Bank History
Bank of Hiawassee Still Growing After 100 Years of Service
With $25,000 in working capital, 10 local businessmen saw the need for a bank in Hiawassee. On June 14, 1909, our bank charter authorizing Bank of Hiawassee, was signed by the Secretary of the State of Georgia.
A site for the bank was secured when T.J. Hooper and John H. Davis each donated ten feet of property on the south side of the town square in Hiawassee. The building blocks used in the construction of the bank were formed under a large oak tree across from the construction site on the town's square. Bank of Hiawassee would be the first building in the county constructed from these blocks. When construction was completed in August 1909, Bank of Hiawassee opened to serve the Towns County area.
As the Bank continued to grow and serve the community, a new building would soon be needed to accommodate our needs. In 1955, a new Bank building was erected on the southwest corner of the town square. Additional remodeling and further expansions occurred in 1964, 1975, and 1986. By 1996, a totally new facility was built on South Main Street in Hiawassee. The building on the southwest corner of the town square was remodeled in 2007 and now houses the Bank's operations department.
Bank of Hiawassee grew and prospered throughout the next decades. Our customers and strong bank leadership are credited with keeping the Bank stable during the turbulent years leading up to and including the Great Depression.
Our Vision is the same today as it was more than 100 years ago. Bank of Hiawassee strives to be the leading provider of financial services through employees who are, among other things, passionate about service, proactive, and committed to the pursuit of excellence.
We, at Bank of Hiawassee, value our customers and make them our Number One priority and the most important ingredient in our business recipe; that trust, integrity and reliability will become the benchmark for excellence in our markets; and that our community involvement is vital to our success and is demonstrated through financial commitment and staff participation.
We have five branches; Hiawassee, Ingles Supermarket in Hiawassee, Young Harris, Blairsville and Blue Ridge. Our professional, friendly staff at Bank of Hiawassee is proud to be able to meet the needs of a growing and diverse population without sacrificing the personalized service and attention our customers have learned to expect.
