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iBanknet Blog
Saluting America’s Oldest Banks
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Since before the invention of the steam engine, the telegraph, the light bulb and the telephone, some of today's American Banks have been open for business.
At iBanknet.com we have a penchant for lists. We have all kinds of lists. Normally the lists reflect some financial fact or geographical area that helps our viewers discover information concerning financial institutions. With the recent turbulence in the financial services sector, we decided to come up with a list that reflects the resiliency of the Banking industry.
From information provided by the FDIC, we've prepared a list of the 200 Oldest Banks in America. This was a journey of discovery. The banks on our list date from 1792 to 1867. These Banks have seen so much history. Bonaparte marching through Europe, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the two World Wars and so much more. They have also weathered the economic distresses of 1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893 and the Depression of 1929.
A few visits to some of these Institutions web sites revealed some interesting tidbits of history:
'During the Civil War, bank robberies were frequent. In 1864, "Bloody Bill" Anderson's guerilla warriors massacred Union soldiers at Centralia and were reported to be heading toward Columbia to rob the bank. Bank President R.B. Price took $150,000 in currency and $70,000 in gold and buried it under a gate post on the farm of a trusted friend three miles north of Columbia.'
Boone County National Bank MO
'FNBL is the oldest nationally chartered bank in the state of Connecticut, created by the founding fathers at the birth of our country. Benjamin Tallmadge, George Washington's spymaster during the Revolutionary War, was one of our founding directors.'
The First National Bank of Litchfield, CT
After reviewing current CD rates, we were amused when we read this:
'By 1905, times were better and the Board resolved that certificates of deposit at 3% be issued for six months.'
First Knox National Bank, OH
It was a pleasure to put this list together. After a week of hearing so much negative news, we both were buoyed by realizing that these Banks have weathered tough times before and will in all probability weather them again.
As an aside, both chewing gum and the stock ticker were invented in 1870. I guess the gum helped relieve the anxiety even back then.
Marian & Chris
Posted by Chris at 16:29
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