First National Bank of Medicine Lodge, KS (Charter 3253)

A January 1890 advertisement for the First National Bank of Medicine Lodge, Kansas.

First National Bank of Medicine Lodge, KS (Chartered 1884 - Liquidated 1894)

Town History

Medicine Lodge is a city in and the county seat of Barber County, Kansas. The city is located about 85 miles southwest of Wichita, 240 miles southwest of Topeka, and 42 miles east of Coldwater at the junction of U.S. Routes 160 and 281.

The particular medicine lodge, mystery house or sacred tabernacle from which the Medicine Lodge River received its name was in reality an arbor-like shelter of tree trunks and leafy branches which was erected by the Kiowa people for the celebration of their annual sun dance in the summer of 1866. It was in the valley of the Medicine Lodge River, several miles below the present town of Medicine Lodge, which is at the mouth of Elm Creek. In their own language, the Kiowa people called this stream A-ya-dalda P’a, meaning "Timber-hill River." The Kiowa had considered the site sacred due to the high content of Epsom salts in the river.

In October 1867, the Medicine Lodge Treaty was a set of three treaties signed between the United States of America and the Kiowa, Comanche, Plains Apache, Southern Cheyenne, and Southern Arapaho. The site of the Peace Council camp was about three miles above that of the future town and on the same side of the river. A Peace Treaty Pageant, first presented in 1927 in an outdoor amphitheater on a quarter section of Kansas prairie, commemorates this significant event in Western history.

Settlers led by a man named John Hutchinson founded the town of Medicine Lodge north of the confluence of Elm Creek and the Medicine Lodge River in February 1873. The community grew rapidly with a hotel, stores, and a post office established within a year. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,781. In 1880 the population was 373, growing to 1,095 by 1890.

Medicine Lodge had three National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and two of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

• Organized September 17, 1884
• Chartered September 24, 1884
• Succeeded Medicine Valley Bank
• Bought Commanche County Bank of Coldwater 1886
• Liquidated March 1, 1894

Bank Robbers in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. A photograph available from the Kansas Historical Society shows a group of robbers from Medicine Lodge, Kansas. The men in shackles are identified from left to right as: John Wesley, Henry Newton Brown, Billy Smith, and Ben Wheeler the would be robbers of the Medicine Valley Bank in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Brown, a former member of Billy the Kid's Gang, and Wheeler a former outlaw and friend of Brown's, found themselves on the other side of the law with their appointments as marshals of Caldwell, Kansas. However, on April 30, 1884, Brown, Wheeler, Smith, and Wesley attempted to rob the Medicine Valley Bank. The robbery was unsuccessful and the robbers were eventually apprehended and brought back to Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Their time in jail was brief when pandemonium erupted over their capture, creating a diversion for escape. In a hail of bullets, Henry Brown was shot dead while an injured Wheeler was captured and hanged beside Wesley and Smith.

In May 1884, the Medicine Valley Bank was again opened for business with W.W. Cook as cashier, and T.C. Updyke and Frank Chapin as assistants. Mr. Cook was a well-known and popular businessman with large interests outside of the bank. Charles H. Eldred was talked of for president. The directors elected W.W. Cook, president; T.S. Updyke, cashier and Frank Chapin, assistant cashier. Mr. Updyke, the new cashier, had been employed by Geppert & Stone as a bookkeeper for nearly a year. The directors were J.A. Blair, W.W. Cook, David Stith, P.H. Chapin, Reuben Lake, Robert Kerr, W.L. Blair, and O.C. Ewart. The bank had capital of $100,000.

In April 1885, the directors of the First National Bank, successor to the Medicine Valley Bank, were J.A. Blair, W.W. Cook, David Stith, P.H. Chapin, Reuben Lake, Robert Kerr, W.L. Blair, O.C. Ewart, and E. Youmans. The officers were J.A. Blair, president; W.W. Cook, vice president; and O.C. Ewart, cashier. The bank had authorized capital of $200,000 with paid-in capital $50,000.

In June 1887, Mr. James A. Blair, was president of the Comanche County Bank in Coldwater, the First National Bank at Medicine Lodge, and also of the Fidelity Trust Company of Kansas City, the wealthiest incorporated company in the west. Mr. Oliver C. Ewart was cashier of the First National Bank of Medicine Lodge and a director in the Fidelity Trust Company.  The firm of Blair, Ewart & Co. was the most successful firm of bankers in the southwest.  They were principal stockholders in each of the following banks:  First National Bank of Garden City, First National Bank of Meade Center, First National Bank of Ashland, Comanche County Bank of Coldwater, and First National Bank of Medicine Lodge.

In January 1890, the directors were P.D. Cunningham, W.L. Blair, P.A. Simmons, A.W. Little, O.C. Ewart, and J.P. Hall. The officers were P.D. Cunningham, president; J.P. Hall, vice president; P.A. Simmons, 2d vice president; and T.C. Molloy, cashier. The First National Bank of Medicine Lodge was associated with banks at Coldwater, Ashland and Meade Center.

In January 1891, W.L. Blair of Nevada, Ohio, president of the Nevada Deposit Bank and a director of the First National Bank, was in town to attend the annual election and look after the business. At the annual meeting of the stockholders, the following officers were elected: J.P. Hall, president; T.L. Lindley, vice president; W.T. Rouse, cashier. The directors were J.P. Hall, W.T. Rouse, W.L. Blair, P.A. Simmons, I.D. Wilson, and T.L. Lindley. In January 1891, P.D. Cunningham filed a petition in district court praying for $10,000 damages against James P. Hall, W.T. Rouse, L.W. Blair, I.D. Wilson, P.A. Simmons, T.L. Lindley, and John S. Runyan, on account of illegal usurpation in the occupancy of their positions as officers and directors of the First National Bank of Medicine Lodge. The petition was for an injunction against the defendants from transacting business of the bank.

In January 1893, the directors were J.P. Hall, W.T. Rouse, C.S. Jobes, T.W. Black, W.L. Blair, and T.L. Lindley. The officers were J.P. Hall, president; T.L. Lindley, vice president; C.S. Jobes, cashier; and W.T. Rouse, assistant cashier. Mr. Lindley's business as abstracter, real estate, and insurance was located on Kansas Avenue between Main Street and Court House. P.D. Cunningham was located at Enid, Oklahoma, practicing law.

On Tuesday, January 9, 1894, the officers of the First National Bank were re-elected as follows: J.P. Hall, president; T.L. Lindley, vice president; C.S. Jobes, cashier; and J.S. Runyan, assistant cashier. The directors were W.L. Blair, A.L. Noble, T.L. Lindley, W.T. Rouse, C.S. Jobes, and J.P. Hall. In March 1894, the First National Bank of Medicine Lodge was absorbed by the Citizens State Bank of that place. A notice dated March 1st, 1894, that the First National Bank of Medicine Lodge was closing up its affairs was published by J.S. Runyan, cashier. Note-holders and creditors were advised to present the notes and other claims against the association for payment. Part of the furniture of the old First National Bank was sent to Alva to be used in the Alva State Bank. In November 1894, officers of the Citizens State Bank were C.Q. Chandler, president; J.W. Berryman, vice president; F.B. Chapin, cashier and J.S. Runyan, assistant cashier. The bank was located in the old First National Bank building.

On October 25, 1894, O.C. Ewart, to the surprise of almost everybody in Medicine Lodge, stopped by. He said he was finding his health again after dropping business and searching carefully for it for four years. Mr. Ewart was remembered as the cashier of the First National Bank when Blair & Ewart had charge of it. Blair & Ewart were in business in New York City under the name of Banking House of Blair & Co. Mr. Ewart said there were worse places than Medicine Lodge and had many good words to say about the town, county and their future.

On November 28, 1939, James A. Blair, one the founders and a partner in Blair & Co., Inc., New York banking firm, until his retirement in 1920, died in his country home on E. Main St., Oyster Bay. He was 89 and had been in failing health. Mr. Blair was born on April 23, 1850, in Hope, New Jersey. He was educated at Heidelberg University, Tiffin, Ohio, and his first position was in the First National Bank of Tiffin. Before coming to New York, Blair also was in the banking business in the Middle West, including banks at Medicine Lodge, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. He was the brother of W.L. Blair, banker of Nevada, Ohio.

Official Bank Title

1: The First National Bank of Medicine Lodge, KS

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with SN 1 and pen signatures of O.C. Ewart, Cashier and James A. Blair, President. Courtesy of the NBNCensus.com

A total of $40,060 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1884 and 1894. This consisted of a total of 8,012 notes (8,012 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
1882 Brown Back	4x5	1 - 2003

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1884 - 1894):

Presidents:

• James A. Blair, 1885-1888
• P. D. Cunningham, 1889-1890
• James P. Hall, 1891-1893

Cashiers:

• Oliver C. Ewart, 1885-1888
• Timothy C. Molloy, 1889-1889
• Wallace Theodore Rouse, Sr., 1890-1890
• Charles Sumner Jobes, 1891-1893

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

• First National Bank of Medicine Lodge, KS History (NB Lookup)
• Kansas Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Medicine Lodge, KS, 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