The mission of Chessie Federal Credit Union is to provide personal financial services to our membership in an efficient, friendly & convenient manner.
We are Chessie Federal Credit Union!
The credit union idea was brought to Cumberland, Maryland when nine area men deposited a total of $65.00 to form the Cumberland B&O Employees Federal Credit Union. A charter was granted by the federal government on January 21,1948. Operating out of an office in the basement of the Queen City Station, the credit union grew to 582 members and assets of $21,668.08 by the end of that year.
As the credit union continued to grow, the board of directors saw the need to have their own office space and so the credit union moved to Harrison Street in 1952. Fifteen years later the credit union had outgrown that office was moved to Paca Street in 1967.
A merger with the Wes-Mar Federal Credit Union of Hagerstown in 1975 enabled our credit union to serve employees of the Western Maryland Railway. Later, the name of the credit union was changed to Chessie Employees Federal Credit Union to correspond to a change in the railroad’s name. In 1983, employees of the Taylor County Board of Education in Grafton, West Virginia made a request for credit union service. This request was approved and since that time the credit union has added over 130 groups which are not affiliated with railroad.
A merger with the Sacred Heart Hospital Federal Credit Union of Cumberland in 1987 brought in over 1,000 new members, and a merger with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 27 Federal Credit Union of Cumberland in 1988 added over 2,000 members.
In 1990 a merger with M.C.E.A. Federal Credit Union of Keyser, West Virginia added 840 members to our credit union family.
In June of 1998, the B&O Pittsburgh Division Federal Credit Union which include 250 new members were added to our credit union family.
As a result of the tremendous growth in recent years, the Paca Street building was no longer large enough to handle the main office operation, so the credit union purchased and renovated the former First Federal Saving Bank building on Baltimore Street with the relocation to the facility completed in May of 1988. This office features more than twice the space of the Paca Street building and included Chessie’s first drive-up window for the member’s convenience. The credit union’s name was then changed to Chessie Federal Credit Union as we know it today.
In the fall of 1998, the credit union purchased a three-lane drive-thru from First Federal Saving Bank — a full-service operation with an ATM machine (free to our membership) in the first lane. With even more growth, the Credit Union purchased the former Blue Cross/Blue Shield building at 15 Commerce Drive, Cumberland, MD, and opened its Corporate Office on July 15, 2013. With the opening of the Corporate Office — which also serves as a full-service branch with Drive-thru and Night Depository — the Baltimore Street office continues to be a full-service branch with the Drive Thru Office on Union Street. Chessie currently has 9 branch locations including one in Grafton, WV and Keyser, WV.
August 1, 2020 a merger with Al-Gar Federal Credit Union of Cumberland, Md added 3000 members to our credit union family and added two branch locations. One on Paca Street in Cumberland, Md and one on Bishop Murphy Drive in Frostburg, MD.
May 1, 2021, Chessie Federal Credit Union merged with Kelco Federal Credit Union. This merge added 3000 more members and a new location to our Chessie family. The former Kelco branch is located at 321 Greene Street in downtown Cumberland.
Chessie currently has just over 34,000 members and $435 million in assets. Chessie now operates 8 branch locations in Cumberland MD, LaVale MD, Frostburg, MD, Grafton, WV and Keyser, WV.
Currently, we serve members who are in the fields of transportation, education, local government, retailing, health care, manufacturing, publishing, building trades, food services and computer software as well as members of several churches and volunteer fire departments. Any immediate family member of a member is also eligible to join the credit union. Chessie Federal Credit Union is and always has been a safe and sound institution offering its members a full range of financial services. As we continue to grow, we will strive to offer the best services available, to fulfill our commitment of “People Helping People.”
