At the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County, TN, we are always eager to hear the history of places, people and businesses that make Tennessee what it is today. One of those flagship businesses is Heritage Foundation sponsor First Tennessee Bank. With a remarkable history that expands from the Civil War to Prescott, a robot that delivers mail and packages around the bank’s ops center, First Tennessee has the 14th oldest national bank charter in the country.
The turbulent final years of the Civil War might seem like a risky time to launch a bank in the South. Yet the First National Bank, founded in Memphis in 1864 (the same year as the Battle of Franklin), prospered and expanded. Over a century and a half later, that same bank is First Tennessee Bank, the largest in the state and the only regional bank that is chartered and headquartered in Tennessee.
Founded when Abraham Lincoln was president, the bank survived the war, but other disasters followed. When the 1878 yellow fever broke out, killing thousands and forcing most of the remaining citizens to flee, the bank’s doors remained open and helped distribute relief funds. Over the years, both the city and the bank endured floods, recessions, the Great Depression, two World Wars and decades of social change.
First Tennessee’s history is a dramatic saga that spans from its early and uncertain beginning, past turmoil and disaster, through periods of major growth and expansion. Aligning with the story of Tennessee’s past, the bank has curated an acclaimed collection of paintings and sculptures known as the First Tennessee Heritage Collection. Every bit as colorful and dramatic as that of the bank’s history, the Heritage Collection is one of the finest corporate art collections in the region. Housed at First Tennessee Bank’s headquarters in downtown Memphis, the Heritage Collection is made up of over 200 works of art. Not only does the collection celebrate important people, places and events in Tennessee history, but it also cements the bank’s ties with the city and state that it has now called home for 155 years.
One of the most iconic pieces of the Heritage Collection is the First Tennessee Heritage Mural. Depicting the entire scope of Tennessee’s history, the mural stretches for more than 100 feet along the western wall of the bank’s main lobby at 165 Madison in downtown Memphis.
A couple of years after the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County was formed with the mission “to conserve the best of the past and to plan for the benefit of the future,” bank officials also began thinking about the preservation of their history. In its 1971 report to stakeholders, bank officials explained, “If we had to sum up our operating philosophy, it might be done in three words: Never Stand Still.” Officials introduced their new name, changing the bank’s name from First Nationals Holding Corporation to First Tennessee National Corporation.
The bank’s expansion in Williamson County boomed from 2003 to 2008, with 25 new financial centers. Williamson County was the first place the bank had expanded at that level, having never opened that many new centers in a new market. First Tennessee’s newest addition to Williamson County is the transformation of the 1970s-era First Tennessee Bank at the 231 Public Square Building. The new branch, known as the Franklin Main Financial Center, is located on the first floor.
Although the branch opened in January First Tennessee Bank is hosting a grand reopening on Friday, May 3rd with refreshments and a tour of the newly renovated financial center. The reopening will be held from 4 – 6 p.m. with the ribbon cutting taking place at 4:30 p.m. The event is open to the public.
First Tennessee continues to provide innovative and stable leadership in banking as well as in local communities across the state. Their support provides individuals and organizations, like the Heritage Foundation, with the resources they need to serve others.
For more information about First Tennessee Bank, visit https://www.firsttennessee.com/