In 1909, F.L. Berry and John Wiley founded The Farmers Bank. Six years later, The Farmers State Bank of West Salem was organized and incorporated. Original directors included F.L. Berry, W.H. Horst, N.W. Zimmerman, J.H. Wiley, J.A. Hines, W.S. Zehner, O.B. Dreibelbis, J.L. Van Evera and S.A. Read. The Farmers State Bank continued to expand and, in 1922, purchased the Bank of West Salem, which had been opened by Samuel Wood in 1902.

During the early years, the bank relied on the leadership of Charles McBride, who joined the bank in 1919 and stayed on for 40 years, filling different roles. McBride worked his way up from an assistant cashier, becoming vice president in 1947. He also served as President of the Ohio Bankers Association. His wife, Bessie (Bahl) McBride, worked for Farmers State Bank for 65 years before retiring in 1975.

In the 1960s, new offices, a night depository and drive-in window were built for our growing operations. In 1991, a one bank holding company, Community Independent Bancorp, Inc, was formed, and The Farmers State Bank of West Salem became Farmers State Bank (FSB) at that time.

Extensive remodeling was done at the West Salem location in 1998 to better utilize available space, and the main entrance was moved from the front of the building to the side where a new lobby area continues to greet customers.

Beginning in the early 1990s, new branches were added to the Farmers State Bank network, including: 
Baney Road, Ashland (1991) 
East Main Street, Ashland (1998) 
North Main Street, Marshallville (2005)
North Main Street, Rittman (2006)
West Liberty Street, Wooster (2019)

While Farmers State Bank remains a local bank dedicated to old-fashioned customer service, we’ve always been committed to instituting new technology and changes to meet the needs of our customers. We currently offer ATMs, telephone banking, and Internet banking with free online bill pay.