Bank of Columbia
The Bank of Columbia is a historic building in Columbia, Alabama, United States. It was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 2021 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.
History
The bank was established in 1912, with $25,000 in capital provided by Walter Flake Oakley Sr., a local merchant. Most of the bank's early clients were farmers in the surrounding areas. In 1958, the bank was robbed by brothers John, Clarence, and Alfred Anglin. After being captured five days later in Ohio, the trio were incarcerated; after repeated attempts to escape from federal prisons in Atlanta and Leavenworth, John and Clarence were moved to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco, from which they June [1962 Alcatraz escape attempt|escaped in 1962].The building was sold to L. B. and Wynelle Douglas in 1976, who briefly leased it back to the bank while they constructed a new building around the corner on Church Street, which was completed in 1977. The bank was renamed to Peoples Community Bank in 1992. The Douglases sold the building to Charles Arthur Calhoun in 1977, who in turn sold it to the local chapter of the United Paperworkers International Union in 1983, who used it as their meeting hall. The union sold the building to the Columbia Historical Society in 2005, who today operate it as a local history museum.