Berlin National Bank, Berlin, WI (Charter 4641)
Berlin National Bank, Berlin, WI (Chartered 1891 - Receivership 1904)
Town History
Berlin is a city in Green Lake and Waushara counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 5,524 at the 2010 census. Of this, 5,435 were in Green Lake County, and only 89 were in Waushara County. The city is located mostly within the Town of Berlin in Green Lake County, with a small portion extending into the Town of Aurora in Waushara County.
In 1845, Nathan H. Strong (1813–1852) became the first resident of what is today Berlin. He was joined by Hugh G. Martin, Hiram Barnes, and William Dickey. Their settlement was known as Strong's Landing. In 1848 a post office was established. It was named Berlin after the capital of Prussia, now the capital of Germany. The first school house was built in 1850 and the first church in 1851. Berlin was incorporated as a city in 1857.
Berlin had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all three of those banks issued National Bank Notes. Berlin also had one Obsolete Bank that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).
Bank History
- Organized September 3, 1891
- Chartered October 8, 1891
- Receivership November 17, 1904
On November 17, 1904, The Berlin National bank closed its doors due to the withdrawal of deposits. A meeting of stockholders had been called for December 5th to arrange for paying a 60% assessment in order to strengthen the bank and to remove any doubtful paper. Notices issued to the public were misconstrued by depositors and a run on the bank resulted causing the directors to close the doors and place its affairs in the hands of the comptroller of the currency. The last report of the bank dated September 15th showed capital $50,000, undivided profits $1,186.60, loans and discounts $183,444.20, bonds securities, etc. $43,304.35, cash on hand $13,358.80, and deposits $181,087.11.[1]
On January 5, 1905, the Berlin State Bank completed its organization. F.H. Welcome, Minneapolis, was elected president; H.L. Babcock, Minneapolis, cashier; C.W. Allen, C.M. Boettge and John C. Clink, directors. The bank planned to open about January 20th with $50,000 capital. The organization of the bank was brought about by the November 1904 failure of the National Bank of Berlin of which John W. Brown, formerly register of deeds for Columbia County, was cashier.[2][3]
Official Bank Title
1: The Berlin National Bank, Berlin, WI
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $60,150 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1891 and 1904. This consisted of a total of 4,812 notes (4,812 large size and No small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 1203
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1891 - 1904):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Wisconsin Bank Note History
- General information on Berlin (Wikipedia)
- General information on Green Lake County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Wisconsin (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Berlin, WI, on Wikipedia
- 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://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project