Commercial National Bank, Fond du Lac, WI (Charter 6015)
Commercial National Bank, Fond du Lac, WI (Chartered 1901 - Receivership 1934)
Town History
Fond du Lac is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, and its county seat. It is at the southern end of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 44,678 at the 2020 census. In 1900 the population was 15,110 growing to 26,449 by 1930.
"Fond du Lac" is French for the "bottom of the lake", so named because of its location at the bottom (south end) of Lake Winnebago. The east and west branches of the Fond du Lac River connect in the city and then flow into Lake Winnebago near Lakeside Park.
In 1836, during the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, John Arndt proposed making Fond du Lac the new capital. The motion failed, and Doty convinced the legislature to choose Madison instead.
Fond du Lac had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and three of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized October 29, 1901
- Chartered November 9, 1901
- Opened for business November 16, 1901
- Succeeded Wells Banking House
- Conservatorship March 13, 1933
- Receivership January 2, 1934
- Succeeded by National Exchange Bank, Fond du Lac, WI (Charter 13879) (no issue)
On Saturday, November 16, 1901, the Commercial National Bank of Fond du Lac started business. It was the Wells Banking Company reorganized.[1]
In February 1902, the Commercial National Bank planned to erect a bank building on the corner of Main and First Streets, the work beginning around March 15th.[2]
In January 1909 at the annual meeting of the stockholders, the following directors were re-elected: H.R. BPotter, Henry Boyle, A.G. Bechaud, M.T. Simmons, John T. Boyle, F. Eugene Hoyt, F.M. Givens, George Giddings and D.D. Sutherland. The officers re-elected were H.R. Potter, president; Henry Boyle, first vice president; A.G. Bechaud, second vice president; M.T. Simmons, cashier.[3]
At the close of business on February 4, 1913, The Commercial National Bank reported total resources of $2,019,474.26, with capital stock $125,000, surplus and undivided profits $8,087.45 and circulation $125,000. The directors were H.R. Potter, Henry Boyle, A.G. Bechaud, M.T. Simmons, John T. Boyle, D.D. Sutherland, F.M. Givens, and William Nast. The officers were H.R. Potter, president; Henry Boyle, first vice president; A.G. Bechaud, second vice president; M.T. Simmons, cashier; and F.A. Boyd, assistant cashier.[4]
On Saturday, June 30, 1923, Fond du Lac's new $400,000 bank and office building would be formally opened with a public reception from four to 10 o'clock. The Commercial National Bank would open for business in its new home on Monday morning. The bank occupied the first floor of the building and was equipped with the latest and best in fire-proof, burglar-proof equipment and the seven floors of office suites were models of modern convenience. Officers of the bank were R.H. Potter, president; F.A. Boyd, vice president; and E.J. Shaw, cashier.[5]
On Wednesday, May 13, 1931, Henry R. Potter, 69, president of the Commercial National Bank and long identified with numerous other business ventures here, died at his residence today after an illness of several weeks. Potter was grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of Wisconsin in 1901 and was a member of the Elks lodge. He was treasurer of the board of trustees of the Fond du Lac Episcopal diocese and a charter member of St. Paul's cathedral. Other business affiliations included the Northern Casket Company, the Sanitary Refrigerator Company, the Multiple Typewriter Company, Standard Refrigerator Company, all of Fond du Lac, and the Sioux City Casket company, Sioux City, Iowa.[6]
On Saturday, November 25, 1933, authorization for the opening of the new National Exchange Bank of Fond du Lac to succeed the Commercial National Bank was received from Washington. Senator F. Ryan Duffy who had been urging the administration to permit the opening of the new bank received the authorization by phone yesterday. Underwriters said the Reconstruction Finance Corporation would purchase $250,000 of preferred stock. The capital stock was $500,000 of which $200,000 would be subscribed locally and $50,000 would be surplus.[7]
Official Bank Title
1: The Commercial National Bank of Fond du Lac, WI
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $3,731,750 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1901 and 1934. This consisted of a total of 453,782 notes (328,608 large size and 125,174 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 - 5600 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 7750 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 4300 1882 Value Back 4x5 7751 - 18940 1882 Value Back 3x10-20 4301 - 11089 1902 Plain Back 4x5 1 - 26618 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 1 - 19905 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 12196 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 6724 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 1800 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 594 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 260
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1901 - 1934):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- Milton T. Simmons, 1901-1918
- Franklin A. Boyd, 1919-1922
- Edward J. Shaw, 1923-1930
- William A. Sanders, 1931-1933
Other Known Bank Note Signers
Bank Note History Links
- Commercial National Bank, Fond du Lac, WI History (NB Lookup)
- Wisconsin Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)
Sources
- Fond du Lac, 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
- ↑ The Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI, Sat., Nov. 16, 1901.
- ↑ The Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI, Tue., Feb. 4, 1902.
- ↑ The Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI, Thu., Jan. 7, 1909.
- ↑ The Reporter, Fond du Lac, WI, Mon., Feb. 10, 1913.
- ↑ Beloit Daily News, Beloit, WI, Sat., June 30, 1923.
- ↑ The Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI, Wed., May 13, 1931.
- ↑ The Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, WI, Sat., Nov. 25, 1933.