Tipton has been served by several banks through the years : the People's Bank, organized in the 1890's; the Bank of Tipton, organized sometime prior to 1891, reorganized in 1904 as the Farmers Bank of Tipton the Trader's Bank which ceased operation in 1923, and the Tipton Farmers Bank orga­nized in 1933.

Commerce Bancshares, Inc., a Kan­sas City-based bank holding company purchased the Tipton Farmers Bank in 1970. The name was changed to Commerce Bank of Tipton. At that time the bank had assets of $3,700,000 and loans of $1,500,000. In 1976 the assets are $12,000,000 and loans in the Tipton community are $8,300,000.

The present bank building was built in 1955 on the corner of Morgan Street and Osage Avenue. The bank has a drive-thru window, fire-proof safety boxes and a night depository.

The Tipton Branch Office of First State Savings Association was made possible by the purchase of the assets of the Tipton Building and Loan Associa­tion. The first office was opened in June 1963 at 124 West Moniteau Mr. J.E. Mitchell, Sedalia, Missouri was president at that time and Lillith Leonard served as the first branch manager.

The Tipton office was moved to their new office building at 445 South Moreau, one block north of Highways 5 and 50 junction on February 27,1976.

At the present time Dolores Jane Drake is branch manager of the Tipton branch. She has served in that capacity for seven years. Reta Spillars is secretary and teller.

First State Savings Association of Sedalia was established under a State Charter, June 1913. Now 63 years later, with eight branch offices, and the home office at Sedalia, the total assets are $80,000,000.

Two other savings and loan institutions have agents in Tipton. Glen Dahl is the agent for City National Savings and Loan of Jefferson City and Vernon Nau is the agent for Boonslick Savings and Loan of Boonville.

Production Credit Association service was first brought to the Tipton area in 1933 when the Versailles PCA was chartered to include the territory of Morgan, Moniteau, Benton, Miller, and Cooper Counties. Tipton was selected as the site of a field office to serve Moniteau County.

A year later, in 1934, the Versailles PCA merged with PCAs at Marshall and Fulton to form the Jefferson City Production Credit Association.

In October, 1970, a new PCA office on Highway 50 in Tipton was built and Tipton became headquarters of a field unit that includes Morgan, Moniteau, and Cooper Counties.

Don Snorgrass will shortly begin duties as manager of the field unit. 

Production Credit Association is an agricultural cooperative that provides short and intermediate-term credit to farmers for agricultural production.