged with the First State Bank of Lovell, Oklahoma and in 1995 merged with the Bank of Crescent.  In 1998, a new full service banking facility was opened on the East side of Guthrie and in 2004, another new full service banking facility was opened on the South side of Guthrie.  Our locally owned Holding Company, The Farmers & Merchants Bancshares, also owns the F&M Bank, N.A. of Surrey Hills, Oklahoma and it also operates at three locations.

The strong leadership over 100 years has enabled our bank to weather a number of events, such as the Depression of the 30’s, and the banking crisis of the 80’s and continues our tradition as a very sound, safe and conservative banking institution.  The Farmers & Merchants Bank of Crescent and Guthrie, Oklahoma is now beginning its 2nd 100 years of excellence in banking and we look forward to being your community bank for many years to come.