In the early days of The Bank of Milton, Parkview Drive (then Main Street) definitely looked of the old frontier. That’s the old bank on the left.

The Bank of Milton Had Humble Origins

When the Bank of Milton first opened its doors in March of 1884, the street in front of the building was hard-packed dirt. There was no electricity in the building, no telephone system in the city. A grand total of $27,000 was raised from the 19 stockholders involved and shares ran $100 per share.
A lone cashier, E.B. Saunders, operated the “office of discount and deposit” under the direction of John Spaulding, president, and Ezra Crandall, vice-president. He was authorized to purchase “necessary stationary and office furniture which may be necessary for the transaction of business” and was paid a yearly salary of $400. The president, working part-time, was paid $200 annually.

The original stockholders were John A. Spaulding, Ezra Crandall, W.W. Clarke, E.B. Rogers, P.M. Green, E.B. Saunders, W.H. Cary, Philip Marquart, Ralph Richardson, C.C. Ball, J.B. Anderson, Miles Rice, F.C. Dunn, H.F. Clarke, Archibald Madden, B.H. Wells, R.J. Greenman, J.C. Barthoff and James McEwan.

The building was purchased for the sum total of $2,800 and was located on Main Street. The following years bank officers were authorized to build outhouses and the cashier's salary was raised to $500. A Patent Bank Check Protector was purchased for $36. The stockholders elected 10 directors to the original board which included; John A. Spaulding, James McEwan, W.W. Clarke, B.H. Wells, E.B. Saunders, Philip Marquart, F.C. Dunn, Ezra Crandall, P.M. Green and E.B. Rogers. In 1885, they voted to allow payment of 2 percent interest annum on all deposits which remained in the customer's account for six or twelve months.

In 1888, the Cashier was instructed to require depositors to present their Passbooks monthly to be balanced, and to notify them that no personal entries would be allowed in the passbooks. Ten years later, he and his assistants, earned a total of $1,000 per year. Through the years this bank grew to become the Bank of Milton that you know today. Click here to view a listing of the current Directors and Officers.