Farmers Bank of the State of Delaware

The Farmers Bank of the State of Delaware was incorporated on February 4, 1807. After the liquidation of the Bank of Delaware in 1930, it was the oldest surviving bank in the state. The State of Delaware held the majority of the stock, but the bank was privately managed. The Farmers Bank encountered financial difficulties in the mid-1970s and was sold to the Girard Bank of Philadelphia.

The chartering of the bank was designed to provide banking and credit facilities to the state's farmers, particularly those in Kent and Sussex Counties. As established in 1807 there were three semi-autonomous banks: the main office in Dover, and branches in New Castle and Georgetown, i.e., one in each county. The bank was to have 27 directors, equally divided among the three offices, with 9 to be elected by the General Assembly. The bank was established as the custodian of certain state and county government funds, and the income from the state's stock holding was applied to the state school fund.

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