On July 16, 1953, eight men who were employees of International Paper Company in Natchez, MS, met at the Old South Café in downtown Natchez. Their mission was to form a financial cooperative, otherwise known as a credit union, to meet the financial needs of the employees of International Paper Company. After the proper paperwork was drafted at that organizational meeting, the request was sent for
approval. At that time in the credit union movement, the approving body of government for credit unions was actually The Department of Health, Education and Welfare. So, upon receiving the Approval of Organization Certificate from the Department, effective August 13, 1953, the group of men had officially formed a credit union, Old South Federal Credit Union. Operating from a small office in the basement of 113½ South Commerce Street, Old South began its business of member service. The office was so small the Credit Committee had to meet on the corner of a desk. In 1962, the Credit Union was moved to the back of the guard house at the main gate of the paper mill. This was an improvement but eventually, the credit union had growing pains in the eighties and moved again. In 1986, the office was relocated to another building on the grounds of the paper mill which happened to be abandoned and run down; basically it was a shell of a building that was the construction office when the paper mill was being built. After renovation, the building was home to the credit union for about eighteen years. Shortly after the turn of the century, rumors of the mill closing started flying. It wasn’t long before the credit union knew it wasn’t rumor, it was a fact. Over the years prior to this, the credit union had taken in other Select Employee Groups who wanted to be in the field of membership, so the credit union wasn’t just limited to the paper mill employees. Later, the field of membership was opened to serve those who lived, worked,worshipped or attended school in Adams County & Concordia Parish. Late in 2003, the Board of Directors made the decision that in order to survive and to serve the remaining employee groups and members conveniently, the credit union must relocate. After diligently searching for a new location, the B&K Mortgage Office on North Shields Lane came to their attention. The Board had heard it might possibly be for sale. After a few meetings and negotiations, the credit union had a new home. In October of 2004, Old South opened for business in the North Shields location and has been serving its members there since. In February of 2007, Old South took in the members of Bluff City Federal Credit Union through a merger process. The merger gave Old South several new employee groups and many new members. As of January, 2014, Old South serves 3,214 members in the Adams County & Concordia Parish area.
