A. B. CARLOCK, Founder

1858-2008 • California's Oldest Independent Bank
by Bernita Tickner and Gail Jenner

Scott Valley Bank, now a twelve-branch operation with assets totaling more than $400 million, began as a small, independent venture during the gold rush of the 1850s.

Prior to the 1860s, there were no incorporated, general commercial banks in California; the first banks were private banking houses. In 1858, Adam Baker Carlock began trading and accumulating gold dust from local miners around Scott Valley, Quartz Valley, and at Scott Bar in Siskiyou County.

Carlock, who first came to California in 1852 at age nineteen, was industrious and ambitious. He started up a partnership and worked as a packer in and out of Trinity County. Later he built a store in Deadwood, Siskiyou County, then entered the merchandise business in Fort Jones. In 1863, Adam Baker Carlock married Elizabeth “Lizzie” Markey. Together they had four children, although only Nellie grew to adulthood.