You can argue over the value of remodeling old buildings or tearing them down and starting from scratch, but as our resident historian Mike Jones says, “Every time you bulldoze a building, you lose a connection to the past.” 

At INB, we believe those connections should remain strong and remembered.

We demonstrate that by investing in historic buildings in downtown Springfield – first with our downtown branch, then in the renovations of two buildings on the same block that now house our growing staff and operations. 

Most recently, we spent nearly a year on the remodel of 425 S. 4^th St., located between our conference center at 431 S. 4^th and our main downtown branch.

The building was transformed from a leaky, dingy storage space to a beautiful, modern and state-of-the-art facility.

The history of 425 S. 4^th St.

Mike Jones, ATM analyst for INB, enjoys sharing the history of our buildings.

According to Mike, the current building at 425 S. 4^th was constructed around 1923 or 1924.

Prior to that, there was a mansion on the property built by a family, Christopher and Bettie Stuart Brown, who were related to the Lincolns. After Bettie’s death in 1869, Christopher donated their home and grounds to open a boarding school called The Bettie Stuart Institute, serving the daughters of local well-to-do families.

The building that now stands in this location was first a Chevrolet dealership, Mike says.