Freeport National Bank/First NB, Freeport, IL (Charter 2875)
Freeport National Bank/First NB, Freeport, IL (Chartered 1883 - Receivership 1933)
Town History
Freeport is the county seat and largest city of Stephenson County, Illinois. The population was 25,638 at the 2010 census. The community was originally called Winneshiek. When it was incorporated in 1838, the new municipality took its name from the generosity of Tutty Baker, who was credited with running a "free port" on the Pecatonica River.
In 1837, Stephenson County was formed and Freeport became its seat of government in 1838. Linked by a stagecoach with Chicago, the community grew rapidly. In 1840, a frame courthouse was erected and the first school was founded. Within two years, Freeport had two newspapers and in 1853, the two were joined by a third which published in German. By then, the community had a population of 2,000.
On August 27, 1858, the second debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas took place in Freeport and gave the nation direction in the following years. Although Stephen Douglas won the election and retained his U.S. Senate seat, his reply to a question on slavery alienated the South, which called it the "Freeport Heresy", and split the Democratic Party. This enabled Abraham Lincoln to win the Presidency in 1860.
Freeport is known as the "Pretzel City", and its public high school's team is named the Pretzels. The nickname is a reminder of Freeport's ethnic heritage; in the late 1850s, many Germans, both from Pennsylvania and from their European homeland, resettled in Stephenson County bringing with them their love of pretzel snacks. In 1869, a German immigrant named John Billerbeck established the Billerbeck Bakery, which distributed so many pretzels to residents that the local newspaper later dubbed Freeport the "Pretzel City". The city later capitalized on this nickname in 2003 by starting Freeport's first Pretzel Festival.
Freeport had four National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all four of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized January 11, 1883
- Chartered February 8, 1883
- 1: Succeeded 319 (First National Bank, Freeport, IL)
- 2: Absorbed 11675 November 10, 1923 (First National Bank, Waddams Grove, IL)
- 2: Absorbed 385 February 1, 1930 (Second National Bank, Freeport, IL)
- 2: Conservatorship March 29, 1933
- 2: Receivership October 9, 1933
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Freeport National Bank, Freeport, IL
2: The First National Bank of (5/3/1887), Freeport, IL
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,598,210 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1883 and 1933. This consisted of a total of 135,190 notes (110,344 large size and 24,846 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1: 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 2781 2: 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 2889 2: 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 1900 2: 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 7800 2: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 7801 - 20016 2: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 3243 2: 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 898
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1883 - 1933):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Illinois Bank Note History
- General information on Freeport (Wikipedia)
- General information on Stephenson County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Illinois (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Freeport, IL, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeport,_Illinois
- 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