Old State Bank
The Old State Bank offers a variety of programs and services for people interested in local history. Guided tours, guest lecture programs and special events are offered at the museum. The museum staff is available to speak with local civic and school groups. Tour groups are encouraged to make advance reservations for their visit. Built in 1833 to house the Tennessee Valley branch of the state bank, the bank was chartered as a branch of the Bank of the State of Alabama at Decatur. This prompted the common name it is known by as the "Old State Bank". As a result of the nationwide depression in 1837, the Decatur bank franchise was revoked by 1842. After the bank failed, the building's purpose varied. During the Civil War, the Old State Bank served as a Union army hospital. It was one of only four buildings to survive the town's destruction during the war. In the aftermath of the war, the First National Bank of Decatur occupied the space and helped to finance the town's regrowth. The building was restored in the late 1970s as a historic museum interpreting the building's use in the 1830s as a bank and cashier's apartment.
