Old National Bank, Evansville, IN (Charter 3281)

Postcard of the Old State National Bank of Evansville, Indiana, occupied since 1838. In 1916, the Loyal Order of Moose No. 85 purchased and remodeled the old State National Bank building, 20 Main Street for approximately $50,000. The building was opened for public inspection on December 22, 1916. Courtesy of David Grant

Old National Bank, Evansville, IN (Chartered 1884 - Liquidated 1904)

Town History

Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's 3rd-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in Southern Indiana, and the 249th-most populous city in the United States. It is the central city of the Evansville metropolitan area, a hub of commercial, medical, and cultural activity of southwestern Indiana and the Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area, which is home to over 911,000 people. The 38th parallel north crosses the north side of the city and is marked on Interstate 69 immediately north of its junction with Indiana 62 within the city's east side.

Situated on an oxbow in the Ohio River, the city is often referred to as the "Crescent Valley" or "River City". Early French explorers named it La Belle Rivière ("The Beautiful River"). The area has been inhabited by various indigenous cultures for millennia, dating back at least 10,000 years. Angel Mounds was a permanent settlement of the Mississippian culture from AD 1000 to around 1400. The city of Evansville was founded in 1812.

Evansville had 13 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and all 13 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

Photo of the Old National Bank of Evanston, Indiana. Courtesy of David Grant

• Organized December 22, 1884
• Chartered December 31, 1884
• Succeeded 730 (Evansville National Bank, Evansville, IN)
• Liquidated December 22, 1904
• Succeeded by 7478 (Old State National Bank, Evansville, IN)

On December 31, 1884, H.W. Cannon, Comptroller of the Currency, authorized The Old National Bank of Evansville to commence the business of banking.

Official Bank Title

1: The Old National Bank of Evansville, IN

Bank Note Types Issued

1882 Brown Back $20 bank note with pen signatures of Henry Reis, Cashier and John Gilbert, President. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

A total of $1,475,950 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1884 and 1904. This consisted of a total of 118,076 notes (118,076 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	3x10-20	1 - 29519

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1884 - 1904):

Presidents:

• Samuel Pierre Michael Bayard, 1885-1897
• John Gilbert, 1898-1900
• Robert Kendrick Dunkerson, 1901-1904

Cashiers:

• Henry Reis, 1885-1904

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

• Old National Bank, Evansville, IN History (NB Lookup)
• Indiana Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Evansville, 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
• Historic Evansville: Old State National Bank. Photos of the Old State National Bank.