Putnam County

To better appreciate the Jackson Bank & Trust of today, we must first understand its past. The bank began as the Bank of Whitleyville in 1916. It was founded by Mr. Jonah S. Dudney, who served as the bank’s first Chief Executive Officer. In 1933, the main office was moved from Whitleyville to Gainesboro, although the Whitleyville bank was allowed to remain and operate as a branch office. 

The question might be raised as to why Whitleyville would be selected for a banking operation. The town, located on Jennings Creek upstream from the Cumberland River, had several natural advantages, mainly a fertile bottom land and forested hills. These would prove desirable for the businesses of farming and lumber.

Whitleyville indeed would become a small, but thriving, mercantile center. When the Bank of Whitleyville started its operations, there were two general stores, both with chicken houses on the premises; the hens would lay their eggs while waiting for the produce man to take them to market. There was also a blacksmith shop with a watermill to grind cornmeal. Whitleyville had its own post office, school, church and drug store, along with a medical doctor and dentist.

Mr. Dudney may have been a true visionary. Obviously, there was a tremendous potential to serve this isolated area where credit was practically unknown. But, a basic problem remained: transportation.
Merchandise came up from the Cumberland River from Nashville by steamboat. Goods were unloaded at Lee’s Landing, at the mouth of Jennings Creek, then transported by mule and wagon to Whitleyville. But this transaction could only be carried out during the spring and winter seasons, when the river tide was high enough for the steamboat to navigate.

Because of severe flooding problems, the bank, the general store, post office, and one residence move on the new ‘road pike’. On August 31, 1933, the Bank of Whitleyville changed its name to the Jackson County Bank and opened its main office in Gainesboro. 
On December 20, 1934, the Jackson County Bank purchased the Security Bank & Trust Company of Gainesboro, closing the Security Bank’s main office. Its Granville branch was converted to a branch of the Jackson County Bank.

In July of 1995, Jackson County Bank changed its name to Jackson Bank & Trust. This change was in preparation for expansion into Putnam County. Cookeville is the county seat of Putnam County and the home of Tennessee Technological University. This fast-growing neighbor of Jackson County provided a new opportunity to share Jackson Bank & Trust’s Home Style Banking with a whole new group of customers. 

In September of 1995, the first branch in Putnam County was opened on Jefferson Avenue in Cookeville. The response from our new friends in Cookeville was outstanding and the bank continued to grow. In August of 1998, a completely new branch was constructed on Jackson Street in Cookeville. This new state-of-the-art facility serves not only as the center of Jackson Bank & Trust’s Putnam county operations, but also as a proud architectural landmark… admired by all for its classic beauty.

Since opening in 1916, the Jackson County Bank has served continuously, without interruption. From the original organization to the present, the Board of Directors and Management have been composed of local men and women.