Chicopee National Bank, Springfield, MA (Charter 988)
Chicopee National Bank, Springfield, MA (Chartered 1865 - Closed 1927)
Town History
Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern Mill River. As of the 2020 Census, the city's population was 155,929, making it the third-largest city in Massachusetts, the fourth-most populous city in New England after Boston, Worcester, and Providence, and the 12th-most populous in the Northeastern United States.
Springfield was founded in 1636 by English Puritan William Pynchon as "Agawam Plantation" under the administration of the Connecticut Colony. In 1641 it was renamed after Pynchon's hometown of Springfield, Essex, England, following incidents, including trade disputes as well as Captain John Mason's hostilities toward native tribes, which precipitated the settlement's joining the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During the American Revolution, George Washington designated it as the site of the Springfield Armory for its central location, subsequently the site of Shays' Rebellion. The city would also play a pivotal role in the Civil War, as a stop on the Underground Railroad and home of abolitionist John Brown, widely known for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and for the Armory's manufacture of the famed "Springfield rifles" used ubiquitously by Union troops. Closing during the Johnson administration, today the national park site features the largest collection of historic American firearms in the world. Springfield has several nicknames—"The City of Firsts", due to the many innovations developed there, such as the first American dictionary, the first American gas-powered automobile, and the first machining lathe for interchangeable parts; "The City of Homes", due to its Victorian residential architecture; and "Hoop City", as basketball was invented in Springfield in 1891 by James Naismith.
Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, lies 24 miles south of Springfield, on the western bank of the Connecticut River. The city of Springfield is home to Springfield College, Western New England University, American International College, and Springfield Technical Community College, among other higher educational institutions.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, Springfielders produced many innovations, including the first American-English dictionary (1805, Merriam-Webster); the first use of interchangeable parts and the assembly line in manufacturing (1819, Thomas Blanchard); the first American horseless car (1825, Thomas Blanchard); the mass production of vulcanized rubber (1844, Charles Goodyear); the first American gasoline-powered car (1893, Duryea Brothers); the first successful motorcycle company (1901, "Indian"); one of America's first commercial radio stations (1921, WBZ, broadcast from the Hotel Kimball); and most famously, the world's second-most-popular sport, basketball (1891, Dr. James Naismith). Springfield would play major roles in machine production, initially driven by the arms industry of the Armory, as well as from private companies such as Smith & Wesson, established by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson. Similarly, the industrial economy led Thomas and Charles Wason to establish the Wason Manufacturing Company, which produced the first manufactured sleeping car. The largest railcar works in New England, Wason produced 100 cars a day at its peak; the company was eventually purchased by Brill in 1907 and closed during the Depression in 1937. Among numerous other industries, during the first half of the 20th century Springfield also produced brass goods, chemicals, clothing and knit goods, paper goods, watches, boilers, engines, manufacturing machinery, silverware, jewelry, skates, carriages, buttons, needles, toys, and printed books and magazines.
The Hampden Savings Bank and the Chapin National Bank building are two of many historic buildings on the National Register of Historic Places for Springfield.
Springfield had 11 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 10 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized March 27, 1865
- Chartered April 7, 1865
- Succeeded Chicopee Bank
- Closed January 12, 1927
- Consolidated with 308 January 12, 1927 (Third National Bank/Third NB & TC, Springfield, MA)
- Circulation assumed by 308 (Third National Bank/Third NB & TC, Springfield, MA)
The Chicopee National Bank was older than the city of Springfield having been chartered as the Chicopee Bank in 1836, or 16 years before the city received its charter. The bank was incorporated on May 2, 1836 with $200,000 capital and opened for business in a building purchased for the bank's use and occupying the exact site on the corner of Main and Elm Streets of the future structure built in 1888-1889. The charter was granted by the Legislature of Massachusetts and was signed by Edward Everett as Governor.[1] The first meeting of the stockholders was held in the old tavern of "Uncle Jerry" Warriner on May 2, 1836. The Chicopee Bank had the following presidents and cashiers. Presidents--George Bliss, 1836-1846; Samuel Reynolds, 1846-1850; and Philo F. Wilcox, 1850-1865. Cashiers--Henry Seymour, 1836-1841; B. Frank Warner, 1841-1856; Thomas Warner, Jr., 1856-1879.[2]
In 1888, business had grown to such an extent as to require a larger building which was completed and occupied by the bank the following year. This structure would serve until 1912 when the continual addition of new business prompted officers to make a thorough overhaul and remodeling of it.
On September 3, 1912, the bank took possession of its remodeled and practically new building. The improvements, while extremely rich in design and material, by no means imparted an air of showiness, but gave the appearance of solidity and taste that reflected the progressive spirit that characterized the institution in its 76th year of successful banking. In 1912, Edward Pynchon was president and came from a banking family. His father, Joseph C. Pynchon had been for many years president of the Five Cent Savings Bank of Springfield. Edward Pynchon entered the Chicopee National in 1875 and served as office boy, clerk, teller, cashier, and president. G. Frank Adams, vice president, was serving his third term in that office. Leander W. White, cashier, worked his way up from the bottom, having been connected with the bank for nearly 30 years. The capital was $400,000; surplus and profits, $445,000; and deposits exceeded $3,000,000.[3]
In April 1914, Edward Pynchon retired from the presidency and became chairman of the board of directors. George A. McDonald, treasurer of the North Adams trust Company was elected to succeed him.[4]
In October 1925, plans were being prepared for an 11-story bank and office building to be erected probably the following spring by the Chicopee National Bank at an estimated cost of $2,000,000. The new building would likely be the tallest structure with the exception of the Campanile in Springfield. The city building ordinance limited the height to 125 feet above the curb. Officers of the bank believed an exception would be made in the bank's case since the building would be opposite Court Square. Here an unusually tall building would not interfere with the lighting of other buildings.[5]
In November 1926, announcement was made that the Chicopee National Bank and Third National Bank and Trust Company of Springfield would consolidate under the name of the Third National effective January 1, 1927. George A. MacDonald would retire on December 31 after service of 12 years with the Chicopee National. He was elected president on April 8, 1914. MacDonald was born in Springfield on December 21, 1876, a son of Donald and Janet MacDonald and was one of 14 children. After schools in Springfield, he entered the North Adams National Bank and eventually was promoted to the rank of bookkeeper. He resigned from the bank and took a position in the accounting department of the Arnold Print Works and in 1914 when the North Adams Trust Company was formed, became the first treasurer of that institution. He held that position a few months and resigned when elected president of the Chicopee National to succeed the Edward Pynchon. The total resources of the consolidated institution would be about $35 million, making it the largest national bank in Massachusetts outside of Boston.[6]
On January 11, 1927, stockholders of the Third National Bank and of the Chicopee National Bank voted in separate annual meetings to ratify the consolidation of the two banks. Stockholders of the Third also voted to increase capital stock from $1,000,000 to $1,420,000. Under the merger plan, the 5,000 shares of the Chicopee National would be exchanged for 42,000 shares of the Third National. Frederick M. Jones, president of the Third National would head the new organization.[7]
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Chicopee National Bank of Springfield, MA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $4,054,400 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1865 and 1927. This consisted of a total of 380,346 notes (380,346 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 Original Series 3x1-2 1 - 4500 Original Series 4x5 1 - 8500 Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 3100 Original Series 50-100 1 - 1368 Series 1875 3x1-2 1 - 2520 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 12480 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 5848 Series 1875 50-100 1 - 595 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 21655 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 5500 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 15200 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 15201 - 30002
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1865 - 1927):
Presidents:
- James Dwight Brewer, 1865-1865
- Henry Smith Lee, 1866-1869
- Henry Fuller, Jr. , 1870-1886
- Horace Smith, 1887-1892
- Andrew Jackson McIntosh, 1893-1901
- Arthur B. West, 1902-1908
- Charles Leonard Goodhue, 1909-1909
- Edward Pynchon, 1910-1913
- George A. MacDonald, 1914-1925
Cashiers:
- Thomas Warner, Jr., 1865-1878
- Arthur B. West, 1879-1901
- Edward Pynchon, 1902-1909
- Leander W. White, 1910-1918
- George J. Clark, 1919-1926
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
- Chicopee National Bank, Springfield, MA History (NB Lookup)
- Massachusetts Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Springfield, MA, 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 Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 85, July 1912-Dec. 1912, pp 450-6.
- ↑ Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Thu., Apr. 9, 1914.
- ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 85, July 1912-Dec. 1912, pp 450-6.
- ↑ Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Thu., Apr. 9, 1914.
- ↑ Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Fri., Oct. 30, 1925.
- ↑ The North Adams Transcript, North Adams, MA, Wed., Nov. 17, 1926.
- ↑ Greenfield Daily Recorder, Greenfield, MA, Tue., Jan. 11, 1927.