Waukegan National Bank, Waukegan, IL (Charter 10355)
Waukegan National Bank, Waukegan, IL (Chartered 1913 - Receivership 1931)
Town History
Waukegan (/wɔːˈkiːɡən/), is the most populous city in, and the county seat of Lake County, Illinois. An industrial suburb of Chicago, the city is situated approximately 26 miles north of Chicago’s North Side, along the shores of Lake Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 89,321, ranking it the seventh most populous city within the Chicago metropolitan area, the tenth most populous city in Illinois, and the 390th most populous city in the country.
The site of present-day Waukegan was recorded as Rivière du Vieux Fort ("Old Fort River") and Wakaygagh on a 1778 map by Thomas Hutchins. By the 1820s, the French name had become "Small Fort River" in English, and the settlement was known as "Little Fort". The name "Waukegance" and then "Waukegan" (meaning "little fort"; cf. Potawatomi wakaigin "fort" or "fortress") was created by John H. Kinzie and Solomon Juneau, and the new name was adopted on March 31, 1849.
During the middle of the 19th century, Waukegan was becoming an important industrial hub. Industries included: ship and wagon building, flour milling, sheep raising, pork packing, and dairying. William Besley's Waukegan Brewing Company was one of the most successful of these businesses, being able to sell beyond America. The construction of the Chicago and Milwaukee Railway through Waukegan by 1855 stimulated the growth and rapid transformation and development of the city's industry, so much that nearly one thousand ships were visiting Waukegan harbor every year. During the 1860s, a substantial German population began to grow inside the city.
Waukegan's development began in many ways with the arrival of industries such as United States Sugar Refinery, which opened in 1890,. Washburn & Moen, a barbed-wire manufacturer that prompted both labor migration and land speculation beginning in 1891,. U.S. Starch Works, and Thomas Brass and Iron Works. Immigrants followed, mostly hailing from southeastern Europe and Scandinavia, with especially large groups from Sweden, Finland, and Lithuania.. The town also became home to a considerable Armenian population.
Waukegan had two National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and both of those banks issued National Bank Notes.
Bank History
- Organized Mar 7, 1913
- Chartered Apr 5, 1913
- Receivership Jun 22, 1931
The Waukegan National Bank of Waukegan was organized in 1913 by H. C. Burnett and W. R. Wiard with a capital of $100,000 and surplus of $20,000. In July, 1923, the capital was increased to $250,000 with deposits of $3,216,190. The officers were as follows: H.C. Burnett, president; Fred W. Buck, vice president; W.R. Wiard, cashier; and J.C. Rutt, assistant cashier. The members of the board of directors were J. Preston Arthur, John W. Barwell, Norman H. Brown, H.C. Burnett, Fred W. Buck, Clarence W. Diver, Thomas E. Morris, George W. Sells, David T. Webb, Willard R. Wiard and Louis J. Yager.
The home of the Waukegan National Bank was erected in 1924 at a cost of more than $750,000. It was a modern eight-story bank building with few equals in its class. The structure had 95' of frontage on Genesee Street, and 80' on Washington Street.
On January 13, 1931, H.C. Burnett, president of Waukegan National bank. was re-elected at the annual meeting. Other officers elected included Fred Burt, vice-president; Williard R. Wiard, cashier A Hokum assistant cashier; W.A. Simmons, assistant cashier; and B. Olson, assistant cashier. T.E. Morris was named chairman of the board of directors which included C.O. Brown, N.H. Brown, F.W. Buck, H.C. Burnett, John Faubel Jr., T.E. Morris, E.F. Potter N.C. Wetzel, D.T. Webb, J.P. Kottcamp, L.J. Yager, and W.R. Wiard.
On orders of Oscar Nelson, state auditor, the Waukegan State bank failed to open for business on June 18, 1931. Large shipments of currency totaling about $600,000 were delivered by mail to the First National Bank and the Waukegan National Bank for emergency withdrawals. The presidents of the two national banks, Charles N. Steel of the First and H.C. Burnett of the Waukegan National Bank, said there was no cause for alarm despite heavy withdrawals and neither of the national banks would suffer by the closing of the state bank. Norman O. Geyer, president of the Waukegan State Bank, gave the reasons for the closing as bank runs in the region and the recent reorganizations of a number of Chicago banking institutions.
On June 19, The Waukegan National Bank, second largest in the city, did not open its doors and was taken over by the state auditor's office at the request of the board of directors. A run was made on the bank the previous day after the Waukegan State Bank had been closed. The Waukegan National had deposits of $4,076,071 at the last national bank call. President H.C. Burnett said the bank was closed to protect depositors and that he hoped it would reopen soon.
A strong citizens' committee of business men, professional leaders and industrial heads was formed for supporting the reopening of the bank. Plans were delayed pending the report of Harry W. Walker, federal bank examiner, who was going over the bank's situation. He was unable to state when his examination would be completed. On June 24, Melvin B. Ericson, appointed by the comptroller of the currency as Receiver, arrived at the bank. Ericson was the son-in-law of Ambassador Charles G. Dawes and formerly an official of the Biflex Productions Co. of Waukegan. By the end of July, the government's snail-like pace continued uninterrupted and in due time the directors of the bank would have an opportunity to present their reopening plan to the comptroller of the currency.
On June 22, 1932, State's Attorney A.V. Smith of Lake County announced that plans to reorganize a bank in Waukegan to take over the assets of the closed Waukegan State Bank had failed. Therefore, the first of the trials on indictments growing out of that bank failure were slated for Monday, June 27. William H. Miller, formerly a director of the Waukegan bank and an official of a Chicago bank was to stand trial alone.
In December 1932, depositors filed past reopened bank cages to collect their second 20% dividend. A total of $500,000 was distributed among 7,500 depositors of the closed Waukegan National Bank.
In November 1933, the receivers report showed collections of $33,914.33 for the previous 90 days. The receiver got $1,245.93 from stockholders, boosting the total to $86,695.85 since the bank closed. The total stock assessment was $250,000. A total of $1,521,854.77 was collected and the receiver had paid two dividends of 20% each to depositors. In order to pay the second dividend, a loan of $260,200 was granted to the bank by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and $181,500 had been repaid as of the last statement. The bank had cleared up more than 50% of its liability showed a profit to the depositors as the receiver earned $22,061.48 more than expenses, a large portion coming from rentals.
Official Bank Title(s)
1: The Waukegan National Bank, Waukegan, IL
Bank Note Types Issued
A total of $2,062,190 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1913 and 1931. This consisted of a total of 165,622 notes (134,716 large size and 30,906 small size notes).
This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:
Series/Type Sheet/Denoms Serial#s Sheet Comments 1902 Date Back 3x10-20 1 - 2000 1902 Plain Back 3x10-20 2001 - 33679 1929 Type 1 6x10 1 - 3998 1929 Type 1 6x20 1 - 1153
Bank Presidents and Cashiers
Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1913 - 1931):
Presidents:
Cashiers:
Other Bank Note Signers
- H.C. Burnett signed notes as Vice President.
- There are currently no known Assistant Cashier bank note signers for this bank.
Wiki Links
- Illinois Bank Note History
- General information on Waukegan (Wikipedia)
- General information on Lake County (Wikipedia)
- General information on Illinois (Wikipedia)
Sources
- Waukegan, IL, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waukegan,_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), Volume 3, pp. 248-251.
- Waukegan News-Sun, Waukegan, IL, Wed., Jan. 14, 1931.
- Waukegan News-Sun, Waukegan, IL, Thu., June 18, 1931.
- The Rock Island Argus, Rock Island, IL, Fri., June 19, 1931.
- Waukegan News-Sun, Waukegan, IL, Tue., June 23, 1931.
- Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, Thu., June 23, 1932.
- Chicago Eagle, Chicago, IL, Sat., Dec. 24, 1932.
- Waukegan News-Sun, Waukegan, IL, Thu., Nov. 2, 1933.