Citizens National Bank, Cheyenne, WY (Charter 8089)

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Postcard of the Citizens National Bank
Postcard of the Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne, Wyoming, ca1910s. Courtesy of Adam Stroup

Citizens National Bank, Cheyenne, WY (Chartered 1906 - Receivership 1924)

Town History

Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. The population was 65,132 at the 2020 census, while the Cheyenne metropolitan area encompassing all of Laramie County has an estimated 102,000 residents. Cheyenne is situated on Crow Creek and Dry Creek. It is the county seat of Laramie County. In 1900 the population was 14,087, declining to 13,829 by 1920.

Cheyenne was established within the Dakota Territory in 1867 as a junction along the Union Pacific Railroad. Local residents named the town for the Cheyenne people. Its economy is anchored by government services, transportation, and military operations, notably Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, with emerging growth in data centers and renewable energy. Cheyenne hosts cultural institutions such as the Wyoming State Museum and Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, and is known for the annual Cheyenne Frontier Days, a longstanding rodeo and cultural event.

Cheyenne had five National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all five of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

  • Organized January 15, 1906
  • Chartered February 14, 1906
  • Opened for business February 19, 1906
  • Receivership July 21, 1924

In November 1905, the application to organize the Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne, Wyoming, capital $100,000, was approved by the comptroller of the currency. The applicants were T.B. Hord, T.W. Stone, Ora Haley, David Nimmo, and J.H. Conway.[1]

In November 1906, Feurt Meade, assistant cashier of the Citizens National Bank of Wyoming, was at his Pattonsburg, Missouri, home for Thanksgiving.[2] 

In January 1907, I.J. Meade and Feurt Meade secured a controlling interest in the First National Bank at Longmont, Colorado, taking possession January 1st. I.J. Meade was the new cashier and Feurt Meade assistant cashier. The Meades were a preeminent family of bankers, carefully and thoroughly trained in every detail of banking. I.J. Meade left Missouri a year ago to become cashier of the First National Bank at Loveland, Colorado. Feurt Meade was one of the ablest young men in this line Gallatin had ever sent forth. He attended high school, working in the Farmers Exchange Bank after hours and on Saturdays. He then spent three years at the State University, graduating in Law with honors in June 1926. During vacations he was travelling representative for the St. Louis Bank of Commerce with Illinois Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma as territory. His connection with the Citizens National Bank at Cheyenne had been attended with most satisfactory results.[3] In May 1907, changes in officers were announced for the intermountain country. For the Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne, Charles F. Mallin, assistant cashier, in place of J.F. Meade.[4] In July 1907, I.J. Meade and J.F. Meade sold their interest in the Longmont bank to Mr. J.E. Hill and arranged to consolidate the business of the Commercial Bank. The directors of the Longmont National accepted the resignations and elected Mr. Hill cashier. Under the director of Messrs. Meade, the bank made substantial gains, the deposits increasing by 25% since the first of the year.[5]

On December 24, 1910, T.B. Hord of Fremont, Nebraska, died at Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was formerly one of the best-known cattlemen of Wyoming and for many years president of the Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne.[6] In 1880 he decided to move to Cheyenne to pursue his dream of entering the cattle business there. Within a few years he established one of the largest cattle ranches in Wyoming containing more than 2,500 cattle. He and other ranchers in the area formed the Lance Creek Cattle Association to help organize and expand the cattle industry. Realizing the need for banking services to help operate and finance this new association, T.B. Hord was instrumental in forming the Citizens National Bank.

DeHavilland crews from Ellington 6000-mile recruiting tour
DH-4 DeHavilland crews from Ellington 6000-mile recruiting tour for the aviation service. Headed by First Lieutenant Clifford C. Nutt, First Lieutenant Edward W. Killgore, Second Lieutenant Charles V. Rugh and Second Lieutenant Erick H. Nelson. The trip over the Rockies was considered by the men as their most spectacular achievement of the voyage. In addition a $200 shipment of gold dust out of Colorado to Cheyenne, the squadron carried bank clearings from Ogden to Salt Lake saving six hours in interest and insurance on the $108,000 due to the difference in speed of delivery.[7]

Around March 1919, the Yoder Bros. of the Citizens National Bank purchased a controlling interest in the Glendo State Bank and the institution would be conducted as one of the chain of financial institutions run by the Citizens.[8] 

The Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne would be the first financial institution in the country west of the Mississippi River to have money transported by airplane. The bank would have a sum of money, probably in the form of gold, brought from the Colorado National Bank of Denver by Lieutenant Clifford C. Nutt when his squadron of army planes made its trip from Denver to the Wyoming capital. The landing was planned for Fort Russell where grounds had been provided.[9]

In August 1922, Wesley I. Dumm, cashier of the Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne, purchased the assets of the Citizens State Bank which was closed by the State bank examiner on account of depleted reserves. Mr. Dumm's bid, the only one filed, was received July 8th in response to the notice of sale issued by the court, but Judge Ilsley did not place the seal of approval on the bid and issued orders for the disposition of the property until this week to allow a reasonable length of time for the filing of objections by interested parties. All assets, real, personal and mixed, drew a bid of $15,000 from Mr. Dumm, minus claims amounting to about $3,500, being offsets of depositors and other items of indebtedness. The assets of the bank were estimated at $70,000. Creditors would receive a dividend of about 16% in certificates of deposit on the Bank of Upton, bearing 5% interest and payable December 31, 1923. Before the sale was made Thomas Stirling, receiver, and others who had appraised the assets of the bank, estimated that the creditors of the institution could not realize more than 10% after discounting the expense attached to the slow liquidation of the business. Therefore it was decided by Judge Ilsley, receiver Stirling and the bank committee to offer the entire property for disposition at public sale.[10]

On February 1, 1923, Charles W. Hirsig, well-known horseman and financier, had been elected president of the Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne, succeeding B.F. Yoder.[11]

On the morning of July 9, 1924, the First National Bank of Cheyenne, Wyoming, failed to open. A notice stated that the bank was closed by order of the board of directors and was in the hands of the national bank examiners. The bank's resources as of June 30th were $6,986,209.14 and its deposits were about $4,750,000. Francis E. Warren, United States senator from Wyoming was vice president of the First National Bank. The Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne also closed this day.[12] The Citizens was capitalized at $100,000 with total resources listed at $2,235,056.[13] The only bank left in Weston County, the Upton State Bank also failed to open its doors. The Upton bank was associated with the Citizens National Bank and therefore it was compelled to close. James A. Stirling was president and Charles T. Minick, cashier.[14] Due to the closing of the Cheyenne First National Bank, five other banks were compelled to close and several more were being closely watched.[15]

For more information on Wyoming bank failures, see the Wyoming National Bank Massacre of 1924, Encyclopedia of National Bank Notes, Chapter P18, by Peter Huntoon.

On May 19, 1943, B.F. Yoder, 80, prominent rancher and politician died at Memorial Hospital after a brief illness. Yoder came to Wyoming in 1881 and settled in the Bear Creek County. He was a former member of the legislature and honorary member of the Stockgrowers' Association and of the Wyoming Consistory. Mr. Yoder at one time operated a ranch in what became Kimball County, Nebraska.[16] The community of Yoder south of Torrington in southeastern Wyoming was named for Yoder and his brother. He operated a ranch near Chugwater north of Cheyenne.[17] Yoder controlled a chain of banks that included the Glendo State Bank and Bank of Glenrock, both founded in 1917; The Torrington National Bank and The First National Bank of Manville, both organized in 1919; and The Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne, which he took over in 1918. He also was a principal in the Platte County State Bank of Wheatland.[18]

Official Bank Title

1: The Citizens National Bank of Cheyenne, WY

Bank Note Types Issued

1902 Red Seal $20 bank note
1902 Red Seal $20 bank note with SN 1A and pen signatures of E.W. Stone, Cashier and T.B. Hord, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com
1902 Plain Back $10 bank note
1902 Plain Back $10 bank note with stamped signatures of Wesley I. Dumm, Cashier and B.F. Yoder, President. The Huntoon Collection

A total of $939,750 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1906 and 1924. This consisted of a total of 75,180 notes (75,180 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 - 2400
1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 7500
1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 7501 - 16395

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1906 - 1924):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

Bank Note History Links

Sources

  • Cheyenne, WY, 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
  1. ↑ Deseret News, Salt Lake City, UT, Fri., Nov. 17, 1905.
  2. ↑ The Gallatin Democrat, Gallatin, MO, Thu., Nov. 22, 1906.
  3. ↑ Gallatin North Missourian, Gallatin, MO, Fri., Jan. 11, 1907.
  4. ↑ The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, UT, Sat., May 18, 1907.
  5. ↑ The Gallatin Democrat, Gallatin, MO, Thu., July 4, 1907.
  6. ↑ Natrona County Tribune, Casper, WY, Wed., Jan. 18, 1911.
  7. ↑ The Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX, Sun., Sep. 14, 1919.
  8. ↑ Casper Star-Tribune, Casper, WY, Fri., Apr. 4, 1919.
  9. ↑ Casper Star-Tribune, Casper, WY, Sat., Aug. 30, 1919.
  10. ↑ News Letter Journal, Newcastle, WY, Thu., Aug. 10, 1922.
  11. ↑ Casper Star-Tribune, Casper, WY, Thu., Feb. 1, 1923.
  12. ↑ Salt Lake Telegram, Salt Lake City, UT, Wed., July 9, 1924.
  13. ↑ The Kalamazoo Gazette, Kalamazoo, MI, Thu., July 10, 1924.
  14. ↑ The News Letter, Newcastle, WY, Thu., July 10, 1924.
  15. ↑ The News Letter, Newcastle, WY, Thu., July 10, 1924.
  16. ↑ The Western Nebraska Observer, Kimball, NE, Thu., May 27, 1943.
  17. ↑ Casper Star-Tribune, Casper, WY, Fri., May 21, 1943.
  18. ↑ Huntoon, P., Wyoming National Bank Massacre of 1924, Encyclopedia of National Bank Notes, Chapter P18, p. 15.
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