In October 1899, with $10,000 in capital and a business plan built on core values, Hancock County Bank opened in a small wood frame building in Bay St. Louis.  In 2001 Hancock and Lamar Capital Corporation agreed to merge, expanding Hancock Bank into Forrest, Lamar, and Jefferson Davis Counties. Today, the bank consistently rates as one of America’s strongest and safest financial institutions.  Celebrating the milestone at the Prentiss Branch are bank employees Sissy Marchant, Duwanna Hawthorne, Walter Gatlin, Caren Davis, and Valerie Williams.