Merchants National Bank, Fargo, ND (Charter 8170)
Merchants National Bank, Fargo, ND (Chartered 1906 - Liquidated 1929)
Town History
Fargo is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in the United States. Fargo, along with its twin city of Moorhead, Minnesota, and the adjacent cities of West Fargo, North Dakota and Dilworth, Minnesota, form the core of the Fargo, ND - Moorhead, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The MSA had a population of 248,591 in 2020. In 1900, Fargo had a population of 9,589, reaching 28,619 by 1930.
Fargo was founded in 1871 on the Red River of the North floodplain. It is a cultural, retail, health care, educational, and industrial center for southeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. North Dakota State University is located in the city.
A major fire struck the city on June 7, 1893, destroying 31 blocks of downtown Fargo, but the city was immediately rebuilt with new buildings made of brick, new streets, and a water system. More than 246 new buildings were built within one year. There were several rumors concerning the cause of the fire.
The North Dakota Agricultural College (NDAC) was founded in 1890 as North Dakota's land-grant university, becoming first accredited by the North Central Association in 1915. In 1960, NDAC became known as North Dakota State University.
Early in the 20th century, the automobile industry flourished, and in 1905, Fargo became home to the Pence Automobile Company.
Fargo had 10 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and nine of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized March 12, 1906
- Chartered April 10, 1906
- Conversion of The Merchants State Bank
- Opened for business April 11, 1906
- Liquidated July 26, 1929
- Succeeded by 13323 (Merchants National Bank and Trust Company, Fargo, ND)
In December 1891, summarizing the business of the state banks of North Dakota, Bank Examiner Wallace found that there were 61 banks in the state operating under the law which was about a year old at the time. The banks had a combined capital of $808,135.78; deposits, $2,269,222.2; average capital, $13,284.12; and average deposits, $37,200.44. The Bank of Lisbon had the largest capital and the Merchants State Bank of Fargo the largest deposits. The law added about $1,000,000 in taxable property for the state.
On June 7, 1893, L.S. Champine, cashier of the Merchants State Bank of Fargo was in Bismarck to file articles with the secretary of state to double the bank's capital. The Merchants was one of the soundest financial institutions in the state with John D. Benton as president. The increase of capital stock will allow more state funds to be deposited. In May 1895, L.S. Champine resigned and N.A. Lewis was elected cashier. In 1903, the officers of the Merchants State Bank were N.A. Lewis, president; O.G. Barnes, vice president; H.W. Gearey, cashier; and B.F. Spalding, attorney. The directors were O.G. Barnes, H.W. Gearey, J.E. Cronan, I.N. Wear, N.A. Lewis, J.D. Benton, Thomas Baker, Jr., W.P. Ball, J.D. McConnell, Alex Stern, and B.F. Spalding.
On January 31, 1906, at a meeting of the directors of the Merchants State Bank of Fargo, it was decided to nationalized and convert the bank into the Merchants National Bank of Fargo. The capital was $100,000 and surplus was $25,000. On April 11, late in the afternoon a telegram from Washington, DC was received notifying H.W. Gearey, vice president, of authorization to begin business at once as The Merchants National Bank of Fargo. The message also stated the the charter had been mailed and the number of the bank would be 8,170. The following officers were elected: N.A. Lewis, president; H.W. Gearey, vice president; O.G. Barnes, second vice president; S.S. Lyon, cashier. The directors were O.G. Barnes, H.W. Gearey, W.P. Porterfield, S.S. Lyon, N.A. Lewis, J.D. Benton, Stevenson Dunlop, W.P. Ball, Stewart Wilson, Alex Stern, and B.F. Spalding. For many years H.W. Gearey was cashier of the Merchants, but under the nationalization of the institution he was promoted to vice president and S.S. Lyon, for many years with the First National Bank, was selected as cashier.
In July 1918, a note from Lieutenant Arthur T. Comstock, assistant cashier, said that the ship on which he sailed had arrived safely overseas. Mr. Comstock was in the 80th division, heavy artillery, and qualified for a commission at the Second Officers training camp at Fort Snelling. Nine men had gone directly from the office of the Merchants National Bank and were serving Uncle Sam, and three more planned to go shortly, making 12 men from this institution. All of the vacancies were being filled by young women whose services were giving excellent satisfaction, say bank officials.
In April 1929, The Merchants National Bank of Fargo was acquired by the First Bank Stock Investment Company, the huge financial organization recently formed by the First National Bank of St. Paul and the First National Bank of Minneapolis. The Fargo institution had deposits of more than $2,600,000. First Bank Stock Investment Co. was capitalized at $25 million and it had indicated at the time of its formation that many northwest banks would be included in its acquisitions. On April 10, 1929, H.W. Gearey, president of the Fargo bank announced that officers and management would be unchanged, but that the capital stock would be increased and the name changed to the Merchants National Bank and Trust Company.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Merchants National Bank of Fargo, ND
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $1,192,400 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1906 and 1929. This consisted of a total of 146,596 notes (146,596 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 - 2500 1902 Red Seal 3x10-20 1 - 2000 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 7000 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 5120 1902 Plain Back 4x5 7001 - 18835 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 5121 - 13314
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1906 - 1929):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Known Bank Note Signers
- No other known bank note signers for this bank
Bank Note History Links
Sources
- Fargo, ND, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fargo,_North Dakota
- 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 Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck, ND, Thu., June 8, 1893.
- The Bottineau Courant, Bottineau, ND, Sat., May 25, 1895.
- The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, Fargo, ND, Mon., Oct. 12, 1903.
- The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, Fargo, ND, Wed., Jan. 31, 1906.
- The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, Fargo, ND, Wed., Apr. 11, 1906.
- The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, Fargo, ND, Thu., July 18, 1918.
- The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, Fargo, ND, Tue., Dec. 24, 1918.
- The Brainerd Daily Dispatch, Brainerd, MN, Wed., Apr. 10, 1929.
- The Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis, MN, Wed., Apr. 10, 1929.