The Kearny County Bank was organized in 1888 by Messrs. B.B. Bacon & C. M. Crawford of Tolono, Illinois following the failure of the Bank of Lakin in 1887.

Organized with $11,000 in capital, the KCB Bank occupied the Spivey & Holmes Brothers Building that was located at the current site of the Lakin Fire Department at Main & Waterman. Until 1900 the building was shared with Spivey & Holmes Mercantile when Kearny County bought the building for its county offices and court house. The KCB shared the building with the county until 1906 when its first permanent location was constructed across the street to the west. The bank remained at this location until 1963 when it moved to its present location two blocks north at Main and Washington. Since its move to its present location today the bank has experienced substantial growth in both assets and capital.

Though the KCB Bank has been around for more than 130 years it has had numerous owners. In 1904 the original organizers sold the bank to local residents. In 1935, the Deerfield State Bank which was under common ownership with the KCB Bank was merged and the Deerfield State Bank was closed. Until 1946 the bank was owned by local residents when a majority share was sold to the owners of the Garden National Bank with the Campbell family retaining its minority interest. At that time, the Lakin State Bank was merged into the Kearny County Bank.

In 1955, majority control of the bank was returned to local hands when the investor group of Dan Ratzlaff, JR Hutton and Clyde Beymer, Jr. acquired the shares controlled by the Garden National Bank owners. The bank is now controlled by the Beymer family and managed by two of Clyde’s sons, Gary Beymer & Bob Beymer.

Recognizing the need to grow beyond Lakin and Kearny County, the management of the KCB actively began looking for acquisition opportunities. That endeavor culminated in October 2012 with the acquisition of the Garden City State Bank located 1910 E. Mary Street, Garden City, KS.

The Garden City State Bank was organized in 2000. In the short period of its existence, Frank Reifschneider, Doug Laubach and their dedicated staff grew the GCSB from nothing to $70,000,000 in assets. Going forward, the combination of the two banks will enhance the ability of The KCB Bank to serve the consumers, farmers and businesses of southwest Kansas with a broad range of quality financial services.