August 10, 2026
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A History of Interior Federal
Part 1:
Welcome to our concise 3-part recount on the history of Interior Federal Credit Union. Interior Federal was established back in 1935 by 8 “subscribers”, who were employees of the Department of the Interior. Since then, we have expanded our reach nationwide, been a fast follower of new technologies, and provided financial services to help individuals, specifically those involved with DOI, reach their dreams.
A few quick notes:
- 1849: The Department of the Interior was established. The first Interior Building, which served from 1852-1917, is what we know today as the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of American Art.
- 1872: Yellowstone National Park is established as the first national park.
- Today, we honor Yellowstone at the Credit Union by making it our highest loyalty rewards tier for the Digital Spend Account.
- 1879: U.S. Geological Survey is created.
- This is where we opened our second branch, in 1997, for Interior Federal
- 1917: DOI outgrew that building and moved into what is now known as the General Services Administration (GSA) Building on E St NW in Washington, D.C.
- Since the Credit Union was founded in 1935, we started in this location.
- 1935: Department of the Interior Federal Credit Union was founded.
- 1936: Construction of the new Main Interior Building was completed. This was the first federal building authorized by FDR and DOI has remained here since then.
Now that we have some backstory, the 8 “subscribers” who founded Interior Federal petitioned DOI as well as the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), to establish a credit union that was solely focused on meeting the financial needs of DOI employees. Initially, Interior Federal was known as the Department of the Interior Federal Credit Union. The Credit Union was located on the 4th floor of the Stewart Lee Udall building, and it remained there until 2008 when the building went through a modernization project. Now, the Credit Union resides in the basement adjacent to the Bison Bistro and around the corner from the gym.
In 1989, our current CEO, Mike Merryman, was hired as a teller and worked his way up. In 2000, Mike officially became the CEO of Interior Federal and has fearlessly led the charge in meeting needs of all the DOI employees nationwide, and those who support the DOI mission.