Grand Marais State Bank
History of Grand Marais State Bank
Allan Magnus "A.M." Anderson, Carrie Anderson & Richard "Dick" Anderson (1966 Grand Marais State Bank's 50th Anniversary)
Richard "Dick" Anderson (1966 Grand Marais State Bank's 50th Anniversary)
For over 100 years, Grand Marais State Bank has been serving the citizens of Cook County, Minnesota. During our first 67 years, the bank was operated by the Anderson family, beginning with Allan Magnus "A.M." Anderson, his wife Carrie Anderson, and later their son Richard "Dick" Anderson and wife Lou Anderson. We were then located at the site of today's Gunflint Tavern.
The Anderson family had a saying, "The money is in the moose meat.". The origin of this saying dates to a time when loggers would come knocking on the door of Dick and his wife Lou's house, hoping to stash some of their money before going to town after payday. Lou would promptly place the cash in her freezer, which mostly contained moose meat from their moose hunts, saving it for the rugged gentlemen until they returned.
A.M. Anderson arrived in Grand Marais in 1910 by boat, as there were no roads to Grand Marais at the time. He met and married a local girl, Carrie E. Scott. Carrie was the middle child of the large Scott family, which had been pioneers of this region since the 1870s. Her father, a Civil War veteran, was the local legend A.J. "Hungry Jack" Scott. Her mother, Catherine Boyer, was an Ojibwe woman who was raised at a convent in Port Arthur, Canada.
The original bank location was at 111 Wisconsin Street, which is now the home of the Gun Flint Tavern. The bank vault is used as a walk-in cooler.
With the help of investors, A.M. and Carrie Anderson got Grand Marais State Bank off the ground in September 1916. Carrie Scott Anderson was a significant figure for the bank, serving for 30 years as vice president. For a woman of her generation, she was a trailblazer in the industry, hosting and joining the National Association of Bank Women in 1956.
Dick Anderson took over as president of Grand Marais State Bank in 1946. Dick once said that during his father's era they lived off tourists in the summer and each other in the winter. Bartering was common. A.M. once traded a piece of lakeshore property for his first refrigerator. In those days, business was often done with just a handshake, and it did not matter if you were the lumber mill owner or a lumberjack. This dedication to service and honesty helped a growing community survive its isolated roots.
When Dick retired in the 1980's the Grand Marais State Bank was sold to the VonHoltum family where it remains in ownership today. In 1997, Grand Marais State Bank moved to its current location on Highway 61.
Despite all the changes throughout the years, one thing is certain: Grand Marais State Bank continues to be a community-focused bank that serves many of the same families and businesses it has served for years. At Grand Marais State Bank, we do not have customers; we have family, friends, and neighbors.