Francis Lee

1936—Tower Loan opens and experiences prosperity and growth. The consumer finance industry was in its infancy. 1945—After World War II, Tower sold its offices to various employees within the company. The Jackson, Mississippi, South State Street Office of the original Tower group was purchased by Ed and Kate Clark. Under the ownership of the Clarks, Tower Loan brokers grew from a single office to 16 offices throughout Mississippi. 1972—Following the death of Kate Clark, Jack Lee purchased 12 of Ed Clark’s offices. The 4 offices not purchased were sold to managers within Clark’s company and are still in operation today. The offices purchased by Jack Lee were located in North Jackson, Clinton, East Jackson, Yazoo City, Canton, Kosciusko, Pascagoula, Louisville, Europa, Carthage, Moss Point, and Philadelphia. In later years, the Moss Point office was merged into Pascagoula, Clinton was moved to Southwest Jackson; and East Jackson was moved to Pearl. Some of these offices operated as Tower Loan and some operated as Russell Baker Finance. 2006—Tower expands operations into the state of Missouri by opening 8 offices.Tower has weathered the storm of high interest rates, recessions, government regulations and difficult litigation environments. In spite of these obstacles, Tower Loan has continued to prosper, advance and become one of the nation’s leaders among independent finance companies.