7 famous Jax companies that no longer exist

1. Barnett Bank

Barnett Bank was founded in 1877 by William Boyd Barnett. 

Barnett and his family relocated to Jacksonville in 1877, and opened the Bank of Jacksonville in May. William was president and his son acted as bookkeeper. Because most banks were private and unregulated at this time, the Bank of Jacksonville got a slow start—only totaling $11,000 deposits in the first year. However, Barnett would soon make his son, Bion, a partner—changing the fate of the bank immediately.

Bion struck a conversation with Henry L'Engle, the Duval County Tax Collector. Bion would ultimately convince L'Engle to deposit the county's funds into their funds at the Bank of Jacksonville. Within the year, L'Engle would become Treasurer of the State of Florida, adding even more funds to the Bank of Jacksonville. Within a few years, Barnett and his son's bank became the National Bank of Jacksonville, exceeding over $1 million in deposits in 1893. 

Barnett Bank would eventually become the name of the bank. This bank would survive many local and national mishaps and would become Florida's largest commercial bank and a Fortune 500 company in 1995, with over 600 branches, $3.10 billion in revenue and 6,800 local employees. 

Eventually, in 1997, NationsBank would buy out Barnett Bank. In 1998, NationsBank acquired BankAmerica to become Bank of America. 

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