11390. Thomas Cruse Savings Bank (Helena, MT)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Run Only
Bank Type
savings bank
Start Date
December 1, 1901*
Location
Helena, Montana (46.593, -112.036)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
e91d8bcf

Response Measures

None

Description

Articles (Dec 1901) describe a week-long run caused by a practical joker who told a friend the bank was embarrassed. OCR in the articles spells the proprietor as Cruz; the provided bank name is Cruse — likely an OCR/typo discrepancy. The bank refused to accept redeposits after the run. No suspension or closure is mentioned.

Events (1)

1. December 1, 1901* Run
Cause
Rumor Or Misinformation
Cause Details
A practical joker told a friend the bank was in an embarrassed condition; the remark was overheard and spread, prompting widespread withdrawals. The bank's true status later became known.
Random Run
Yes
Random Run Snippet
practical joker said bank was embarrassed; truth later became known
Measures
Bank declined to receive redeposits after depositors attempted to return funds.
Newspaper Excerpt
An innocently intended joke caused quite a run on the Thomas Cruz Savings Bank in this city last week, which, before it ended, caused nervous depositors to withdraw more than $200,000 from that institution.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (2)

Article from The San Francisco Call, December 9, 1901

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

PRACTICAL JOKER'S REMARK STARTS RUN ON A HELENA BANK Depositors Withdraw More Than Two Hundred Thousand Dollars From the Concern. Special Dispatch to The Call. HELENA, Mont., Dec. 8.-An innocently intended joke caused quite a run on the Thomas Cruz Savings Bank in this city last week, which, before it ended, caused nervous depositors to withdraw more than $200,000 from that institution. When the true status of affairs became known many endeavored to redeposit their money, but this the bank declined to receive. Thomas Cruz, with the exception of United States Senator Clark, is probably the wealthiest man in Montana. It appears that a practical joker told a friend in the County Treasurer's office that the Cruz bank was in an embarrassed condition, the remark being overheard by a woman who was standing near by. Taking it for granted that such was the case she hurried into a downtown store and telephoned to her husband, who is employed at the Northern Pacific depot. Before starting for the bank the husband in turn telephoned to a friend in the Sheriff's office, who, imparting the knowledge


Article from The Coalville Times, December 13, 1901

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

RUN ON HELENA BANK. Remark of Practical Joker Frightens Depositors. An innocently-intended joke caused quite a run on the Thomas Cruz Savings bank in Helena, Mont., last week. which, before it ended, caused nervous depositors to withdraw more than $200,000 from that institution. When the true status of affairs became known many endeavored to redeposit their money, but this the bank declined to receive. Thomas Cruz, with the exception of United States Senator Clark, is probably the wealthiest man in Montana He recently sold one mine to the Rothschilds for $1,000,000, after having extracted a similar sum in gold therefrom. It appears that a practical joker told a friend in the county treasurer's office that the Cruz bank was in an embarrassed condition. the remark being overheard by a woman who was standing nearby. who thought she was getting an "inside tip," and who straightway telephoned her husband to withdraw his money. The husband did so and spread the news among a few intimate friends, with the result that nervous depositors withdrew their funds in a lively manner. The run was kept up for a week before the depositors realized their error.