Bank of Pike County - Louisiana, MO

Bank Information

Episode Type: Suspension → Closure
Bank Type: state
Start Date: July 1, 1877*
Location: Louisiana, Missouri (39.449, -91.052)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: f57ed03b

Response Measures

None

Description

Article (Mexico Weekly Ledger, 1877-07-19) reports the Bank of Pike County has just suspended and describes causes (failure of correspondents Ocean National Bank and City National Bank, an internal theft of $3,000, and accumulation of unsound paper amid currency contraction). No reopening is mentioned; the piece treats it as a failure, so classified as suspension leading to closure. I corrected no OCR errors of consequence.

Events (1)

1. July 1, 1877* Suspension

Cause: Correspondent
Cause Details: Failures of correspondent banks (Ocean National Bank, Dec 29 1871, and City National Bank, Chicago, Dec 1874), plus internal loss of $3,000 (victimized) and accumulation of undesirable paper during currency contraction undermining solvency; multiple contributing causes but correspondent failures prominently cited by the manager as initial adverse events leading to failure/suspension.
Newspaper Excerpt: the Bank of Pike county, which has just suspended. Below we give an extract from A. M. Weir's statement:
Source: newspapers

Newspaper Articles (1)

1. July 19, 1877 Mexico Weekly Ledger Mexico, MO

Article from Mexico Weekly Ledger, July 19, 1877

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Article Text

# PIKE COUNTY BANK. W. W. Fry has our thanks for a Louisiana juornal, containing a full account of the affairs of the Bank of Pike county, which has just suspended. Below we give an extract from A. M. Weir's statement: As to the causes which brought about the failure I will briefly and candidly enumerate them: Among the first adversities the institution had to contend with was the failure of the Ocean National Bank, on December 29th, 1871, then our New York correspondent, where we had on deposit $9,488.27, most of which has been paid; but there yet remains—unpaid, which I think will be realized ultimately. Next in the category of ill-fate was in December, 1874, when during my unavoidable abscence the bank was unfortunately victimized out of $3,000, concerning which the readers of your paper are familiar. Yet later in the history of the bank, occurring not longer than a year ago, was the failure of the City National Bank, our Chicago correspondent, having on deposit there at the time of its suspension $3,854.69, 25 per cent of which has been paid. I might also add with propriety that during the first four years of the existence of the bank considerable very undesirable paper accumulated, which was very probable the case with most banks doing business during the same years, due in a great measure to the contraction of the currency; the hastening toward specie resumption thereby causing a general shrinkage of all kinds of values, and precipitating bankrupts on every hand—the end of which is not yet. But of all the calamities that befell the Bank of Pike County, the greatest and most inex-