STURDIVANT WAS FIRST CAPE BANK; LOCAL SUCCESSOR STILL HERE 105 YEARS LATER

~Correction: Original Sturdivant Bank was apparently built in 1885 at Themis and Main. The present building was constructed in about 1891.

Sturdivant died in 1905.

W.H. Stubblefield Jr. succeeded L.J. Albert as president of the bank in 1912. Albert had been associated with the insittution since 1869.

When Cape County Savings Bank was organized in 1888, its founders prepared themselves against potential holdups by installing an alarm system that, when activated, sounded a bell in a barber shop located above the bank.

Downstairs, as an added safety measure, tellers kept pistols tucked inside their cash drawers.

Fortunately, the only close shaves experienced during the bank's early years were those given for two bits in the barber shop.

The bank, the fourth business to locate in a building on the corner of South High and Main Street in Jackson, was organized by J.E. Franklin and Charles Welling.

Franklin was the first president. Other founders included J.H. Schaefer, J.B. Shaner, F. Tiedemann, W.H. Miller, H.W. Howard and S.D. Williams.

Directors included W.C. Cracraft, W.W. Henderson, J.L. Hinkle, L.A. Goodwin, Henry Puls, A.D. Milde and C.H. Wolter.

The bank was organized May 15, 1888 and was chartered on May 27 of that year.

Cape County Bank wasn't the first locally owned bank in Cape Girardeau County, but it is the only one that has survived the fiscal roller coaster of inflation, deflation, ping-pong interest rates and increased competition.

"We tried to do things right," said Edwin R. Puls, who is a 52-year veteran in the banking business. "We tried to make good loans and offer good service."

Edwin Puls still maintains an office at Jackson, where he is chairman emeritus of the board.

Now, more than a century later, Cape County Bank has a new name Capital Bank and is headquartered in Cape Girardeau. Plus, it has some far-reaching operations.

Sturdivant Bank, which operated for more than six decades, was the first local bank in Cape Girardeau. Its expected longevity, however, was cut short by the Depression.

Col. Robert Sturdivant, a native Virginian who had taught school, worked in construction and operated a mercantile business on Water Street in Cape Girardeau, founded the Bank of Sturdivant in downtown Cape Girardeau in 1866. He was president, and Leon J. Albert was cashier.

The bank thrived, and a new Sturdivant Bank building was constructed at the corner of Themis and Main in 1885. That building still stands. When Sturdivant retired in 1912, Albert became president. He was followed by William H. Stubblefield. (SEE CORRECTION)

Despite its stature in the community, the bank fell victim to the economy, closing on Nov. 7, 1932.

Failure of the bank was blamed on "frozen loans" loans which could not be collected because of depressed conditions.

Other turn-of-the century banks that no longer exist in Cape Girardeau County, include:

Farmers & Merchants Bank of Cape Girardeau, founded in 1904 amd acquired by Boatmen's Bank in 1982. Henry A. Nussbaum, a Cape Girardeau merchant, was active in organizing Farmers & Merchants, first located at 632 Good Hope to serve needs of the busy Haarig section of the city.

First National Bank, Cape Girardeau, was chartered in 1891 and reorganized in 1911. David A. Glenn was first president of First National and L.S. Joseph was cashier.

The bank, located at 115 N. Main, was acquired by First Union Bank in 1973. First National was later acquired by Centerre Bank, which was acquired by Boatmen's Bank in 1988.

Jackson Exchange Bank was founded in 1894, and later expanded into Cape Girardeau. The bank was closed in 1992 due to financial difficulties.

William Parr, a Cape Girardeau merchant who later moved to Jackson, helped establish the People's National Bank in 1904. The bank opened at Jackson in 1904, and was acquired by Cape County Bank in 1928.

The German-American Bank opened at 42 Main in Cape Girardeau in 1902, and became part of Southeast Missouri Trust Co. in 1907. L.F. Kostermann was first president of the German-American Bank. He was followed by G.C. Thilenius.

Other banks which opened at the turn of the century and later closed included the Oak Ridge Bank, 1905; Bank of Whitewater, 1904; Bank of Gordonville, 1904.

The institution now known as Capital Bank has a distinguished history. During the first 100-plus years in the bank's history there have been only 11 presidents. Current president of Capital Bank Cape County is Charles Daniels.

Franklin, the first president and one of the founders, served from 1888 to 1894. Two presidents served in that position 20 years or longer W. H. Miller, the second man in the highest position, served from 1894 to 1914, and Louis H. Schrader, who became president in 1950 and served until 1975.

Van H. Puls became president in 1984 when his father, Edwin R. Puls, retired. The younger Puls' grandfather, Henry Puls, also served as president of the bank from 1940-1950. Van H. Puls is now president of Capital Bancorporation.

Edwin R. Puls, who joined the bank in 1940, named the presidents through the bank's history.

"They are Franklin, Miller, W.C. Cracraft, C.W. Henderson, A.A. Boss, Henry Puls, Schrader, Edwin R. Puls, Van H. Pulls, and Kent Puchbauer and Daniels," said Puls.

In 1907, the bank changed its name to Cape County Savings and remained that until 70 years later when it once again became Cape County Bank.

Through the Depression years, many banks failed, but Cape County had few large real estate loans, and thus weathered the Depression era.

Expansion became a trademark with the firm in the 1920s. The bank purchased the Olive Building, which housed a restaurant, and expanded. The first of several bank acquisitions took place in 1928, when it acquired the Peoples National Bank. During the early 1930s, it acquired the Bank of Pocahontas.

The Cape County Bank of Cape Girardeau was chartered in 1983, and the bank holding company, County Bancorporation, Inc., was founded.

Other acquisitions have included First National Bank of Perryville and Clayton-based Capital Bank and Trust, First Federal Savings & Loan of Southeast Missouri and, only recently, Magna Bank of Southern Missouri.

The bank changed from Cape County to Capital Bank, and from Cape County Bancorporation to Capital Bancorporation.

Now, Capital Bancorporation is a multi-bank holding company headquartered in Cape Girardeau. The company operates 26 banking facilities through six affiliate banks in southeastern, southwestern, central and eastern Missouri, with total assets exceeding $775 million on Dec. 31.

A total of seven banks now operate in Cape Girardeau. They are Capital Bank; Boatmen's Bank, 2001 William; Mercantile Bank, 325 N. Kingshighway; South East Bank, 111 S. Broadview; AmeriFirst Bank, 3060 William; First National Bank, 2027 Broadway; and the newest bank in town, Commerce Bank, 160 S. Broadview.