When one of Caroline County’s two banks, Virginia National Bank, shut its doors six years ago, Gary Wilson, the county’s director of economic development, wanted to do something about it. He launched a widespread effort to find a second banking institution to open a branch in Caroline, which is sandwiched between Fredericksburg and Richmond.
“I got no takers,” he says, adding that the county’s population of about 30,000 likely was not an impressive draw.
Without another bank in town, residents patronize Atlantic Union Bank, the only other bank in the county, or they drive about 15 miles to one of the nearest localities, such as Ashland. That’s especially inconvenient for retail businesses needing to make cash deposits, Wilson says.
