James Polk Stone Community Bank

James Polk Stone came to New Mexico in 1885 and worked with his father on the DZ Ranch. They drove cattle all over the eastern part of the state and even into Texas. James married Lula Beasley in 1897 and the pair moved to Portales in 1900 when the railroad came to Portales. Though many homesteaders moved on, the Stone family decided to stick it out. Their tenacity is a testament to the spirit of the New Mexican people.

James Polk Stone founded the first bank in Roosevelt County in 1902, the Bank of Portales. He later founded the Portales Bank and Trust. The First National Bank at Elida, now the James Polk Stone Community Bank, was established in 1906 and moved to Portales in 1935.

Our bank has been fortunate to have only 6 presidents during its 100+ years. James Polk Stone, 1906–1913; A.A. Beeman, 1913–1929; Graham Bryant, 1929; J.S. Click, 1929–1959; Douglas B. Stone, 1959–1981; and David L. Stone, 1981–present. The bank continues its tradition today and is run with the same strong family values on which it was founded.

In October 2001, the bank expanded to include a branch in Clovis, NM. We’ve been growing ever since and have added branches in Roswell, Hagerman, Hobbs, and Eunice, too. In 2010, the bank came together under one name as the James Polk Stone Community Bank. Since that time, we have been proud to say that the James Polk Stone Community Bank’s Primary Federal Regulator Community Bank is the FDIC.