The Peoples National Bank is a mid-Victorian design.

The history of The Peoples National Bank and the consruction of its building really began with two familes, the Clouds and the Millers, each of whom organized banks in McLeansboro during the late nineteenth century. Aaron G. and Ellenor Cloud moved to McLeansboro in 1852 to open a mercantile business in a brick building located on the southwest corner of the town square (today the site of the McCoy Library). In addition to the store business, Aaron Cloud made loans, bought and sold gold and securities, and engaged in real estate trade. He also served as the cashier of the first Hamilton County Bank from 1855-62. Soon he acquired tremendous wealth, and with it, made certain that his two surviving children, Charlon G. and Mary Ellen Cloud, each received the best education available in that day. Mary Ellen studied oil painting in Terre Haute, Cincinnati, and Paris, while Chalon first attended Asbury University in Greencastle, Indiana (now DePauw University), and then attended business school in Cincinnati.

Aaron Guard Cloud (1818-1893)

Tmmediately upon his return in 1871, Chalon Cloud organized the second Hamilton County Bank in the rear of his father's store. One year later, perhaps because he needed additional capital to operate, Chalon formed a partnership with his father, Aaron. Essentially, Aaron would continue to provide the facilities of operation and would provide the bank with additional capital as needed, while Chalon would handle the bank's daily operations, reap its profits, and bear any losses. The Hamilton County Bank established by Chalon Cloud lasted until his death in 1908, after which it was reorganized as the Cloud State Bank. In 1897, during the economic depression that followed the Panic of 1893, Chalon invited the Hon. William P. Sloan of Golconda to join him as a full partner. Sloan had been president of the Pope County State Bank, and brought with him excellent credit plus additional capital.

John H. Miller's business experience began with a hardware store that he opened in Enfield in 1879. Later, he moved his hardware business to McLeansboro, but sold it in 1892. In January of 1893, he opened the doors of the Peoples Bank in the east end of the grand Opera Block, today next door to the Dairy Queen Restraurant. Mr. Miller's political interests led him to the Republican Party, for which he served as the Hamilton County central committee chairman six years. In 1900 and again in 1902, he was elected to the Illinois General Assembly. During his second term, he served as Speaker of the House.

The People's Bank operated under Miller's leadership until his death in 1907. As suggested in his will, the trustees of his estate nationalized the bank, and The Peoples National Bank opened in 1909 with a capital stock of $35,000 by this time having moved to the northwest corner of the square (today the Aydt Insurance office).

In 1903, the First National Bank opened under General James R. Campbell's leadership in the Hogan law office building, today the site of Bonan & Bonan law office. George Hogan, who was president of The People's National Bank from 1910 until his death in 1929, owned the building in which the First National Bank operated. In December 1910, a curious development took place. General Campbell, acting on behalf of The First National Bank, purchased the building on the northwest corner of the square. With that purchase, General Campbell, president of the First National Bank, owned the building in which the Peoples National Bank was located. At the same time, George Hogan, president of The Peoples National Bank, owned the building where the First National Bank carried on its business. The two leaders realized the conflict of interest, so the two banks traded facilities in early 1911. From that time until 1924, The Peoples National Bank operated in the same building as the Hogan law office.

When Chalon Cloud died in 1908, his will specified that the trustees of his estate could nationalize the bank or seek a charter to become a state bank as they wished. They applied for a certificate of authorization to operate from the Illinois auditor of public accounts, and the Cloud State Bank was born in 1909 with a capital stock of $50,000. Jackson S. Lockett, long time cashier of the old Hamilton County Bank, served as its first president. Later, Gustav Schoemann, who with his brother Samson owned and operated a department store on the square, succeeded Mr. Lockett. The Cloud State Bank conducted business in the same building as The Hamilton County Bank, which Aaron Cloud had erected in 1880-82. Today the building serves The Peoples National Bank.

In December 1923, the Illinois state bank commissioner declared the Cloud State Bank insolvent. Following negotiations with Peoples National and First National Board of Directors, an agreement was reached whereby the Cloud State Bank would be liquidated and The Peoples National Bank and The First National Bank would each assume fifty percent of the Cloud State Bank's resources and liabilities. As part of the agreement, The Peoples National Bank purchased the Cloud State Bank building for the sum of $12,500. The Peoples National Bank moved from its location on the north side of the square soon afterward, and in 1925, exchanged the old Peoples National Bank vault doors (weighing 14,000 pounds) with the former Cloud State Bank vault doors. This explains why the vault doors purchased by John Henry Miller in 1893 are in The Peoples National Bank today. The original vault doors purchased by Mr. Cloud may be seen today in the Bonan & Bonan law office. In fact, The Peoples Bank vault doors moved to each of the bank's lcoations.

The Peoples National Bank building possesses a rich history. In 1880, with Chalon guiding the bank's daily operations, Aaron Cloud contracted James Reid of Evansville to design a new bank building. James and his brother Merritt, Canadians by birth, had recently settled in Evansville in the employ of the architectural firm of Boyd & Brickley, who had designed the Willard Library and the Nisbet House in Evansville. After Boyd & Brickley left Evansville in 1878-79, the Reid Brothers, as they came to be known, pruchased the firm and its contracts. They also designed several buildings for the owners of teh Evansville & Terre Haute Railroad, David Mackey. Later James and Merritt settled on the West Coast, where they designed the famousl Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, the Claus Spreckels building in San Francisco (which survived the 1906 earthquake unscathed), and many other buildings in Cornonado, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon.

Although not the Reid Brothers' first independent design, The Peoples National Bank building dates from the first year of the firm's existence. One can see in the structure not the inexperience of green architects, but rather, the maturity of well-trained, budding artists. Facilitated by almost daily written or personal contact with the bank's owener, A. G. Cloud, and his daughter, artist Mary Ellen Cloud McCoy, the Reid Brothers worked to develop a plan that was both beautiful and practical. Thus Mr. Cloud largely determined teh size and location of the vault, while Mary Ellen had much to say about stylistic traits. James Reid insisted upon the very best quality materials together with thick brick walls made of "hard burned brick," reinforced with iron rods and brackets and supported by a solid foundation. The Reid Brothers contracted several of the out-of-town firms involved in the construction on Aaron Cloud's behalf, and reserved the right to condemn any work deemed unsatisfactory by them.

The Peoples National Bank building was erected at a total cost of $23,000. Some of the firms contracted include: Swanson Brothers, Evanville (interior woodwork); J. B. Mesker & Son, Evansville (iron, zinc, and tin work); Pettes & Leathe, St. Louis (interior French polished plate glass); Aspinwall & Son, New York (floor tile); J. J West, Chicago (statue of the Greek goddess Flora inside the bank); MacNeale & Urban, Cincinnati (safe and vault doors); and T. F. & J. A. Hayden, St. Louis (slate roof).

Interior Detail

The Peoples National Bank building is a mid-Victorian design, sometimes known as Second Empire French Baroque, incorporating a square mansard rood made of tin and lined with slate on the sides. The bank's neo-Classic facade combines Classical arched windows with rusticated Corinthian columns and pilasters extending to the attic story and corresponding to the height of the interior's original ceiling. Towering above the rugged foundation of sandstone, brick, and limestone, the alternating deep red brick and white limestone of the columns and pilasters provide a beautiful contrast. The perfectly symmetrical facade is crowned with a "bull's eye" tower that since 1886 has housed the bank's clock. Covered with zinc shingles, the tower seems to grow right out of the center columns bordering the front entrance, clearly communicating a message of strength and stability. The south wall's six classical windows would have been mirrored in the north wall had it not been designed as a firewall instead. Inside, the tall ceiling and the open area above the vault combined to create a feeling of space. Altogether, the elegance of the exterior design coupled with the interior furnishings and woodwork combines to present an image of refined elegance such as one might have expected to encounter only in larger, more sophisticated metropolitian areas.

The Peoples National Bank always strove to operate on a 100 percent liquid basis. Of the three banks - the Hamilton County Bank, The Peoples National Bank, and the First National Bank - only The Peoples National Bank still exists. Even during The Great Depression, its doors never closed.

The Peoples National Bank now with locations in Fairfield, Harrisburg, McLeansboro, Mt. Vernon, and Salem has grown to over $200,000,000 in assets since its establishment in 1909. We are proud of our rich heritage and continue to offer financial services in the spirit of serving the needs of people.