In 1885, Claude Fuller’s parents moved to the second largest town in Arkansas, Eureka Springs. Claude grew up and became a lawyer, Eureka Springs city clerk, Arkansas House legislator, four-county district prosecuting attorney, three-time Eureka Springs mayor and a 10-year United States Congressman in the Hoover and Roosevelt administrations.
Claude Fuller also bought controlling interest in the Bank of Eureka Springs in 1930, and in January 1956 he asked his University of Arkansas Ag-major grandson, John Fuller Cross, to serve on the bank Board of Directors.
John said yes, and although his interests and background were focused on the outdoors and he was known for always having a frog in his pocket, he has been showing up for work at the bank for the past 70 years. When Mr. Fuller died in 1968, John took over as chairman, CEO and president of the bank. He is still board chairman.
John’s influence and tireless promotion spurred the Victorian restoration of 1979, the town’s centennial. John, who was co-chair of the Centennial Commission, said then, as now, that banking is not about transactions, it’s about relationships and helping people who are productive be more productive.
John produced the bank’s 49th annual historical calendar this year. The calendar is big enough to write notes on and interesting enough to provide 12 months of verifiable but forgotten history. The calendars are always free.
Under John’s stewardship, the historic downtown branch was constructed in 1966, reflecting the Victorian atmosphere of the town. The building at 70 S. Main is a working museum of pictures, safes, the original pot-bellied stove, candlestick phones, rolltop desks and artifacts displaying the way it was almost a century ago.
The locally owned Bank of Eureka Springs, renamed Cornerstone Bank in 2008 and rebranded to CS Bank in 2020, now has eight area locations, including two in Harrison and one in Missouri. The bank’s assets have grown to more than $600 million during John Cross’s tenure.
For three straight years – 2023, 2024, and 2025 – the Independent Community Bankers of America has honored CS Bank as one of five best banks in the nation to work for, citing employee enthusiasm and community involvement.
It’s not unusual to have a local banker honored by employees and friends, but in this case it is. There are U.S. banks older than CS, but there are no working bankers in Arkansas older than John Cross, who is 91. A quick search revealed that Irving Kahn of Kahn Brothers in New York City started working in 1928 when he was 23, retiring when he was 105. He was an investment banker, and when John was made aware of this he said, “Investment bankers aren’t insured. We are.”