Black Hawk National Bank, Waterloo, IA (Charter 6854)
Black Hawk National Bank, Waterloo, IA (Chartered 1903 - Receivership 1925)
Town History
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. Waterloo is part of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the more populous of the two cities. In 1870, the population of Waterloo was 4,337, growing to 12,580 by 1900.
The name Waterloo supplanted the original name, Prairie Rapids Crossing, shortly after Charles Mullan petitioned for a post office in the town. Since the signed petition did not include the name of the proposed post office location, Mullan was charged with selecting the name when he submitted the petition. Tradition has it that as he flipped through a list of other post offices in the United States, he came upon the name Waterloo. The name struck his fancy, and a post office was established under that name.
On June 7, 1934, bank robber Tommy Carroll had a shootout with the FBI when he and his wife stopped to pick up gas. Accidentally parking next to a police car and wasting time dropping his gun and picking it back up, Carroll was forced to flee into an alley, where he was shot. He was taken to Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo, where he soon died.
Waterloo had six National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all six of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized April 17, 1903
- Chartered June 25, 1903
- Assumed 5700 by consolidation June 15, 1904 (Waterloo National Bank, Waterloo, IA)
- Receivership February 13, 1925
In July 1903, the officers were D.W. Crouse, president; T.K. Elliott, vice president; H.W. Gruetzmachler, 2d vice president; and H.S. Abbott, cashier. The bank opened in the rear room of their building, corner of Fourth and Commercial Streets, Waterloo, Iowa.
In December 1903, Harvey S. Abbott, formerly cashier of the First National Bank of Milford, resigned his position as cashier of the Blackhawk National Bank at Waterloo, and, together with Loredzo Sperbeck, bought a controlling interest in the Sibley State Bank at Sibley.
On January 13, 1904, at the annual meetings of the Black Hawk National Bank and the Waterloo National Bank, it was decided to consolidate the two institutions. Both banks were on the west side. The consolidation would make an institution with a capital of $200,000, and surplus $50,000. The Black Hawk National Bank would be the name used. J.D. Easton, president of the absorbed bank, announced that he would at once start a new bank.
On January 19, 1904, Articles of Incorporation of the Iowa State Bank were published with J.D. Easton, Emmons Johnson, Walter E. Johnson, Claus M. Junge and E.E. Manhard as incorporators.
In February 1908, M.A. Buchan returned from a California trip and announced he would leave the state auditor's corps of state bank examiners in order to accept the office of vice president of the Blackhawk National Bank at Waterloo. Mr. Buchan's home was at Grundy Center, but would move to Waterloo in May.
In January 1909, M.A. Buchan resigned as vice president of the bank. He planned to go to Palo Alto, California to join his wife and family who went there for the winter. He was undecided as to whether he would return to Iowa or make his home in the Golden State.
In 1911, officers were F.F. McElhinney, president; Dr. F.W. Powers, vice president; A.E. Glenny, vice president; Chas. W. Koop, cashier; and Lila Marcham, teller.
In January 1914, the officers and directors were Dr. F.W. Powers, president; A.E. Glenny and James Loonan, vice presidents; Chas. W. Knoop, cashier; H.E. Rugg, assistant cashier; Lila Marcham, teller; F.L. Northey, J.E. Williams, J.H. Woods, and G.F. Johnson, directors. The bank had total resources of $1,597,080.92.
On January 8, 1925, the Black Hawk National Bank closed voluntarily on action of its directors. A national bank examiner was expected in Waterloo to check over and verify its recent statement of condition. State examiners were still engaged in checking books and records of Waterloo Bank and Trust Company. This bank was taken over by the state department of banking on Monday, January 5th. A telegram was received by other banks in Waterloo from the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago offering shipments of currency in unlimited amounts if needed. Officials of Leavitt and Johnson National, Commercial National, First National and Waterloo Savings Bank stated they were prepared to meet any emergency with generous supplies of currency stacked high on the counters and that the assistance of the Federal Reserve Bank would probably not be needed.
On February 9, announcement was made that the Black Hawk National Bank had been absorbed by three other banks of the city. The Leavitt-Johnson National, Commercial National and First National banks would take over the accounts of the defunct bank. Depositors would be paid in full through cashier's checks as they call at the Black Hawk National for presentation to the bank of their choice, among the three.
On September 4, 1926, work of removing the bank fixtures from the ground floor room formerly occupied by the Black Hawk National Bank was started. The fixtures would be placed in storage until disposition could be made of them. The bank formerly occupied a space 40 by 60 feet. Workmen would prepare the room for occupancy by Mike Gauss, druggist, about October 15th.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Black Hawk National Bank of Waterloo, IA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,732,550 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1903 and 1925. This consisted of a total of 138,604 notes (138,604 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 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 7700 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 11600 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 11601 - 26951
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1903 - 1925):
Presidents:
- David W. Crouse, 1903-1903
- Fayette Floyd McElhinney, 1904-1912
- Fred Willard Powers, 1913-1919
- George B. Miller, 1920-1921
- Raymond Orrin Hutchison, 1922-1924
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Waterloo, IA, 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
- The Courier, Waterloo, IA, Thu., July 30, 1903.
- Sioux City Journal, Sioux City, IA, Sun., Dec. 20, 1903.
- The Daily Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, IA, Thu., Jan. 14, 1904.
- The Courier, Waterloo, IA, Tue., Jan. 19, 1904.
- Evening Times-Republican, Marshalltown, IA, Mon., Feb. 3, 1908.
- Evening Times-Republican, Marshalltown, IA, Tue., Jan. 12, 1909.
- The Courier, Waterloo, IA, Thu., Nov. 2, 1911.
- The Courier, Waterloo, IA, Tue., Jan. 27, 1914.
- The Daily Times, Davenport, IA, Fri., Jan. 9, 1925.
- The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, IA, Mon., Feb. 9, 1925.
- Quad-City Times, Davenport, IA, Mon., Feb. 9, 1925.
- The Courier, Waterloo, IA, Sat., Sep. 4, 1926.