The Little Bank That Could: An Examination of the Historical and Financial Records of One Bank That Survived the Great Depression

Founded in 1910, The First National Bank of Oxford had been in existence for only about 20 years when the Great Depression struck. While other banks failed, this small bank in rural Mississippi survived, and it is still in operation today as FNB Oxford Bank. But beyond merely surviving, the First National Bank of Oxford appears to have thrived in this harsh financial climate: it doubled the balance of its individual depositors' accounts in the midst of the darkest months of the Great Depression. Using historical documents and extant accounting records, this paper examines how the First National Bank of Oxford was able to persist and prosper through the Great Depression. JEL Classifications: E02; G01; G21; G33; M41; N21. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text.