As the sun rose over the eastern buttes of Harding County, arguably the harshest region of South Dakota, brothers F.M. and H.W. Clarkson had already been in the pasture tending their sheep for an hour. The Clarksons were hard working men who were known for their fairness and their willingness to help neighbors. In fact, it was just those qualities that would help them create what was to become Western South Dakota’s premier agricultural and business bank. In 1913, they formalized their practice of helping neighbors by establishing a bank in the prairie town of Buffalo. In 1937, the brothers expanded and founded the Bank of Belle Fourche. From those humble beginnings Pioneer Bank & Trust grew to become one of the safest banks in America. In 1956, we expanded our service capabilities by establishing a full service Trust Department. Pioneer’s Trust Department offers complete trust and estate planning, plus investments. The next branch opened was in Spearfish, then in Rapid City. With the new regional presence it was time for a new, appropriate name, and in 1986 Pioneer Bank & Trust was born! As the bank grew and our locations became diversified we decided to centralize our administration, operations and computer technology in a new Administration Center in Spearfish. Today, Pioneer Bank & Trust offers a varied and complete assortment of state-of-the-art banking products and services. Although we believe our products are highly competitive in today’s high-tech banking world, it is our hometown, personal service that is responsible for our significant growth. This is reaffirmed continually by the direct feedback we receive from customers!
