Our History

The Community Bank of Northern Wisconsin was originally chartered as the Brill State Bank in Brill, Wisconsin, in 1919. The leader of the founding group was B C Leonard and he served the community well for 46 years. Upon his retirement in 1965, his son Roger became the President. In 1994, the Gerber family purchased the bank and opened a branch in the City of Rice Lake the following year. Since that time the bank has grown to include offices in Ladysmith and Spooner. The name was changed to the Community Bank of Northern Wisconsin in 2008 to reflect the full range of its expanding service area.

Upper management and the complete board of directors consist entirely of Gerbers, thus making it a truly family-owned and operated bank. Carl Gerber has been a Board Chairman since 1978. Jerry Gerber has been President since 1994, and Ernie Gerber became the Sr Vice President in 2001. And, now the third generation has begun working in the banks.