Grace National Bank

It was established as local private bank by W. R. Grace and Company in 1914 to concentrate on business done in South America.

The founding president was J. Louis Schaefer, a vice-president at W. R. Grace and Company.

He died in 1927 and was succeeded by Francis H. McKnight (1927-1933) then Chester R. Dewey.

Grace National Bank lost clients and deposits during the Great Depression of the 1930s but survived and began growing again in the post World War II era.

In 1950, the bank earned the largest gross and net profit in its thirty-five-year history.