Home National Bank, Holyoke, MA (Charter 3128)
Home National Bank, Holyoke, MA (Chartered 1884 - Liquidated 1916)
Town History
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. Located 8 miles north of Springfield, Holyoke is part of the Springfield Metropolitan Area, one of the two distinct metropolitan areas in Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. The area was named for an early Springfield settler, Elizur Holyoke, who had first explored the area in the 1650s. Following land acquisitions and development by the Hadley Falls Company, the town of Holyoke was officially incorporated on March 14, 1850. Holyoke's population rose from just under 5,000 in 1860 to over 60,000 in 1920.
Holyoke is among the early planned industrial cities in the United States. Built in tandem with the Holyoke Dam to utilize the water power of Hadley Falls, it is one of a handful of cities in New England built on the grid plan. During the late 19th century the city produced an estimated 80% of the writing paper used in the United States and was home to the largest paper mill architectural firm in the country, as well as the largest paper, silk, and alpaca wool mills in the world. Although a considerably smaller number of businesses in Holyoke work in the paper industry today, it is still commonly referred to as "The Paper City". Today the city contains a number of specialty manufacturing companies, as well as the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, an intercollegiate research facility which opened in 2012. Holyoke is also home to the Volleyball Hall of Fame and known as the "Birthplace of Volleyball", as the internationally played Olympic sport was invented and first played at the local YMCA chapter by William G. Morgan in 1895.
While managing the Holyoke Testing Flume in the 1880s, hydraulic engineer Clemens Herschel invented the Venturi meter to determine the water use of individual mills in the Holyoke Canal System. This device, the first accurate means of measuring large-scale flows, is widely used in a number of engineering applications today, including waterworks and carburetors, as well as aviation instrumentation. Powered by these municipally-owned canals, Holyoke has among the lowest electricity costs in the Commonwealth, and as of 2016 between 85% and 90% of the city's energy was carbon neutral, with administrative goals in place to reach 100% in the future.
Holyoke had five National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all five of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized February 5, 1884
- Chartered February 25, 1884
- Liquidated December 30, 1916
- Merged with Hadley Falls National Bank (Charter 1246) forming the Hadley Falls Trust Company of Holyoke, MA
On Monday, February 18, 1884, the 22d birthday of Fred F. Partridge was celebrated by 20 couples of his young friends as they took possession of his house on Gothic Street and made things merry until after midnight. A luxurious easy chair which appeared to prove a perfect fit was part of the surprise. Refreshments were furnished by the ladies and the evening entertainment consisted of music, dancing, an exhibition of the power of mesmerism, games, etc. Mr. Partridge would become teller of the new Home National Bank of Holyoke on March 1st, and Mr. J.L. Warriner of the Northampton National Bank, where Mr. Partridge was formerly clerk, was a willing contributor to the fund to purchase the present. The Home National Bank was authorized to commence business on February 25th with a capital of $250,000. James H. Newton, president of the Waukegan Paper Company of Holyoke and a director of the Holyoke and Westfield Railroad, was president and E.L. Munn, cashier.
On Tuesday, January 12, 1886, stockholders at the annual election chose the following board of directors: James H. Newton, Edwin L. Munn, Anderson Allyn, Daniel H. Newton, Josephus Crafts of Northampton, Edward C. Rogers of Springfield, Moses Newton, John C. Newton, James Ramage, Geo. A. Clark, Geo. W. Millar of New York City, Frederick Taylor of Granby, Herman Stursberg, Jr., John Tilley of Granby and F.H. Chamberlin.
On Tuesday, January 14, 1890, stockholders at the annual election chose the following board of directors: James H. Newton, Edwin L. Munn, Anderson Allyn, Josephus Crafts, Northampton, Moses Newton, James Ramage, John C. Newton, George A. Clark, George A. Millar, New York City, Fred. Taylor, Granby, John Tilley, Granby, F.H. Chamberlin, James T. Abbe, Springfield, James S. Newton, and Samuel R. Whiting.
On Monday, January 15, 1900, the directors organized with these officers: James H. Newton, president; Fred F. Partridge, cashier; Walter Caden, teller; James H. Newton, Fred F. Partridge, John Tilley, Oran Allyn and George A. Clark, finance committee.
On Monday, January 17, 1916, at the organization meeting of the board of directors, Fred F. Partridge was elected president. He succeeded James H. Newton who declined re-election after serving continually since the organization of the institution in 1884. Oren D. Allyn was re-elected vice president and the office of cashier was left open to be filled at a later date. Joseph C. Drapeau was re-elected assistant cashier and Mr. Newton, retired president, was unanimously elected chairman of the board of directors. The other directors were Oren D. Allyn, George P.B. Alderman, J.A. Sullivan, L.M. Gaylord, Albert Steiger, J.M. Ramage, Pierre Bonvouloir, Clifton F. Tilley, and Fred F. Partridge. The employees were C. Herbert Bell and Herman Mann, tellers; Raymond E. Nugent and Blanche R. Bonneville, bookkeepers; Grace A. Allison, discount clerk; Max Berman and Erna Goetz and Amelia Bieber, clerks. Following a year as clerk in the Northampton National Bank, Mr. Partridge came to Holyoke in 1881 to become bookkeeper of the City National Bank, then located in the Hotel Hamilton building. He remained in that position until 1884 when the Home Bank was organized and became teller, taking the first deposit made at the bank. He held this position until 1892 when E.L. Munn resigned as cashier. The Home bank had deposits amounting to $1,625,196.14 and surplus and undivided profits of $205,227.41. The bank was located in the YMCA building for the past 15 years and was formerly opposite City Hall where McAuslan and Wakelen then operated.
On Thursday, December 21, 1916, depositors of the Hadley Falls National Bank and the Home National Bank received the first formal announcement of the merger which would combine both banks into the Hadley Falls Trust Company. The new arrangement would go into effect on January 2, 1917. The trust company was founded on a capital of $50,000 and surplus of $250,000 and would operate with headquarters in the present quarters of the Home National Bank and the Hadley Falls bank quarters would be a branch office.
In January 1917, the Hadley Falls Trust Company reported resources of $5,372,378.15 with two banking rooms, YMCA building and corner of Main and Dwight Streets. Joseph A. Skinner was president; Fred F. Partridge, first vice president; Edward P. Bagg, second vice president; Harry J. Bardwell, third vice president; Louis Harvey, secretary and treasurer; and Joseph C. Drapeau., assistant treasurer. The directors were Joseph Skinner, Fred F. Partridge, Edward P. Bagg, Albert Steiger, Frank B. Towne, Pierre Bonvouloir, J.A. Sullivan, R.F. McElwain, Philander Moore, L.M. Gaylord, Frank H. Metcalf, James H. Newton, Henry L. Russell, Oren D. Allyn, Geo. P.B. Alderman, H.J. Frink, James M. Ramage, Clifton F. Tilley, J.L. Wyckoff, Thomas S. Childs, and Arthur C. Hastings.
In March 1917, Louis Harvey resigned as treasurer of the Hadley Falls Trust Company to accept a position as cashier at the Wellesley (Mass.) National Bank. Mr. Harvey came to Holyoke in February 1916 as cashier at the Home National Bank, succeeding Fred Partridge when the latter was elevated to the presidency. When the Home National Bank and Hadley Falls National Bank merged into the Hadley Falls Trust Company on January 1st, Mr. Harvey was elected treasurer. Prior to coming to Holyoke, Mr. Harvey resided In Wellesley Hills, a suburb of Boston. He had been engaged in the banking business for a quarter of a century as cashier of the Elliott National Bank of Boston for 11 years and up to the time of the consolidation of the bank with the Shawmut National Bank into the National Shawmut Bank. The employees of the Hadley Falls Trust Company presented Mr. Harvey with a handsome gold watch as a token of their regard and esteem for him.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Home National Bank of Holyoke, MA
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,871,090 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1884 and 1916. This consisted of a total of 380,696 notes (380,696 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 - 39570 1882 Brown Back 50-100 1 - 1870 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 6800 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 8780 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 23000 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 14300 1902 Plain Back 4x5 23001 - 24342 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 14301 - 14747
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1884 - 1916):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Massachusetts Bank Note History
- General information on Holyoke (Wikipedia)
- General information on Hampden County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Massachusetts (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Holyoke, MA, 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
- Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Mon., Feb. 25, 1884.
- The Boston Globe, Boston, MA, Tue., Feb. 26, 1884.
- Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Tue., Jan. 12, 1886.
- Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Tue., Jan. 14, 1890.
- Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Mon., Jan. 15, 1900.
- Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Mon., Jan. 17, 1916.
- Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Thu., Dec. 21, 1916.
- Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Tue., Jan. 2, 1917.
- Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Tue., Mar. 20, 1917.
- Transcript-Telegram, Holyoke, MA, Fri., Mar. 23, 1917.