The Brill State Bank, located in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, derives its name from the Village of Brill, 10 miles to the northeast. It was chartered there in 1919 by a group led by B C Leonard. Upon his retirement in 1965, his son Roger became the President. The Leonards sold the bank to the Gerber family in 1994. They opened a branch at 407 W Knapp St in Rice Lake in 1995 to accommodate the bank’s growing number of “city” customers. In 2002, the main office was moved to the Knapp Street location. Subsequently, the Brill office was relocated to new facilities at the junction of CTH’s V&M in 2004. A second branch was opened in the City of Ladysmith in 2003 under the name of the Community Bank of Ladysmith.

Upper management and the complete board of directors consist entirely of Gerbers, thus making it a truly family-owned and operated bank. Franz Gerber, the patriarch, has been in banking since 1968. His brother, Carl, 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 recently begun working in the banks.