Ames National Bank, Ames, IA (Charter 10408)

Ames National Bank building ca. late 1910s

Ames National Bank, Ames, IA (Chartered 1913 - Liquidated 1933)

Town History

Ames National Bank building fire November, 1987. Courtesy of the Ames History Museum

Ames National Bank building in 2018. The second story was removed after the November, 1987 fire. Courtesy of Google Maps

Ames is located in Story County in central Iowa.

The city was founded in 1864 as a station stop on the Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad and was named after 19th century U.S. Congressman Oakes Ames of Massachusetts, who was influential in the building of the transcontinental railroad.[12] Ames was founded by local resident Cynthia Olive Duff (née Kellogg) and railroad magnate John Insley Blair, near a location that was deemed favorable for a railroad crossing of the Skunk River.

Ames is home to Iowa State University which makes up around half of the city's population.

During the National Bank Note Era, the population of Ames was 1,153 in 1880, climbing to 2,422 in 1900, and expanding to 10,261 in 1930. It's highest and current population was 67,154 in 2018.

Bank History

• Organized Apr 25, 1913
• Chartered Jun 14, 1913
• Succeeded Commercial Department of Ames Savings Bank
• Liquidated Mar 31, 1933
• Absorbed by Ames Trust & Savings Bank, Ames

Official Bank Title(s)

1: The Ames National Bank, Ames, IA

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Plain Back $10 banknote with pen signatures of Ivan Orliff Hasbrouck, Cashier and Harris Watson Stafford, President. Courtesy of Scott Hansen

1929 Type 1 $10 banknote with engraved signatures of Clay William Stafford, Cashier and Harris Watson Stafford, President. Courtesy of Scott Hansen

A total of $620,080 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1913 and 1933. This consisted of a total of 62,008 notes (51,424 large size and 10,584 small size notes).

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s
1902 Date Back	4x10	1 - 2600
1902 Plain Back	4x10	2601 - 12856
1929 Type 1	6x10	1 - 1764

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Ames National Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1913 - 1933):

Presidents:

• William Douglas Meltzer, 1913-1914
• Harris Watson Stafford, 1915-1933

Cashiers:

• Ivan Orliff Hasbrouck, 1913-1921
• Clay William Stafford, 1922-1933

Other Bank Note Signers

• There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.

Wiki Links

• Iowa Bank Note History
• General information on Ames (Wikipedia)
• General information on Story County (Wikipedia)
• General information on Iowa (Wikipedia)

References

• Ames, IA, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ames,_Iowa
• Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
• Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
• Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://bbdata.banknotehistory.com