Our History –– 1917 to Present

In 1917 the Farmers State Bank of Cedar, Inc. began operating in the town of Cedar, Anoka County, Minnesota. Originally the bank was located on a stop for the main railroad line between Minneapolis and Duluth. Once the railroad ceased to be a factor, the bank found itself operating in a low traffic area with small quarters and it therefore experienced slow growth until the 1970s.
   
In July of 1976, Thomas P. Dolphin, then President of the bank, purchased controlling interest in the $3.5 million bank. In about 1977, the bank changed its name to the Crosstown State Bank of Cedar, Inc. At that same time, detached facilities offices were allowed to be established by state banks, and Crosstown put one at State Highway 65 and 242 in Blaine, the south end of its area, and one at the intersection of Anoka County Highways 9 and 24 in St. Francis, the north end of its area.
   
By 1980 the bank had grown to $10 million in assets and the bank charter was moved from it's location in Cedar to the high visibility intersection of State Highway 65 and Anoka County Road 18 (Crosstown Boulevard) in Ham Lake. Shortly after the move of the charter to Ham Lake, the Crosstown Holding Company (CHC) was formed and it became the owner of the Crosstown State Bank of Ham Lake, Inc.
   
In 1983, the St. Francis detached facility, established in 1978, was converted to an off premise ATM location. The year 1986 had the bank expanding its State Highways 65 and 242 Blaine office. The facility was increased by a two story 14,000 square foot building and the commercial lending function was moved to that office.
   
In the years 1986 through 1996 the bank grew from $39,449,000 to $69,637,000 in assets and from $23,195,000 to $41,126,000 in total loans. Its focus was primarily commercial business with heavy emphasis on real estate as collateral.
   
CHC purchased a second bank operation in March of 1996, acquiring the Balaton Agency which owned the 21st Century Bank of Balaton, Minnesota. This southwestern Minnesota bank, with total assets of $79,198,000, in addition to its main office in Balaton, had offices in Tracy and North Mankato, Minnesota. Due to this purchase, the combined assets of CHC reached over $150 million. As a result of the acquisition, it was determined that the Crosstown State Bank of Ham Lake, Inc. should change its name to 21st Century Bank-North. This took place on January 1, 1998, as it was felt that the 21st Century Bank name had more appeal and that unifying the brand identity of the offices would be a positive marketing factor.
   
The next significant event was the move of the recently acquired 21st Century Bank charter from Balaton in southwestern Minnesota to Rogers, Hennepin County, Minnesota, with the existing Balaton office being retained as a detached facility. The newly constructed facility in Rogers which opened for business in November of 1998 represented an over $1,000,000 investment in land and building. At about the same time as the charter move, CHC concluded that the agriculturally based Balaton and Tracy locations did not fit the overall business plan of the company. Therefore, the 21st Century Bank agreed to sell off its Balaton and Tracy offices to Minnwest Corporation. This transaction was closed on April 23, 1999. In addition to the physical offices, approximately $30,500,000 in deposits and $17,000,000 in loans were transferred in the sale.
   
As of December 31, 2001, CHC and its two subsidiaries were $150,000,000 in total assets. In November of 2002, the two bank charters, 21st Century Bank with offices in Rogers (main office) and North Mankato, and 21st Century Bank-North with offices in Ham Lake, Blaine (two locations), and an ATM site in St. Francis, Minnesota, merged and are known as 21st Century Bank. The offices remain the same as with the two charters, with Ham Lake serving as the charter office. As of December 31, 2003, the bank had grown to nearly $200 million in total assets.
   
During the first three quarters of 2004, the bank had a number of major events take place. In March of 2004, CHC entered into a purchase agreement to buy the State Bank of Loretto (SBL) from the Grinnell family, which had controlled the SBL for five decades. In May of 2004, the 21st Century Bank agreed to sell its North Mankato office to Pioneer Bank of Mapleton. This transaction was closed on August 19, 2004, and on September 3, 2004, CHC bought 100% of the stock of the SBL. Contemporaneously with the purchase, the SBL charter was merged into the 21st Century Bank and the bank's charter office was moved from Ham Lake to Loretto, Minnesota.
   
From the period since the 2004 purchase of the SBL, we have experienced record earnings for the years 2004-2007. In each of those years, our earnings exceeded $4,000,000. The earning levels we experienced pushed our capital to over $40 million and our assets total around $380 million. We have increased our loans within the community we serve to over $300 million. In November of 2007 we opened our sixth full service location in Minneapolis at the corner of Washington and Hennepin Avenues. We continue to invest heavily in technology to provide the most up to date banking capability. As in our history, it is our goal in the future to serve you in the way you choose to do business, whether that be by computer, by phone, or in person.
   
The Crosstown Holding Company, which is the parent company of the 21st Century Bank, is controlled by Thomas P. Dolphin, President of the company. Mr. Dolphin also serves as Chief Executive Officer of the bank charter. The organization has been under his ownership and management control since June of 1976.

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