McKeen National Bank, Terre Haute, IN (Charter 7922)
McKeen National Bank, Terre Haute, IN (Chartered 1905 - Closed 1928)
Town History
Terre Haute is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana located only 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943.
Located along the Wabash River, Terre Haute is one of the largest cities in the Wabash Valley and is known as the Queen City of the Wabash. The city is home to multiple higher education institutions, including Indiana State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana.
Terre Haute's name is derived from the French phrase meaning "highland." It was named by French-Canadian explorers and fur trappers to the area in the early 18th century to describe the unique location above the Wabash River. At the time the area was claimed by the French and British and these highlands were considered the border between Canada and Louisiana.
Fort Harrison was built in 1811 on the Wabash River near present-day Terre Haute The construction of Fort Harrison in 1811 marked the known beginning of a permanent population of European-Americans. A Wea Indian village already existed near the fort, and the orchards and meadows they kept a few miles south of the fort became the site of the present-day city. The village of Terre Haute, then a part of Knox County, Indiana, was platted in 1816.
Terre Haute became the county seat of the newly formed Vigo County in 1818, leading to increased population growth. The village's 1,000 residents voted to incorporate in 1832; the village was elevated to city status in 1853.
Early Terre Haute was a center of farming, milling, and pork processing. However, the city's pre-1960 business and industrial expansion occurred largely thanks to transportation. The Wabash River, the building of the National Road (now US 40) and the Wabash and Erie Canal linked Terre Haute to the world and broadened the city's range of influence. The economy was based on iron and steel mills, hominy plants, and, late in the 19th century, distilleries, breweries and bottle makers. Coal mines and coal operating companies developed to support the railroads, yet agriculture remained predominant, largely due to the role of corn in making alcoholic beverages and food items.
Terre Haute had eight National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and seven of those banks issued National Bank Notes. Terre Haute also had seven Obsolete Banks that issued Obsolete Bank Notes during the Obsolete Bank Note Era (1782-1866).
Bank History
- Organized September 15, 1905
- Chartered September 25, 1905
- Closed February 20, 1928
- Consolidated with 2742 (new 47) February 20, 1928 (First National Bank, Terre Haute, IN)
- Circulation assumed by 2742 (new 47) (First National Bank, Terre Haute, IN)
In June 1883, the Locomotive Firemen's Magazine gave a sketch of Wm. R. Mckeen. It said he was born in Vigo County, Indiana Oct. 12, 1829 and his father was one of the pioneers of the state. Mr. McKeen was once a student in Asbury University, though he did not take his degree. In 1855 with Ralph Tousey, he opened a private banking house, McKeen's Bank, still operating in Terre Haute. In 1865 he was elected president of the Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad Company. He extended the popular Vandalia Line to St. Louis.
A list of officers of the new Bank of the State of Indiana compiled November 2, 1855 listed for the branch at Terre Haute John P. Usher, president, and John P. Usher, Thomas Dowling, Lewis M. Cook, Wm. E. McLean, W.R. McKeen, Albert Lange and Austin M. Puett, directors.
In July 1905, the Comptroller of the Currency approved the application to organize the McKeen National bank, of Terre Haute, and sent blanks to McKeen & Co., Terre Haute. The capital authorized was $400,000, and the following men were interested: William R. McKeen, Herman Hulman, Charles Minshall, Frank McKeen and Samuel C. McKeen. On September 25, 1905, the Comptroller of the Currency authorized the McKeen National Bank to begin business with a capital of $500,000. William R. McKeen was president and Samuel C. McKeen, cashier.
In January 1909, the re-election of Preston Hussey as president of the Terre Haute National Bank, and W.R. McKeen as president of the McKeen National Bank, two of the oldest bankers in the State were recognized. The other officers of the McKeen Bank were Frank McKeen vice-president; S.C. McKeen, cashier; and Charles Paddock, assistant cashier.
On May 20, 1916, Frank K. McKeen had a fatal heart attack while riding with his wife in an automobile. Mr. McKeen was a native of Terre Haute, and was born May 24, 1853, in apartments over the old State Bank, now Memorial Hall, on Ohio Street opposite the south entrance of the courthouse. His father, William R. McKeen, was cashier of the bank and lived in rooms above it. He received his education in the public schools and was graduated from the high school in one of the earlier classes. One of his schoolmates at that time was John E. Lamb, and a close and lasting friendship sprang up between them. After his graduation, he became an office boy in the McKeen & Minshall Bank in which his father was interested along with Deloss W. Minshall, a prominent city financier. His entire business career was spent in that institution. He advanced step by step until he became the manager of its affairs. When it was incorporated aa a national bank in 1905. he was elected vice president, succeeding to the presidency on the death of William R. McKeen. He was co-executor with his brothers of the estate of his father, and also a co-executor with the United States Trust Company of the estate of his brother-in-law, James McGregor, who died in 1914, leaving a fortune of nearly half a million dollars with many benefactions to local educational and charitable institutions of which the Rose Polytechnic Institute was the chief. His brother, Samuel C. McKeen, cashier of the McKeen National Bank succeeded him as president.
On April 16, 1927, Edison L. Wagner, teller at the McKeen National Bank, was arrested on a charge of embezzling bank funds and after arraignment before United State Commissioner Clyde R. Randel was sent to the Vigo County Jail under bond of $30,000. Bank officials declared that the bank was fully protected by surety for the amount. In response to questioning, Wagner would not divulge the purpose for which he took the money, but declared that he did not have any of it. He had been employed at the bank for a number of years and was unsuspected until a recent check of his books showed the shortage. Wagner was at liberty on a $25,000 bond and was accused of abstracting more than $29,000 from the McKeen National Bank. He was alleged to have accepted deposits from bank customers, entered them in passbooks but failed to turn the money over to the bank or to make any entry in the bank's records of the deposits. The trial began on October 3, 1927 and a guilty verdict was returned on the 7th. On October 22d, he was sentenced to three years at Leavenworth and was fined $1,000 by Judge Baltzell for embezzling $32,000.
In January 1928, merger of the First National Bank and the McKeen National Bank, two of the oldest banking institutions in Terre Haute, was approved by the stockholders and the union of the two under the name of the First McKeen National Bank would take effect soon. The president will be S. Crawford McKeen, president of the McKeen bank and son of the late W.R. McKeen, founder. The first vice president was Paul N. Bogart, president of the First National, which was founded in 1863. The bank's business would be carried on at the First National's building on the south side of Wabash Avenue between Fifth and Sixth streets which was remodeled two years earlier. The McKeen bank occupied one of the most prominent corner locations in town, at the northwest corner of Sixth street and Wabash Avenue. Mr. Bogart was in Washington arranging for the merger with the comptroller of the currency. The merger will mark the second large bank combination in Terre Haute in the past year, the Terre Haute National bank and the United States Trust Company having recently consolidated.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The McKeen National Bank of Terre Haute, IN
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $5,954,200 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1905 and 1928. This consisted of a total of 573,820 notes (573,820 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 1902 Red Seal 4x5 1 - 14000 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 12050 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 23750 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 11000 1902 Date Back 50-100 1 - 4000 1902 Plain Back 4x5 23751 - 43285 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 11001 - 72120
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1905 - 1928):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- Samuel Crawford McKeen, 1906-1912
- Charles. Paddock, 1913-1919
- Cecil B. Reed, 1920-1927
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Indiana Bank Note History
- General information on Terre Haute (Wikipedia)
- General information on Vigo County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Indiana (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Terre Haute, IN, 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
- Richmond Weekly Palladium, Richmond, IN, Thu., Nov. 22, 1855.
- The Evansville Journal, Evansville, IN, Wed., May 30, 1883.
- Muncie Evening Press, Muncie, IN, Fri., July 21, 1905.
- The Herald, Jasper, IN, Fri., Sep. 29, 1905.
- The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, IN, Wed., Jan. 20, 1909.
- The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, IN, Mon., May 22, 1916.
- The Times, Munster, IN, Fri., June 24, 1927.
- Palladium-Item, Richmond, IN, Fri., Oct. 7, 1927.
- Princeton Daily Clarion, Princeton, IN, Sat., Oct. 22, 1927.
- The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis, IN, Sat., Jan. 14, 1928.