Our History

Gateway State Bank was chartered in 1907 as Gooselake Savings Bank by Henry Kruse, Adolph Kruse, George Schaefer, and G.G. Boothby. In 1936, the bank took over the failed Charlotte bank and began operating it as a branch. Gooselake Savings Bank was operated by Ollie Walker, and later by Bob Wede.

In 1980, Bob Wede moved the bank charter from Goose Lake to Clinton and renamed the bank Gateway State Bank. Mr.Wede purchased the 1st floor of the old LaFayette Hotel building for the main bank location.

A drive-up facility was built across the street. The offices in Goose Lake and Charlotte were retained as branch offices of Clinton. In 1986, Bob sold the bank to Floyd England. Ohnward Bancshares, Inc. purchased Gateway State Bank in 1998. Ohnward invested in facility improvements at each of the bank locations. This included renovation and painting of the ballroom which was well known in the heyday of the LaFayette Hotel. To better serve the Clinton market, in 1999, the main office of Gateway State Bank was moved from 601 South 2nd Street to its current location at 1427 N. 2nd Street. This location was a vacated Firstar branch and was well suited as a main bank location. At the time of Ohnward’s purchase, Gateway State Bank had ATMs in Goose Lake and Charlotte, but did not have an ATM in Clinton. GSB has installed various ATMs in the Clinton market since this time and began offering Internet Banking in 2000.

On August 25, 2008, Gateway State Bank opened a full-service branch facility in Clinton at 2600 Lincoln Way. This facility will help serve customers in Camanche and on the west side of Clinton.

Ohnward Bancshares, Inc. was formed in 1967 by John W. Fagerland and Edward L. Tubbs. John and Ed had personally purchased controlling interest in Maquoketa State Bank in 1966. A year later, for tax reasons, they formed a bank holding company and transferred their stock ownership of MSB into the new company.

They selected the unusual spelling of “Ohnward” by combining the latter portions of each of their first names. Through the years, Ohnward has grown, but it has always maintained its local ownership and operation. The principal shareholders are members of the Tubbs and Fagerland families and participants of the Ohnward Bancshares Inc. Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

The remaining 200 Ohnward stockholders reside in Eastern Iowa, primarily in Jackson, Clinton, Scott and Jones counties. Al Tubbs, Brig Tubbs, Abe Tubbs, and Kendra Beck, all members of the Tubbs and Fagerland families, are active participants in the management of Ohnward and its subsidiaries. Today Ohnward owns 100% of Maquoketa State Bank, First Central State Bank, Gateway State Bank, Ohnward Bank and Trust, and other financial offices including the Central Insurance Agency, Maquoketa Insurance Agency, Midwest Management Services, and the Maquoketa Auction Service. Other affiliated offices include LPL Financial offices in DeWitt and Maquoketa and the real estate agencies of Central Realty.