Merchants Bank (Company)

In the late 1800s, Winona, Minnesota was a booming town on the Mississippi River and home to hundreds of migrant workers from Poland, Germany and France. Most of them worked for the lumber mills and other businesses that supported the growing town. Our founders recognized the need to serve Winona’s working class population and established Merchants National Bank in 1875. Merchants Bank opened for business on July 12, 1875 with $100,000 in assets and Mark Willson serving as President. Merchants Banks’ commitment to being the workingman’s bank was something our founders didn’t take lightly. All tellers were expected to speak and write in English, German and Polish. Even the design of our flagship location in Winona reflected our small business mentality, from wood accents to pay homage to Winona’s lumber industry to a stained glass pattern in honor of local farmers’ cornfields.