Apply by Nov. 30, 2025, and save $500 or more on a Century mortgage loan. Don’t leave easy money on the table. Discover even more reasons to choose Century for a home loan.
Apply by Nov. 30, 2025, and save $500 or more on a Century mortgage loan. Don’t leave easy money on the table. Discover even more reasons to choose Century for a home loan.
Employees of National Lead Company (NALCO1), a chemical plant in Lemay, saw the need for a not-for-profit financial institution to serve the personal financial needs of fellow production workers and maintenance workers in early 1954.
Bob Hood, managing director of the Missouri Credit Union League and at one time an employee of NALCO, helped establish the credit union, along with Charles Pingleton and others.
Official paperwork for the business was submitted to the State of Missouri on March 30, 1954, and our state charter was approved on April 2 by Secretary of State, Walter H. Toberman. Seven individuals2 each deposited $5.00 to get the credit union started.
Today, more than 9,000 individuals and their family members trust us as their financial services partner.
Over the years we've transitioned from being tied to a single employee group to a community base. In 1978 we began serving two ZIP codes, 63125 and 63129. Today, we serve people who live and work in defined, broader geographic areas in Missouri: St. Louis County, St. Louis City, Jefferson County and Franklin County, or who work for one of 49 select employee groups within our field of membership.
The purpose of the credit union, as stated in our original bylaws which we still follow today, is to:
Originally known as Local 1744 Credit Union, we changed our name in 1964 to NALCO2 Credit Union and then to Century Credit Union in 1997 after a merger with First American Credit Union.
Many other names were considered before "Century" was adopted. The current name came up in conversation over dinner and drinks at a Casa Gallardo restaurant between Bob Eike, the credit union's president, and Darrell Bahr, the owner of a local credit union advertising agency. (Margarita Credit Union or The Big Enchilada Credit Union were never considered.)
Our first branch was at 3628 Wisconsin Avenue in the city of St. Louis.
In August 1959, we moved to a store-front location at 9606 South Broadway to be closer to the industrial plant of our original sponsor group.
In July 1968, we moved into a new, free-standing branch at 433 East Arlee, which was just 200 feet from the main entrance of National Lead. We were one of few credit unions in Missouri at that time to own its building rather than rent or lease space.
In 1978, the plant closed. Three years later, we moved into the Metropolitan Building at 1540 Lemay Ferry Road, which has remained our main office ever since. During renovations to the building before we occupied it in May 1981, we temporarily operated out of the Carafiols Shopping Area at 3193 Lemay Ferry Road. Around 2014, we purchased a bar located next door to our main office. We tore down the bar, called Wild's Palace of Poison, and added a drive-up, parking lot and new wing on the north side of our building.
In 2001, a second branch was opened in Arnold, at 3920 Jeffco Boulevard.
Take a trip down memory lane with our branch timeline slideshow and see how our locations have grown and changed over the years. When we built our first stand-alone branch in 1968, we were one of the first credit unions in Missouri to own, rather than rent or lease, its building. You’ll also catch a glimpse of vintage hairstyles, classic office equipment, and the unique styles of the times that tell the story of our people and our history.
It took 16 years for us to reach $1 million in assets (1969). By 1984, we had grown to $5 million. Subsequent growth was more rapid, as reflected below:
1 National Lead Company (NALCO) was a New Jersey corporation founded in 1891 that managed mining operations and became a major supplier of lead to paint companies before shifting its focus to supply titanium dioxide, an increasingly popular choice for pigments and other manufacturing processes. National Lead operated and maintained facilities in St. Louis, known as the Titanium Pigment Division, until 1978 when it was closed. While it's unknown how many people worked at the plant when the credit union was organized, there were approximately 1,400 employees a decade later. Earlier that same decade, National Lead changed its corporate name to NL Industries, and today is a diversified holding company.
2 Frank Kapeller, Joe Limpert, Evie Lee Miler, S.A. Blandford Jr., Lawrence L. Newcomer, Anthony P. Peil and Willie Adams.
