Old Second National Bank, Aurora, IL (Charter 4596)
Old Second National Bank, Aurora, IL (Chartered 1891 - Still in business (March 2022))
Town History
Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties, it is the second most populous city in Illinois, after Chicago, and the 144th most populous city in the United States. The population was 197,899 at the 2010 census, and was 180,542 as of the 2020 Census.
Founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded into DuPage, Will, and Kendall counties. Once a mid-sized manufacturing city, Aurora has grown since the 1960s. From 2000 to 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau ranked the city as the 46th fastest growing city with a population of over 100,000.
In 1908, Aurora adopted the nickname "City of Lights", because in 1881 it was one of the first cities in the United States to implement an all-electric street lighting system. Aurora's historic downtown is located on the Fox River, and centered on Stolp Island.
Aurora began as two villages: East Aurora, incorporated in 1845 on the east side of the river, and West Aurora, formally organized on the west side of the river in 1854. In 1857, the two towns joined, incorporating as the city of Aurora. Representatives could not agree which side of the river should house the public buildings, so most of them were built on or around Stolp Island in the middle of the river.
Aurora had nine National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and eight of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized May 25, 1891
- Chartered July 14, 1891
- Succeeded 1909 (Second National Bank, Aurora, IL)
- Bank was Open past 1935
- For Bank History after 1935 see FDIC Bank History website
- Still in business as Old Second NB, Aurora, IL (March 2022)
In 1883, stockholders of the Second National Bank of Aurora elected the following directors: Alonzo George, Daniel Valentine, F.B. Rice, H.D. Wagner, W.F. Dickinson, John Plain, C.L. Hoyt, B. George, P. Young, N.R. Hobbs, and F.L. Young. At a subsequent meeting of the directors, Alonzo George was reelected president; D. Valentine, vice president, and W.C. Estee, cashier.
The Comptroller of the Currency authorized the following national banks to begin business, Tuesday, July 14, 1891: The Old Second National Bank of Aurora, IL, capital $200,000, and the First National Bank of Hickory, NC, capital $50,000.
The following is an excerpt from an article written in 1921, which year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Old Second National Bank. "The present [1921] officers of the Old Second National Bank [were]: William George, president; W.I. Babb, vice president; D.W. Simpson, vice president; Harry J. Cooper, cashier; R.H. Robinson and G.A. Seargeant, assistant cashiers; and James Dumlop, teller. One of the most important features contributing to the remarkable success of the institution is the intimate touch which the officers and members of the board keep with leading activities. The needs and necessities of the farmer are appreciated because Mr. George, the president, Mr. Cooper, the cashier, and several of the directors are large farmers. Mr. Cooper's long connection in the merchandising business of Aurora with Cooper Brothers fits him especially for perceiving the needs and demands of the merchant. Several other directors, together with Mr. George, are engaged in the manufacturing business, thus realizing most intimately the needs of the manufacturer. In addition to this, the institution is authorized to act as administrator, executor, guardian, trustee and receiver. A new federal law has been passed authorizing national banks to act in that capacity, after a special examination. They must then qualify under state laws — which the Old Second National has done. The bank is peculiarly equipped for this service, as in the other departments, because of the long years of experience on the part of Mr. George in law; and also because of the valuable legal experience of Judge Babb, the vice president, who for twenty some years was in one of the circuit courts of Iowa. Altogether it is a combination of interests rarely found in a bank, and offers a most practical and usable community service."
In 1925 the new home of the Old Second National Bank, at the northwest corner of Downer Place and River Street in Aurora, was erected at a cost of about $400,000. William George, the president of the institution, prepared the following general description of the structure: "Our new building for the Old Second National Bank has been planned on a basis of genuine reality and in direct response to the growing needs of the people of Aurora and the surrounding territory. The plan arrangements, which are extremely flexible, are made to accommodate our present needs and with sufficient space for a large view into an expanding future in all departments, and for new departments, as yet in embryo. This bank is intended to be a community center and as such, we believe, will fulfill its complete functions. Bankers in general are beginning to feel, as we thoroughly feel, a greater need to adjust themselves to changing conditions, and to hope that from the cold, formal mausoleum type of bank almost universal in our present day there will emerge the friendly, cheerful, home-like bank to take its place in the future. We believe that the public are weary beyond words of the formal chill and deadliness of the old type and are demanding something in which they can have a personal interest."
"A safe deposit vault, sixteen by forty-one feet, is located in the basement, with access from the main floor during business hours, or it may be equally well reached after business hours from the side entrance. This thoroughly modern vault, with walls thirty inches thick, has no superior in the state. It is electrically protected, as well as heavily reinforced with seventy tons of steel.... The front part of the basement contains the Aurora Guild Room, a room dedicated to public use, in the interest of gatherings of business men from town or country, or for any public meeting in the interest of the general welfare of the city. This room has a seating capacity of two hundred and fifty people, with conveniences for men and women, including the cooking of light refreshments. Arrangements are also provided for the use of a stereopticon and moving pictures, for lecture purposes. The room is free of cost, at all times, to the public. The Aurora Guild Room is reached from the bank vestibule, and may be used without entering the bank proper."
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Old Second National Bank of Aurora, IL
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $3,099,410 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1891 and 1935. This consisted of a total of 249,990 notes (205,744 large size and 44,246 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 - 6960 1882 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 1482 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 11500 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 11501 - 42994 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 5262 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 1322 1929 Type 2 10 1 - 4159 1929 Type 2 20 1 - 583
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1891 - 1936):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
- James A. Egleston, 1891-1891
- Frank B. Watson, 1892-1898
- Lee Newton Goodwin, 1899-1907
- Harry J. Cooper, 1908-1925
- R. H. Robinson, 1926-1932
- George Arthur Seargeant, 1933-1935
Other Bank Note Signers
- There are currently no known Vice President or Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Illinois Bank Note History
- General information on Aurora (Wikipedia)
- General information on Kane County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Illinois (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Aurora, IL, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora,_Illinois
- 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
- Francis Murray Huston, Financing an Empire: History of Banking in Illinois (4 volumes) (Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1926), Vol. 2, pp. 285-287.
- The Inter Ocean, Chicago, IL, Sat., Jan. 13, 1883.
- Muscatine News-Tribune, Muscatine, IA, Thu., July 16, 1891.