What would you do if, in the depth of the depression (1935), you suddenly found yourself without a job? You might go out and start a bank, which is what Zettner Thomas Abbott did. Unlike so many others who had lost their job during the depression, he had a creative mind and the courage to try the seemingly impossible...and triumph.

While visiting his wife's home in Summerton, South Carolina he stopped by to see his old friend, Charles Plowden, who was doing quite well with a cash depository. He told his wife, "Summerton is not as big as Westminster, and if Charlie can make a living here I can in Westminster." He was in Columbia the next day starting the ball rolling. He walked around Columbia trying to sell $2500.00 worth of stock for $25.00 a share. He raised all but $800 and had to mortgage his farm for the remaining funds. With the $2500 in hand, he started the Westminster Depository.

While knowing nothing about running a depository, Abbott found the going tough. He relied on help and advice from friends and fellow bankers around the state and soon became successful. The early going was tough, he and his wife were the only two employees and they worked without pay. He weathered the depression as two of the other banks fell victim to the hard economic times. Within ten years Zettner had met his capital goals and changed the name of the depository to the Bank of Westminster.

Excerpts taken from the 1971 Palmetto Banker

Today, over 70 years later, the Bank of Westminster is a thriving success and an important part of the Westminster community. The bank now has more than $30 million in assets and 20 employees.