The State Bank of North Carolina is the oldest surviving commercial

Commerce

While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

 building in Raleigh

Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

, North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 and was the first state-sponsored banking institution

Bank

A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

 constructed in North Carolina. The bank was incorporated

Incorporation (business)

Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...

 in 1810, but during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 cash was moved inland to banks in Raleigh and Tarboro

Tarboro, North Carolina

Tarboro is a city located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the town had a total population of 13,121. It is the county seat of Edgecombe County. Tarboro is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region...

 for fears that the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 would attack the coast. The increase in money deposits resulted in the State Bank's construction in 1813. Jacob Johnson

Jacob Johnson (father of Andrew Johnson)

Jacob Johnson was the father of Andrew Johnson, the seventeenth President of the United States.-Early life:Jacob Johnson was born circa 1778...

, the father of future President Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

, was once employed at the bank. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1970 and is a Raleigh Historic Landmark.

The design of the State Bank is influenced by the Federal

Federal architecture

Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...

 and Greek Revival

Greek Revival architecture

The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...

 styles of architecture. The brick building features matching two-story portico

Portico

A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...

s on the east and west sides, supported by columns. For sixty years the building was used for banking until the Christ Episcopal Church

Christ Episcopal Church (Raleigh, North Carolina)

Christ Episcopal Church is an Episcopal church in Raleigh, North Carolina located on Edenton Street.It is located within Capitol Area Historic District, a National Historic Landmark district and has a distinctive bronze weather vane at the peak of its steeple...

 acquired the facility in 1873 to use as a rectory

Rectory

A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...

. In 1968 the North Carolina National Bank

North Carolina National Bank

North Carolina National Bank was a bank based in Charlotte, North Carolina, prior to 1960 called American Commercial Bank. It was one of the top banking institutions.-History:...

, a predecessor of Bank of America

Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...

, purchased the building and moved it 100 ft (30 m) for use as the bank’s downtown branch. The building was moved to make room for an addition to the Christ Church's parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 facility. In 1976 the building was home to the State Commission in charge of North Carolina's bicentennial celebration. Currently, the building is still being used as a bank. The State Employees Credit Union

Credit union

A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members...

are the current owners.