Good Neighbors of Groton: Rollstone Bank & Trust
180 years of community banking. Generations of relationships. And a belief that where you live should be where you matter most.
What does it mean for a business to truly become part of a community?
For Rollstone Bank & Trust, that relationship has been built over generations.
This year, Rollstone is celebrating an extraordinary milestone: 180 years of community banking. And while much has changed since the bank first opened its doors, its philosophy remains deeply rooted in something that feels particularly fitting for our Good Neighbors of Groton campaign:
Know your neighbors. Build relationships. Show up. And invest in the communities you call home.
As we prepare for GrotonFest Fall 2026, we're delighted to celebrate Rollstone Bank & Trust and the many ways its Groton team continues to be part of our community.
180 YEARS — AND STILL A COMMUNITY BANK
Rollstone Bank & Trust is a mutual community bank, which means it is owned by its depositors and communities rather than outside shareholders.
That structure has helped shape the way the bank approaches its work for 180 years.
Its Groton team serves individuals, families, and local businesses with everything from everyday banking and home financing to business lending and wealth management.
But ask Rollstone what sits at the heart of all those services, and the answer is much simpler: Relationships.
Getting to know customers. Understanding the communities they serve. And being there when it matters.
It's the thinking behind Rollstone's promise: Where you matter most.
And after 180 years, those words carry a little extra weight.
WHAT THEY LOVE ABOUT GROTON
When we asked the Rollstone team what they enjoy most about serving Groton, they described something many of us will immediately recognize:
“Groton is the kind of community where people care about one another, and you can feel it.”
They pointed to the wonderful mix of families, small businesses, nonprofits, schools, artists, and community organizations that give Groton its distinctive hometown spirit.
For Rollstone, being a community bank means participating in that ecosystem—not simply operating a branch within it.
It means getting outside the bank, supporting the people and organizations doing good work, and becoming a familiar face at the events that bring neighbors together.
And there are plenty of examples of them doing exactly that.
INVESTING IN YOUNG READERS
One organization particularly close to Rollstone's community mission is Up With Books.
Rollstone supports the organization's work promoting literacy and helping children discover a lifelong love of reading.
It's exactly the kind of grassroots initiative where an investment made today can continue making a difference for years to come.
A book placed in a child's hands can open a door to a new idea, a new interest, or an entirely new world.
Supporting organizations that create those opportunities is one way a community bank can invest in something much bigger than banking.
SUPPORTING THE ARTS THAT BRING US TOGETHER
Rollstone is also a supporter of Groton Hill Music Center and its role in bringing music, education, artists, and audiences together.
Their support of Live on the Lawn is one way the bank participates in Groton's vibrant arts and cultural community.
Music has a wonderful ability to bring together people who might otherwise never meet.
Families spread out on the lawn. Friends gather. Children experience live music. Neighbors run into neighbors.
These are the experiences that help turn a town into a community—and they don't happen without organizations and businesses willing to support them.
AND, OF COURSE, GROTONFEST!
Then there's a community tradition particularly close to our hearts: GrotonFest.
For one day, local businesses, nonprofits, artists, organizations, families, and visitors gather together to celebrate the people and places that make our community what it is.
Rollstone Bank & Trust is proud to support GrotonFest, and we're equally proud to have them here.
Because when a community business supports a festival like ours, it is helping create much more than an event.
It's helping create a place for neighbors to meet neighbors.
Local organizations can tell their stories.
Small businesses can introduce themselves.
Families can spend the day together.
And all of us get an opportunity to celebrate this place we call home.
$3.8 MILLION INVESTED BACK INTO COMMUNITIES
Rollstone's commitment to community extends far beyond Groton.
Since 2005, the Rollstone Bank & Trust Charitable Foundation has provided more than $3.8 million in support to local nonprofits and community initiatives across the communities the bank serves.
That's a significant investment.
But there's another part of the story we particularly appreciate: Rollstone also encourages its employees to contribute their time and talents through volunteering.
Because strong communities need both.
They need financial support to keep important organizations and initiatives moving forward.
But they also need people willing to participate.
To volunteer.
To attend.
To lend their expertise.
And simply to show up.
CELEBRATING 180 YEARS BY LOOKING FORWARD
Reaching a 180th anniversary is an opportunity to look back at an extraordinary amount of history.
But Rollstone is also using the milestone to look forward.
Throughout its anniversary year, the bank is celebrating its legacy by continuing to give back and support the organizations and initiatives strengthening the communities it serves.
There is something meaningful about that approach.
After all, a community bank doesn't reach its 180th birthday because of one generation of customers or employees.
It gets there because generation after generation chooses to place its trust in a local institution—and that institution continues earning its place in the community.
Rollstone puts it this way:
“The reason we've been here for 180 years is because generations of customers have trusted us, and generations of employees have cared deeply about the communities we serve.”
That's quite a legacy.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD NEIGHBOR?
Throughout our Good Neighbors of Groton campaign, we've been asking this question.
And each organization gives us a slightly different answer.
For Rollstone Bank & Trust, perhaps being a good neighbor means being there for the long haul.
It means knowing the people you serve.
Supporting children as they discover books.
Helping music and the arts flourish.
Investing in nonprofits.
Encouraging employees to volunteer.
Supporting the community celebrations that bring everyone together.
And continuing to show up—not just for a year or two, but from one generation to the next.
As Rollstone Bank & Trust celebrates 180 years, we're grateful to have their Groton team as part of our community and as a supporter of GrotonFest Fall 2026.
When you see them at GrotonFest, stop by and say hello.
Because after 180 years, their message is still wonderfully simple:
Where you matter most is right here—with the people and communities we're proud to call home.
Happy 180th anniversary, Rollstone Bank & Trust, and thank you for continuing to invest in the communities you call home.
That's what being a Good Neighbor is all about.
