Murphy's First Bank
Feb 06, 02:59 PM
Welcome to the site of Murphy's first bank. Notice the worn marble steps at the entrance. Imagine how many people it took going in and out of this building to wear them down to this extent! The Miner's and Planter's Bank was chartered in 1859 by Colonel Allen Davidson, a lawyer who moved to Murphy in 1846.
At that time, the bank was authorized by federal government and the state of North Carolina to print and issue currency just for Cherokee county. In the pre-civil war era, state chartered banks were essential to county and city economies, so these locally issued notes became an important part of the growth of our economy.
The bank notes issued in 1861 by the Miner's and Planter's Bank were printed in New York and each note was personally signed by the bank president and its head cashier.
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and the newly formed Confederate States of America began to issue its own printed currency, soon replacing the state and locally issued notes.
As the war dragged on, the Confederate notes began losing their value and when the war finally ended in 1865, the money became virtually worthless and all the state banks failed.
The U.S. Government also was issuing its own national currency at that time and a law enacted in 1865 placing a 10% tax on all non-government notes drove all local and state currencies out of existence.
Ironically, the once worthless bank notes issued by the Miner's and Planter's Bank of Murphy have become quite valuable to collectors, often demanding 10 to 20 times the face value or more!
The National Museum of American History has one of the bank notes in their collection in Washington, DC.
At that time, the bank was authorized by federal government and the state of North Carolina to print and issue currency just for Cherokee county. In the pre-civil war era, state chartered banks were essential to county and city economies, so these locally issued notes became an important part of the growth of our economy.
The bank notes issued in 1861 by the Miner's and Planter's Bank were printed in New York and each note was personally signed by the bank president and its head cashier.
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and the newly formed Confederate States of America began to issue its own printed currency, soon replacing the state and locally issued notes.
As the war dragged on, the Confederate notes began losing their value and when the war finally ended in 1865, the money became virtually worthless and all the state banks failed.
The U.S. Government also was issuing its own national currency at that time and a law enacted in 1865 placing a 10% tax on all non-government notes drove all local and state currencies out of existence.
Ironically, the once worthless bank notes issued by the Miner's and Planter's Bank of Murphy have become quite valuable to collectors, often demanding 10 to 20 times the face value or more!
The National Museum of American History has one of the bank notes in their collection in Washington, DC.