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Cage 326
Bank of Krupp
Records, 1903-1908
| Back to Finding Aids | |
| Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections Pullman, WA 99164-5610 USA (509) 335-6691 Inquiries |
Cage 326
Bank of Krupp
Records, 1903-1908
Records of the Bank of Krupp, a commercial bank located at Krupp (Marlin), Washington, and also known as the Krupp Branch of the Citizens Bank of Wilson Creek and the State Bank of Krupp, were separated from the records of the Wilson Creek State Bank. These records were processed in March, 1977, by Lawrence Stark.
ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY
The date of organization of the Bank of Krupp cannot be determined. However, it is known to have been interrelated with the State Bank of Wilson Creek by late 1903. As a private, or unincorporated bank, it stood outside the jurisdiction of regulatory agencies; accordingly its existence is documented only by its own records and references in the press.
The bank came under the ownership of John D. Bassett in March, 1904, who added it to the chain of central Washington banks which he controlled between 1900 and 1909. Bassett also assumed ownership of the State Bank of Wilson Creek a few months later, changing it to a private bank which he renamed Citizens Bank. This firm then took a supervisory position relative to the Bank of Krupp and eventually the Bank of Krupp became known as the Krupp branch of the Citizens Bank. John Brewer, Cashier of the Citizens Bank served as nominal Cashier of the Krupp branch, while day to day operation of the branch fell to an Assistant Cashier, a position filled by Jesse J. Phillips, who managed the branch during most of its existence.
Bassett apparently saw the bank at Krupp as an experimental or trial operation. Most of its management remained at Wilson Creek and even the hours kept at Krupp do not appear to have been regular. Moreover, Bassett's position in Krupp was quickly challenged by others who found this tentativeness unsatisfactory. Bassett described this competition in the following comment:
Efforts of competitors quickly prevailed despite Bassett's efforts. In September of 1906 a rival group organized a second private bank, the Farmers Bank, in the little town of Krupp. The following summer both banks filed for incorporation, following provisions of a recently adopted state banking code. The Bassett bank then took the name State Bank of Krupp, with J. J. Phillips elevated to Cashier, while the rival became known as the Farmers State Bank.
Both banks apparently struggled through the monetary stringencies associated with the panic of 1907. This experience apparently convinced Bassett that there was not room for two banks in Krupp. His Cashier also apparently desired to leave to follow other opportunities. Accordingly, in late 1908 Bassett abandoned the field at Krupp and the Farmers State Bank absorbed the State Bank of Krupp. Until 1934, the Farmers State Bank continued in business at Krupp, the name of which was changed to Marlin in 1917. When the little town could no longer support the bank, the officers moved it, in April, 1934, to the neighboring town of Odessa and renamed it the Odessa State Bank. The firm continued under that name until 1951, when the Seattle First National Bank acquired the business and converted it into a branch in its system.
DESCRIPTION AND ARRANGEMENT
Records of the bank have been fragmented. Extant records consist of those kept at the parent bank at Wilson Creek. The principle component is a correspondence file which runs from September 1905 to December 1907. A few scattered items document the bank's existence from mid-1903. Likewise a few items date from the bank's last months of existence in 1908.
The arrangement follows the letter-box system employed by the bank. The one exception is the sequence running from July 1906 to June 1907 in which the alphabetical order was disrupted sometime prior to transfer of the records to the Washington State University Library.
CONTAINER LIST