In January of 1865, three months before General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, a new bank opened its doors at 21 Elm Street in Woodstock Village.
The Woodstock National Bank was born.
Situated in the heart of the picturesque village, the fabled bank evoked the spirit of small-town American life celebrated in Frank Capra’s classic 1946 film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” featuring the legendary James “Jimmy” Stewart as the iconic hometown banker and everyman, George Bailey. For the next 134-years until it was merged into the First Vermont Bank and Trust Company in 1999 and subsequently fell to nationwide bank consolidation phenomenon of the 2000s, the Woodstock National Bank was the quintessential hometown bank — a living, breathing space into which you could walk, manage your finances, and chat amiably with tellers, friends and neighbors while you were at it.
The current iteration of the bank at 21 Elm Street — TD Bank’s Woodstock branch – will close on Jan. 29 of next year, ending, at least for now, 160 years of the continuous operation of a bank at the venerable Elm Street setting.
According to TD Bank’s national website, the banking giant retains more than 20 operating locations in Vermont, with the nearest branches to Woodstock slated to continue functioning in Killington and Montpelier.
For more on this, please see our November 13 edition of the Vermont Standard.
