1 E Jefferson Street

The History

This is the site of the first bank in Hernando County. Community leaders like the Jennings, Varn, Burwell, and Law families believed the lack of a local bank was hampering business development.  So they joined forces to form The Hernando State Bank, opening for business on July 1, 1905. Their bank was ultimately the only bank to ultimately survive the challenges of the Great Depression.

James A. Jennings served as its first president followed by William M. McKethan in 1924 and then his son, Alfred A. McKethan became president in 1943.  Alfred’s son-in-law, Jim Kimbrough, became Hernando State Bank President in 1978 and continued serving through several mergers - becoming Sun Bank and later SunTrust.  Lex Smith became SunTrust President in 2008. Smith became a Senior Wealth Advisor with Truist, and Kimbrough retired in 2017 after serving 50 years as an officer and director.

The original building was flanked by Roger’s Department Store and Coogler’s Drugs/Hope Drug Store (present-day parking lot to the north). The 1951 remodel saw the addition of the marble walls as well as the large extension of the building. The building also received a major renovation in the early 1970s adding a third story, an elevator, and parking at the north entrance across from the Lykes Library and Hernando Park.  After a merger in 2019, the building became home to Truist Bank.

CITATIONS/CREDIT: Kimbrough Family and Our Story by Alfred McKethan