Citizens National Bank, Keene, NH (Charter 2299)
Citizens National Bank, Keene, NH (Chartered 1875 - Closed 1924)
Town History
Keene is a city in, and the seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 census. Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England.
In 1747, during King George's War, the village was attacked and burned by Natives. Colonists fled to safety, but would return to rebuild in 1749. It was regranted to its inhabitants in 1753 by Governor Benning Wentworth, who renamed it "Keene" after Sir Benjamin Keene, English minister to Spain and a West Indies trader. Located at the center of Cheshire County, Keene was designated as the county seat in 1769.
Situated on an ancient lake bed surrounded by hills, the valley with fertile meadows was excellent for farming. The Ashuelot River was later used to provide water power for sawmills, gristmills and tanneries. After the railroad was constructed to the town in 1848, numerous other industries were established. Keene became a manufacturing center for wooden-ware, pails, chairs, sashes, shutters, doors, pottery, glass, soap, woolen textiles, shoes, saddles, mowing machines, carriages and sleighs. It also had a brickyard and foundry. Keene was incorporated as a city in 1874, and by 1880 had a population of 6,784. In the early 1900s, the Newburyport Silver Company moved to Keene to take advantage of its skilled workers and location.
Keene had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized August 19, 1875
- Chartered September 18, 1875
- Closed September 6, 1924
- Consolidated with 946 Sep 6, 1924 (Ashuelot NB/Ashuelot-Citizens NB, Keene, NH)
- Circulation assumed by 946 (Ashuelot NB/Ashuelot-Citizens NB, Keene, NH)
On Tuesday, July 6, 1875, stockholders of the Citizens National Bank met at the grand jury rooms for the purpose of organizing. The following gentlemen were chosen directors: Gov. William Haile, Henry Colony, C.T. Buffum, S.D. Osborne, S.W. Hall, of Keene; James Burnap of Marlow; and D.W. Tenney of Marlboro. The directors chose S.D. Osborne, president, and O.G. Dort Cashier. All stock had been taken and the plan was to commence operations around October 1st, having leased the store occupied by C. Cummings & Son in Ball's Block as a place of business.
The Keene Five Cent Savings Bank held a meeting on July 24, 1875 to take into consideration the question of whether their bank should be united with the Citizens' National Bank. There was a full attendance and an informal ballot gave a majority of one in opposition to it after which, upon a formal vote, there was a tie. Further consideration was postponed two weeks, and a committee was chosen to secure proper rooms for the use of the Savings Bank. On October 1, 1875, the bank was removed to the store of Spencer & Co., Mr. Geo. A. Litchfield of that firm assuming duties of Treasurer. In March 1887, George A. Litchfield sold his interest in the hardware firm of Spencer & Co. to Herbert A. Woodard, the store's clerk and bookkeeper for 15 years. Mr. Litchfield's duties as treasurer of the Keene Five Cent Savings Bank demanded all of his time and attention. On June 10, 1895, bank commissioners Baker and Hatch served an injunction on the Keene Five Cents Savings bank, restricting it from receiving new deposits or paying to any depositor a sum in excess of 15% of their deposit account. The order was rendered necessary by reason of the large calls for withdrawal of deposits chiefly by residents of other states and by persons dissatisfied with the low rate of interest which the banks were paying. The deposits were approximately $2,400,000 with a guaranty fund of $100,000. Despite the bank being perfectly solvent with sufficient assets to pay every depositor in full, it was closed.
On September 18, 1875, The Citizens National Bank of Keene obtained a charter and opened for business on Oct. 2, 1875 with a capital of $100,000. The room in Ball's Block, corner of Central Square and Court Street, had been remodeled for the institution. A large burglar- and fire-proof vault was built near the center of the room containing one of Morris & Ireland's improved safes with chronometer lock, and in the rear, a commodious room was provided for the use of directors. Stephen D. Osborne was president and Obed G. Dort was cashier.
On Nov. 11, 1917, Horatio Colony, 82, the first mayor of Keene, was killed near Goshen about 4 o'clock Sunday afternoon when his automobile, driven by Herbert Burns of Keene, crashed through a bridge rail and dropped about eight feet into a brook. The car overturned, pinning Mr. Colony and Miss Marion A. Blake under it. Mr. Colony's back was broken, but Marion Blake escaped serious injuries. The chauffeur and Miss Helen M. Blake were thrown out, but not seriously injured. Members of the party were found in a dazed condition by Col. and Mrs. C. Woodward, Gen. and Mrs. J.P. Wellman and son, autoists, who arrived on the scene immediately after the accident. The men waded into the stream and succeeded in extricating the victims, who were rushed to the Carrie F. Wright hospital at Newport in Col. Woodward's machine. Mr. Colony succumbed to his injuries on the way. The others were able to go to their homes. Mr. Colony was on an afternoon drive to Newport and was returning to his home when the accident happened. According to the chauffeur, the front wheels swerved in a bed of sand and before he could regain control the car crashed through the railing.
Horatio Colony was born in Keene and graduated from the Keene Academy and Albany law school in 1860. He was admitted to the bar in New York and New Hampshire in the same year and practiced until 1867 after which he devoted his entire time to woolen mills in Keene under the firm name of Faulkner & Colony. Later he became part owner of the Cheshire mills at Harrisville and had since been president and treasurer of the company. Mr. Colony was a director of the Cheshire and Citizens' National banks of Keene and the Winchester National Bank. He was president of the Steam Power Company and the owner of a vast amount of real estate in Cheshire County, including a farm bordering on Spofford Lake in Chesterfield where he had a summer home.
When Keene obtained its charter in 1874 as a city, he was chosen mayor and was reelected in 1875. He was a delegate to the Democratic national convention in 1868. In I877 he was a representative to the legislature. He was president of the trustees of the public library and president of the Cheshire County Humane Society and a member of the several Masonic bodies in Keene.
On August 7, 1924, the stockholders of the Ashuelot and Citizens' National Banks of Keene voted to consolidate under the charter, No. 946, of the Ashuelot bank which was founded as a state bank in 1833 and made a national bank in 1865. The new bank's title was The Ashuelot-Citizens' National Bank of Keene.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Citizens National Bank of Keene, NH
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,619,130 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1875 and 1924. This consisted of a total of 351,032 notes (351,032 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 Series 1875 4x5 1 - 14528 Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 3865 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 14130 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 5648 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 13666 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 8562 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 16635 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 10724
The first requisition for a Series of 1875 3x$10-$20 plate made entirely at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was logged into the Bureau's plate ledger June 18, 1875. It was for the Citizens National Bank of Keene, New Hampshire, Charter 2299, and bore a plate date of September 25, 1875. A distinctive blocky-style script was used for the postal location and plate date that is only found on the first few Series of 1875 3x$10-$20 plates either prepared by or finished at the BEP. Specifically, these were for charters 2280, 2290, 2294, 2295, 2297, 2298, 2299 and 2301. For more information see: Peter Huntoon, The Paper Column, "Varieties in the Battle of Lexington Vignette on $20 National Bank Notes and Hidden Stars on Series 1882 $10 and $20 Notes," Paper Money, May/June 2006 Vol. XLV, No. 3, Whole No. 243, p. 229.
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1875 - 1924):
Presidents:
- Stephen Decatur Osborne, 1876-1877
- Obed Gilman Dort, 1878-1893
- Horatio Colony, 1894-1894
- Obed Gilman Dort, 1895-1908
- William P. Chamberlain, 1909-1914
- James Scolly Taft, 1915-1923
Cashiers:
- Obed Gilman Dort, 1876-1877
- Henry Saben Martin, 1878-1889
- Herbert Bainbridge Viall Sr., 1890-1893
- Obed Gilman Dort, 1894-1894
- Arthur Lawrence Wright, 1895-1923
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Keene, NH, 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
- Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, MA, Thu., May 20, 1875.
- Vermont Journal, Randolph, VT, Sat., July 10, 1875.
- Vermont Journal, Windsor, VT, Sat., July 31, 1875.
- Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, Tue., Sep. 28, 1875.
- Vermont Journal, Randolph, VT, Sat., Oct. 9, 1875.
- Vermont Journal, Randolph, VT, Sat., Nov. 6, 1875.
- Vermont Journal, Windsor, VT, Sat., Mar. 12, 1887.
- The Enterprise and Vermonter, Vergennes, VT, Fri., June 14, 1895.
- The Brattleboro Reformer, Brattleboro, VT, Mon., Nov. 12, 1917.
- The Brattleboro Reformer, Brattleboro, VT, Thu., Aug 7, 1924.