Why are the words “Commercial Bank’ in capital letters above the John Wagner Nationwide Agency at 105 N. Main St.?
Here’s the answer: The Commercial Bank was Bluffton’s first bank. It was founded in 1887 as a private bank by Frank Scott, N.W. Cunningham purchased one-half interest in it in 1893.
Scott and Cunningham were the sole owners until June 3, 1902, when it was incorporated under the laws of the State of Ohio and became a state bank.
By 1904 the bank had a capital stock of $60,000 of which $30,000 has been paid in and a growing surplus fund of $400 existed.
At this time, the bank has over 40 shareholders. Officers and directors were Scott, president, Cunningham cashier, and directors, Peter Diller, Andrew Hauenstein, John R. Marshall, Chris Locher and Julius Wise.
The Commercial Bank closed following a four-day “bank holiday” in 1933. The bank holiday was a result of a nationwide panic when bank customers descended upon banks to withdraw their assets, only to be turned away because of a shortage of cash and credit. The United States was in the throes of the Great Depression, a time when the economy worsened, businesses failed, and workers lost their jobs.
The Icon understands that persons with savings in the bank lost 10 cents on the dollar when it closed. It never reopened.
And, today the Commercial Bank is part of forgotten Bluffton.
