Communities Gainesville The Harlins

The Harlins of Gainesville

Three generations ago, in 1894, Jim and Tan Harlin decided this remote area of the Ozarks needed its own financial institution and so started their own tiny bank with a mere $5,000 in capital stock, the Bank of Gainesville. By the end of their first day of business, the bank's resources stood at $11,663.17.

The Harlin brothers of Ozark County, in 1927, with their mother. Back row, from left: Joe, Charlie, Jarrett, Johnny. Front row: Jim, Dewey, Mary Conkin Harlin,  Tan and Frank.

We talked with John Harlin, fourth generation bank president, to hear about the bank's history from one who watched it grow. 

"When I was a child, the bank was such a huge part of our lives, and yet the bank in those days seems so tiny from where we are today. Mom and Dad had to be in there all the time. And I remember my father and grandfather working in there six to seven days a week. Some people thought we had lots of money. I know we were more secure financially than many people in those days, but none of it came easy. Compared to most people's lives today, it was a meager, hand-to-mouth existence. There was no margin for error. It seemed such drudgery to me that when I was a young man there were two things I knew I would never do. I would never live in Gainesville and I would never work in anybody's bank."

John Harlin left Gainesville to serve his time in the military, finished college, married his college sweetheart, Linda Fleenor of Houston, and the two settled in West Plains, where they started a business. 

"The plan, if you could call it a plan, was to get Linda set up in the shop (a clothing store) and then I would do something else, something that was pretty undefined in my mind. Maybe go into sales, something like that. But we discovered that my presence was needed more in the store. Someone needed to do the drudge work, stocking shelves, keeping the books. So I decided to find something part-time."

"It was the best thing that could have happened. They just used me where they needed me, which was everywhere. I ran the bookkeeping machine, kept track of loans on an old Boston ledger. I experienced every aspect of the business, and started seeing banking from a whole different perspective. I saw the whole picture, and it was fascinating. "

John Harlin with his father, Hugh Tan Harlin, in 1970.

"I went to work at First National in August of 1963. In February, 1964, my uncle died, which left an opening here in the bank. Dad asked me to make a decision. I took my time, because it was a major change in our lives. In the fall of 1965, I decided, and on February 1, 1966, we moved back to Gainesville. It seemed like something I couldn't avoid. Looking back, it didn't seem like a momentous decision at the time. But it has been one of the defining moments of my life. I guess it's like that for most people. As a young person banking was something I couldn't imagine doing on purpose. You have all these things you want to do. But as you get older and change, you begin to see things differently. "

Today the Bank of Gainesville has become Century Bank of the Ozarks. They have a branch office in Ava (the former Douglas County Bank). They also have branches in Theodosia and Bakersfield.

Written by Marideth Sisco, from interviews with John Harlin. Photos from The Harlins of Ozark County,by Hugh Tan Harlin.