North Western National Bank, Minneapolis, MN (Charter 2006)

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ca. 1875 photo of first location of North Western National Bank
ca. 1892 photo of second location of North Western National Bank
ca. 1907 postcard of North Western National Bank at its third location
ca. 1915 interior view of North Western National Bank
ca. 1915 interior view looking toward the officer's quarters (left) and the vault (right) of North Western National Bank.[1]

North Western National Bank, Minneapolis, MN (Chartered 1872 - Closed (Merger) 2004)

Town History

Minneapolis is located in Hennepin County in east central Minnesota. French explorers arrived in the area around 1680. Fort Snelling, just south of present-day Minneapolis, was built in 1819 by the United States Army. It attracted traders, settlers and merchants, spurring growth in the area. The Minnesota Territorial Legislature authorized Minneapolis as a town in 1856, and it was incorporated as a city in 1867. The name Minneapolis is attributed to Charles Hoag, the city's first schoolmaster, who suggested Minnehapolis, derived from Minnehaha, and combined mni, a Dakota Sioux word for water, and polis, the Greek word for city.

During the National Bank Note Era, the population of Minneapolis was 13,066 in 1870, growing to 464,356 in 1930. It's highest population was 521,718 in 1950, and the current population is estimated at 425,403 (2018).

Minneapolis had 29 National Banks during the Bank Note Era, and 25 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

ca1915 photos of the bank's interior
ca1915 photos of the waiting room, Ladies' Department and view of the connecting door between bank and the affiliated Minnesota Loan and Trust Company.[2]
ca. 1930 image of fourth location of North Western National Bank, in 1982 the building was destroyed by arson
  • Organized Apr 11, 1872
  • Chartered Jun 28, 1872
  • Opens doors Sep 7, 1872
  • 1: Assumed Metropolitan Bank 1902
  • 1: Absorbed 3206 Jul 15, 1908 (National Bank of Commerce, Minneapolis, MN)
  • 1: Assumed 4951 by consolidation Dec 31, 1908 (Swedish American NB, Minneapolis, MN)
  • 1: Absorbed 11178 Sep 5, 1922 (Lincoln National Bank, Minneapolis, MN)
  • 1: Absorbed 11778 Jul 9, 1923 (Minneapolis National Bank, Minneapolis, MN)
  • 1929, acquired by Northwest Bancorporation (cooperative)
  • 1: Absorbed 9442 Mar 20, 1931 (Metropolitan National Bank, Minneapolis, MN)
  • 1: Absorbed 12115 Jul 28, 1931 (Richfield National Bank, Richfield, MN)
  • 1: Assumed Minnesota Loan & Trust Company, Minneapolis by consolidation Jan 2, 1934 with title change to Northwestern National Bank & Trust Co. of
  • Bank was Open past 1935
  • For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
  • Changed Name to Norwest Bank Minneapolis, NA May 1, 1983
  • Changed Name to Norwest Bank Minnesota, NA Jan 1, 1988
  • In November 1998, Wells Fargo Bank was acquired by Norwest Corporation of Minneapolis (of which Norwest Bank Minnesota, NA was the lead bank), with the combined company assuming the (better known) Wells Fargo name.
  • Changed Name to Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, NA Jul 8, 2000
  • Acquired Norwest Bank Minnesota South, NA Rochester, MN Jul 8, 2000
  • Acquired Norwest Bank Minnesota North, NA Duluth, MN Jul 8, 2000
  • Acquired Norwest Bank Minnesota Southwest, NA Marshall, MN Aug 26, 2000
  • Acquired Norwest Bank Minnesota West, NA Moorhead, MN Aug 26, 2000
  • Merged into Wells Fargo Bank, NA Sioux Falls, SD Feb 20, 2004

The bank was chartered in 1872 with capital stock of $200,000. This was soon raised to $300,000 and within a year after that to $500,000. The capital was increased in 1882 to $1,000,000, in 1908 to $2,000,000 and in 1909 to $3,000,000 and in 1914 to $4,000,000, bringing capital, surplus and profits to $6,900,000.

William Windom was for years a prominent factor in national affairs as a U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Garfield and Harrison. He was one of the incorporators and active in the early management. Also, Mr. George A. Pillsbury, closely connected with the evolution of Minneapolis as a flour and grain center, was one of the early directors and later president of the bank. The Forgan brothers, James B. Forgan and David R. Forgan, became prominent in the Northwestern towards the close of the '80s and beginning of the '90s. Mr. James B. Forgan in 1891 resigned to accept the position of vice president of the First National Bank of Chicago and David R. Forgan who succeeded him in the Northwestern later became vice president of the Union National Bank of Chicago and later president of the National City Bank of that city. James B. Forgan later became president of the First National Bank of Chicago and in 1915 was chairman of the advisory council of the Federal Reserve Banks.

Gilbert G. Thorne, a vice president of the National Park Bank of New York, was made cashier of the Northwestern National Bank in 1896. Two guiding spirits of the institution were Mr. Wm. E. Dunwoody and Judge Martin B. Koon. Both were active in its affairs. Mr. Dunwoody was a pioneer in the milling and grain business in Minneapolis. Mr. E.W. Decker, a president of the bank, followed Mr. Dunwooy in that office. Both Mr. Decker and Mr. Joseph Chapman, a vice president in 1915, entered the employ of the Northwester as messengers under the cashiership of Mr. James B. Forgan. Mr. James A. Latta was elected vice president in 1909 following the purchase of the Swedish-American National Bank.

In December 1914, Mr. W.E. Briggs was elected an additional vice president. At the time of his election, he was vice president of the Stock Yards National Bank of South St. Paul and manager of the St. Paul Cattle Loan Co., South St. Paul. Mr. Briggs began his banking career with the Valley Bank (later the Valley National Bank), Des Moines, Iowa, in 1880. A few years later he left the position of assistant cashier of that bank to become cashier and manager of the Bank of Centerville, South Dakota. This bank was sold in 1891 and Mr. Briggs returned to Iowa and in 1896 organized the Madrid State Bank which he conducted as cashier until 1901 when he resigned to accept the position of secretary and treasurer of the St. Paul Cattle Loan Co. of South St. Paul which had just been organized by Swift & Co. of Chicago and prominent bankers and capitalists of St. Paul. One year later Mr. Briggs was elected cashier of the Stock Yards National Bank of South St. Paul and in 1912 was elected vice president. At the end of 1914 he resigned from the Cattle Loan Co. and the bank to become vice president of the Northwestern National Bank.

On January 12, 1915, Mr. A.V. Ostrom, still in his 30s, was promoted from the cashiership to a vice presidency. On the same date, Mr. Robert E. MacGregor, formerly assistant cashier, was made cashier. Both of these gentlemen began their banking careers as messengers, the latter in the Northwestern and the former in the Swedish-American National Bank.

In 1902 the business of the Metropolitan Bank was purchased and in 1908 the National Bank of Commerce with a capital and surplus of $1,500,000 and the Swedish-American National Bank with a capital and surplus of $850,000 were absorbed. In 1909 the Northwestern National Bank became affiliated with the Minnesota Loan and Trust Company through the ownership of the capital stock by the same individual stockholders. The combined resources of the two institutions reached the sum of $47,000,000 in 1915.[3]

Official Bank Titles

1: The North Western National Bank of Minneapolis, MN

2: 2nd title not used on notes: Northwestern National Bank and Trust Company of Minneapolis, MN (1/2/1934)

Bank Note Types Issued

A total of $11,313,760 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1872 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 1,494,567 notes (1,192,056 large size and 302,511 small size notes).

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s
1: Original Series 3x1-2 1 - 5980
1: Original Series 4x5 1 - 6000
1: Original Series 3x10-20 1 - 1700
1: Original Series 50-100 1 - 200
1: Series 1875 4x5 1 - 4698
1: Series 1875 3x10-20 1 - 1741
1: 1882 Brown Back 4x5 1 - 31500
1: 1882 Brown Back 4x10 1 - 16250
1: 1882 Brown Back 3x10-20 1 - 18400
1: 1882 Date Back 4x5 1 - 33074
1: 1882 Date Back 4x10 1 - 27263
1: 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 802
1: 1902 Date Back 4x5 1 - 76225
1: 1902 Date Back 4x10 1 - 45881
1: 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 16400
1: 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 16401 - 28400
1: 1929 Type 1 6x5 1 - 27332
1: 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 15626
1: 1929 Type 2 5 1 - 21828
1: 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 22935

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Original $2 bank note with pen signatures of Samuel E. Neiler, Cashier and Dorilus Morrison, President, Courtesy of Lyn Knight Auctions, http://www.lynknight.com
1882 Brown Back $5 bank note with stamped signatures of Frank E. Holton, Cashier and Edward W. Decker, President
1902 Date Back $20 bank note with stamped signatures of A. V. Ostrom, Cashier and Edward W. Decker, President
1902 Date Back $5 bank note with stamped signatures of Huntington P. Newcomb, Cashier and Edward W. Decker, President
1929 Type 2 $10 bank note with printed signatures of Guy E. Masters, Cashier and Edward W. Decker, President

First National Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1872 - 1936):

Presidents:

Cashiers:

Other Known Bank Note Signers

Bank Note History Links

Sources

  1. ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 90 (Jan - June 1915), p. 519, 522.
  2. ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 90 (Jan - June 1915), p. 520.
  3. ↑ The Bankers' Magazine, Vol. 90 (Jan - June 1915), p. 519-523.
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