Organization

First National Bank

Named in 33 stories. Back to all names

Sep 7, 1883A Covered Wagon Arrival on Main StreetA caravan of twenty-seven resilient immigrants completes an arduous journey from Texas, arriving at Seattle’s First National Bank in a fleet of wagons.Seattle, WA
Apr 24, 1885An Ambassador for the Northwest: Judge Lewis Returns from the EastA Seattle judge’s 1885 journey reveals a Pacific Northwest eager to prove itself to the skeptical East, complete with butter-churning Quakers and coal-scam lawsuits.Seattle, WA
May 17, 1885The Great Iowa Editor InvasionSeattle prepares for a high-profile visit from Midwestern press barons, signaling the city's growing importance as a gateway to the Pacific.Seattle, WA
Apr 9, 1886The Sagebrush Capital: A Yakima Valley Success StoryA pioneer investor reflects on how he turned a dozen cows and a wagon into a $40,000 fortune by ignoring conventional wisdom about sagebrush land.Yakima Valley, Yakima, WA
Sep 16, 1887The Night Seattle Celebrated a Railroad Power ShiftWhen Henry Villard returned to the Northern Pacific board in 1886, thousands of Seattle citizens flooded the streets, hopeful that a friend of the city would finally ensure fair play for its local economy.Occidental Square, Seattle, WA
Feb 3, 1889The Block Party: Young Married Couples Plot to Buy an Entire City Block in SeattleAs streetcar lines extend to the suburbs, a group of young professionals in Seattle are pooling their resources to purchase a whole block of land, aiming to build matching homes and create a private enclave.Seattle, WA
Feb 13, 1889The $40 Forgery That Fooled Seattle’s Hardware EliteA dashing stranger with a dark mustache and bare chest walks into W.P. Boyd & Co., flashes a forged check from the Seattle Hardware Company, and vanishes with $40 in cash—leaving behind only a single typo that saves the victim from total ruin.Seattle, WA
Aug 7, 1889The Morning After the Fire: Spokane Wakes Up in Tents and Vows to RebuildA day after the great conflagration swept the city, Spokane's banks reopen, merchants trade under canvas, and outside capital pours in — even as thousands who were prosperous on Sunday night are left homeless.Spokane, WA
Jun 26, 1890The Lost Silver Mine of ZokeeeyeAfter decades of searching, a Yakima captain claims he has finally located a legendary, inaccessible silver vein.Yakima, WA
Nov 13, 1890A Banking Hand-Off in North YakimaAfter surviving a life-threatening illness, Judge J. R. Lewis returns to reclaim his bank presidency from Edward Whitson.Yakima, WA
Dec 15, 1891The $70,000 Rebellion: Olympia Refuses to Pay Its Railroad BillNorthern Pacific missed its promised deadlines, so the citizens who pledged land and cash to bring the line to town decided the contract was void—and headed to court.Olympia, WA
Apr 24, 1892The Navy Was Coaling in British Ports, Ignoring Seattle's MinesWhen local business leaders discovered U.S. warships were bypassing Puget Sound coal for Canadian supplies, they triggered a federal investigation and a new policy.Seattle, WA
May 4, 1893The Forger Who Fooled Seattle BanksA clever check-raiser who cut his mustache and fled to Snohomish leaves behind a tangled web of litigation between an Aberdeen bank and Seattle’s financial elite.Seattle, WA
Jan 9, 1894The Desperate Exit of a Bank CashierA Colfax banker, caught in a web of financial irregularities, attempts to end his life as investigators uncover his missing funds.Masonic Hall, Colfax, WA
Sep 1, 1894The Franklin Mine Dead Were Buried. Then the Miners Went Back Down.A relief fund swells with donations from Eddyville millmen and Seattle readers as surviving miners reopen the levels that did not burn.Black Diamond, WA
Sep 2, 1894Seattle Opens Its Purse for the Franklin Mine Widows and OrphansA Post-Intelligencer relief fund nears $1,500 as post office clerks, university employees, railroad men and benefit audiences contribute to families of the miners killed at Franklin.Seattle, WA
Jan 23, 1895A Customs Official, a Forged Check, and the Opium Hidden in Coal-Oil TinsEx-immigration inspector Thomas M. Fisher was arrested at Port Townsend for allegedly forging a Canadian officer's endorsement and pocketing a $350 opium-seizure reward.Port Townsend, WA
Jun 9, 1903The Bank and the High School Tax FeudA local bank refuses to pay school taxes, sparking a fierce debate over civic duty and the funding of Walla Walla’s newest school.Walla Walla, WA
Jun 10, 1903Walla Walla School Board Admits to Illegal SpendingAfter building a high school without public vote, the school board confesses to issuing over $63,000 in unauthorized warrants.Walla Walla, WA
Jun 11, 1903Banking Fallout from School Bond MessLocal business leaders back away from an informal agreement to cover school district debt as the legal validity of the warrants is questioned.Walla Walla, WA
Jun 13, 1903The Bank Tax FightWalla Walla's local paper launches a campaign against the city council's attempts to grant illegal tax breaks to national banks.Walla Walla, WA
Jun 19, 1903The Battle Over Bank TaxesWalla Walla taxpayers clash with the local First National Bank over tax rebates, with the paper calling for a stronger backbone from the city administration.Walla Walla, WA
Jun 26, 1903The Shadow Mayor of Walla WallaA biting editorial exposes the financial entanglement between the sitting mayor and the local bank.Walla Walla, WA
Jul 11, 1903The Gas Monopoly and the Hunt AdministrationA political war over city franchises and utility prices threatens to lock Walla Walla into a high-cost energy future.Walla Walla, WA
Jul 31, 1903City Assessors Under Fire Over Bank Tax EvasionA legislative loophole, allegedly 'smuggled' into law by bankers, has sparked a battle over local tax revenue in Walla Walla.Walla Walla, WA
Aug 13, 1903An Anonymous Threat in EverettA local bank janitor receives a typed, skull-and-crossbones threat to leave town or face accusations from his past.Everett, WA
Oct 22, 1903The Water MonopolyCritics allege the First National Bank is steering the city council toward an expensive water project to inflate the value of land it holds in escrow.Walla Walla, WA
Nov 5, 1903The Battle for Walla Walla's Water SupplyCity Hall is under pressure to decide between the Smith-Boyer-Thomas springs and the Mill Creek plan, with a local newspaper demanding the choice go to the voters.Walla Walla, WA
Nov 10, 1903Newspaper Presses First National Bank on Water DealThe Statesman accuses local banking interests of attempting to force an overpriced land deal onto the city through the municipal council.Walla Walla, WA
Dec 3, 1903Walla Walla's Water War: Springs, a Bank, and a $250,000 BondIn December 1903, an editorial backed Councilman Glasford's plan to use Thomas Springs rather than buy bank-owned ranch land or bond for Mill Creek water.Walla Walla, WA
Dec 21, 1903The Settlement of the Bank Tax WarAfter months of legal gridlock in federal court, Walla Walla's prominent banks capitulate and pay thousands in delinquent taxes to the county.Walla Walla County Courthouse, Walla Walla, WA
Mar 30, 1917The Hidden Fortune of the Columbia HotelA local hotel proprietor finds his marriage and his finances in the crosshairs of a superior court divorce filing.White Bluffs, WA
Oct 18, 1917Kennewick Struggles to Meet Liberty Loan QuotaWith less than a third of the target raised, local bankers fear falling short of the community's wartime financial allotment.Kennewick, WA