Images of America: Barnett Bank

Banking in the sparsely settled, frontier Florida of the nineteenth century was not for the timid or the easily discouraged. Being neither of these, the indomitable William Boyd Barnett opened a private bank in Jacksonville in 1877 that would later bear his name. Barnett and his two sons built a successful family business, and by the early 1880s, their bank had become the largest in Florida. During the next several decades, the bank played a part in a number of historically significant events, from the financing of the Disston land purchase that solidified the state’s finances in the 1880s to the rebuilding of Jacksonville after the destructive 1901 fire. Over the course of its 120-year history, Barnett maintained a significant presence in Florida’s economic development and in the evolution of the American banking industry. The Barnett name became synonymous with sound, conservative, well-managed banking, and at the time of its sale in 1998, Barnett was the oldest and largest banking organization in Florida. The story of this company, however, is more than just a series of strong leaders or the annual recap of asset growth and profitability. It is the story of the thousands of people, both employees and customers, who played a vital part in the bank’s success. Showcasing vintage photographs and a detailed historical narrative,