Hopalong Cassidy Bank

The Hopalong Cassidy Savings Club was offered by Springdale's First State Bank in the 1950s as a way to teach local kids the value of saving money. Those who joined the club were given a genuine Hopalong piggy bank.

First State Bank of Springdale was organized in 1923. The first board of directors included Tom Hargis, G. E. Loudermilk, Elmer Johnson, J. R. Joyce, and William R. Bunch. Shelby Ford, who served as the bank's president during the rise of the Northwest Arkansas poultry industry in the 1940s-1960s, became known as the "Chicken Banker" because of his willingness to advance funds to such a financial risk as the poultry business was known to be.

Donated by Mrs. Eugene Eddy

First State Bank employees deck out in Western attire to help promote the Hopalong Cassidy Savings Club. Photo courtesy Marcella Sharum S-2003-2-1060