VI. Kennebec Savings Bank is Founded

Kennebec Savings Bank is Founded

Kennebec Savings Bank was incorporated March 7, 1870, by an act signed into law by Governor Joshua Chamberlain

T

he Bank was organized on March 19, 1870 and opened for business on the rst of April of that year within Freeman’s National Bank at 192 Water Street.

At this point in history, Ulysses S. Grant was president of the United States. Maine was still immersed in the rst depression that followed the Civil War. Banking in the U.S. was undergoing dramatic changes. After the Civil War ended, there was a renewed interest in national banks, which eventually led to the establishment of the country’s rst uniform national currency.

As transportation made Maine more accessible, more and more people began to travel to the state for summer vacation. Spruce chewing gum, a Maine product that would later be acquired by the Sen-Sen Chicklet Company, was also introduced in this time period.

Left: Circus days of 1896 as the Faugh Paugh and Seller Bros. Circus parades its show along Water Street and up Bridge Street.

Kennebec Savings Bank shared its first location at 192 Water Street with Freeman’s National Bank. When Freeman’s National Bank closed in 1884, Kennebec Savings Bank moved to a new location at 237 Water Street.

In 1884, Freeman National Bank’s charter expired. e bank closed, its xtures were sold to the new Augusta National Bank at 237 Water Street, and Kennebec Savings Bank moved to this location. Augusta National Bank was liquidated in 1902, but Kennebec Savings Banks remained.

FIRST DAY DEPOSITS

The first cashier (which today would be considered the chief executive officer) of Kennebec Savings Bank was Harlow Spaulding. Total deposits on the first day were $410 among three accounts. Total assets by the end of the year were $84,571.