A local financial institution is celebrating a milestone. Wednesday marks 130 years since the opening of what is currently known as Century Bank of the Ozarks in Gainesville.
It was July 24, 1894, when the former Bank of Gainesville was opened after being founded by James T. Harlin, and he hired his brother Tan to manage the business. Throughout the bank’s history, it has stayed in the Harlin family. Chris Harlin, the great nephew of James and Tan, has been the bank’s chief executive officer since 2000.
Chris Harlin says his family has been fortunate to have kept the bank going for so long and to watch its growth over the years.
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In addition to running the bank, the Harlin family has been pillars of the community over the years. Chris Harlin’s great grandfather, Johnny Harlin, served in the Missouri State Legislature and was involved in White River Valley Electric Cooperative in the 1930s and ’40s. Around 1940, a small electrical plant in Gainesville had burned down, and within a month, Johnny Harlin was able to get electricity from Taney County into Ozark County. He was also involved in getting state and federal politicians in Missouri and Arkansas and the country to promote the Norfork Dam, and he pushed to get the current bridge on U.S. Highway 160 at Theodosia over Bull Shoals Lake constructed instead of the ferry that was originally planned.
The community involvement continued with Chris’ grandfather, Hugh Harlin, and his parents, John and Linda. Hugh Harlin was Gainesville’s first mayor when it became an incorporated town in 1940. The Harlin family was also instrumental in getting the city’s Hootin an Hollarin festival started.
The Bank of Gainesville changed its name to Century Bank of the Ozarks in 1995 when it purchased the former Douglas County National Bank in Ava. The bank also has branches in Bakersfield and Theodosia, and it added a branch in Mountain Home in 2021. However, Chris Harlin says the bank’s attempt to expand into north central Arkansas started almost 20 years earlier.
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Century Bank will have its 130th anniversary celebration on Friday, and Harlin says they invite the public to all of their branches.
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KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot will broadcast live during the celebration Friday from 11 to 1 at Century Bank of the Ozarks’ main branch at 42 Fourth Street in Gainesville. The Treasure Chest will be there with $550 inside.
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