Murphy-Wall has been helping customers for over 147 years. Murphy-Wall State Bank and Trust Company, the oldest bank in Perry County, Illinois, was established in 1874 by W. Until its incorporation as a state bank in 1907, the bank was known as "The Exchange Bank of Murphy, Wall and Company" and also as "Murphy, Wall and Company, Bankers." Murphy-Wall State Bank has enjoyed continuous growth and e
xpansion. Since the first published notice of its total resources in 1881 of $76,585.88, the bank's assets have multiplied many times, to a present total of approximately $160,000,000.00. The bank’s ownership and management has been closely and devotedly held since inception. William Kinney (W. Murphy, attorney, farmer, businessman, and banker initially held the title of President/Chairman of the Board from 1874 to 1911. Following his death in 1911, the chairmanship passed to son-in-law, Joseph Crawford, husband of Sarah V. Murphy, who served until his death in 1923. The chairmanship was held from 1923 until 1975 by Joseph and Sarah’s son, W. Crawford, Sr. had two sons, W. (Bill) Crawford, Jr. and Robert J (Bob) Crawford who also chose banking as their career paths during their lifetime. Bob Crawford assumed the chairmanship following his father and presided over the bank’s move in March of 1983 from the corner of Water and Walnut to the then newly constructed main banking facility located at 105 E Water Street in Pinckneyville. Bob continued to operate the bank until his death in 1990 when Bill Crawford subsequently was voted in as board chairman. Bill Crawford chaired as Murphy-Wall State Bank and Trust Company formed a one-bank holding company, Murphy-Wall Bancorp, Inc. in April of 1994 and saw the financial institution embrace the advent of commerce on the Internet as the first bank in Perry County with an on-line presence. In June of 2000, Marty L. Davis was named President/CEO and remains in that position. The following year, in 2001, Murphy-Wall State Bank was proudly assisted Rend-Lake College construct a satellite campus in Pinckneyville. The Rend-Lake College Murphy-Wall Pinckneyville Campus opened for classes in the fall of 2002. In the initial strategic move to increase the bank’s footprint and to provide customers with additional convenient access to their funds, a second ATM was placed on the local campus. Murphy-Wall, having participated many years in student Co-Op work programs, continued its tradition of encouraging local students to obtain educations that provide for their futures by hosting the first Job Shadow event in 2002. On November 21, 2005, Murphy-Wall further expanded by opening the Murphysboro Facility located at 105 N. Williams St. by constructing a modern attractive 3,700 square foot full-service banking facility offering a special personal touch. The Murphysboro location was not coincidentally determined due to the Murphy historical family ties to the town and businesses of Murphysboro and the past banking relationships of President/CEO Davis. The extension of the Murphy-Wall State Bank and Trust Company services to Jackson County seemed to fit very well. In 2012, President/CEO Marty Davis, began his Chairmanship of the Illinois Bankers Association. The position is appointed annually and provides leadership to the Executive Committee, as well as assists in representing the association in Washington D.C. and Springfield IL. That same year, the bank was also awarded the IBA's Community Service Award for participation in numerous community events and educational programs. The board and management of Murphy-Wall State Bank and Trust Company once again found an opportunity to serve yet another local community when Elkville State Bank Chairman R. H. (Bud) Havens and his son Vice-President David Havens made a decision to retire from banking. On May 10, 2013, Murphy-Wall acquired the Elkville State Bank along with their loyal customers and folded them into the operations and care of Murphy-Wall State Bank and Trust Company. The Elkville Banking Center became the second full-service branch location for Murphy-Wall. (Bill) Crawford, Jr, passed in April of 2017 after being acknowledged at the Illinois Bankers Association Annual Conference in June of 2013 as having served the banking industry for 65 years and having participated in the bank’s 140th year celebration in 2014. Bill’s son, J. Joseph (Joe) Crawford, then became the sixth chairman to be directly related to the bank’s original founder. Under Joe Crawford’s chairmanship, the Elkville banking location completed an interior makeover in July of 2017 and in November of 2018 again expanding our footprint into other markets, Murphy-Wall opened its fourth facility in Carterville Illinois. The extensive renovation of the Carterville building, previously housing a mortgage and insurance business, introduced newer bank technology while again integrating an inviting customer-centric atmosphere. The year 2020 proved a challenging year for everyone, however Murphy-Wall continued with aspirations of growth in the Southern Illinois market. In January of 2020, shortly after the decision to open our fifth bank location in Marion, Illinois, and just prior to a world-wide pandemic, the bank unexpectedly lost Chairman J. Joseph Crawford. Joe was seceded in the chairman’s position by Matthew Bigham, son of David and Nancy (Crawford) Bigham and the grandson of Robert (Bob) Crawford. Chairman Bigham, also a practicing attorney, now serves as the bank’s seventh chairman in a successive sixth generation of bankers. Brian Crawford, son of the late J. Joseph Crawford was elected to the Board of Directors in 2020. Both men are the great-great-great grandchildren of the founder of the original bank established in 1874 once located in a small two story building on Locust Street in Pinckneyville, IL. As you can tell, there is much emphasis on maintaining the lineage of the chairmanship of the bank back to original founder W. Murphy. We feel it is very important to emphasize that we have not forgotten our mission and our heritage of being a community bank that serves the needs of the areas that we are in with small bank service and community pride. Murphy-Wall State Bank and Trust Company, now considered one of Southern Illinois’ leading regional banks, continues to provide banking with TLC — Tradition, Leadership, and Commitment.
