Bank of Lyons - Lyons, NY

Bank Information

Episode Type: Suspension → Closure
Bank Type: state
Start Date: January 1, 1840*
Location: Lyons, New York (43.064, -76.990)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: ada27bb3

Response Measures

None

Description

The article explicitly states The bank suspended in 1840. There is no mention of a depositor run; later the building housed other bankers and Gavitt National Bank, implying the original Bank of Lyons did not resume under its original name (permanent suspension/closure). OCR corrected minor spacing and punctuation but not substantive facts.

Events (1)

1. January 1, 1840* Suspension

Cause Details: Article gives no cause or trigger; only states the bank suspended in 1840.
Newspaper Excerpt: The bank suspended in 1840.
Source: newspapers

Newspaper Articles (1)

1. September 21, 1929 Finger Lakes Times Geneva, NY

Article from Finger Lakes Times, September 21, 1929

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Article Text

Sketch of Old Lyons, Made in 1840 This picture of the Lyons of former days was made. in the year 1840 and is printed from wood cut owned by the Wayne County Democrat and courteously lcaned to The Times In the middle foreground may be seen the bridge spanning the original Erie Canal. which was begun in 1818 and finished in $7,500,000 Beyond the bridge at the right is the old LyHotel built in 1821 on part of the Riggs farm by the Joppa Company consisting of My ron Holley Gen William H Adams and Augustus H Lawrence In 1854 the name was changed to G: ham House Although on fire ral times during the long stretch of oil and wood burning the old hotel was preserved 70 years to be demolished to make room for the present Sevalen Lynch building Next beyond the hotel edifice stands the building now in its lart year of usefulness as the home of the Gavitt National Bank It was in this building that Saxon B Gavitt founder of the Gavitt National began his carecr as a banker The exterior has undergone but little chance since it was built in 1838 by the Bank of Lyons of which Reuben Foster Eli Johnson John Adams Jonas Towar and Graham H Chapin constituted the first board of directors. The bank suspended in 1840. S B Gavitt and R H Murdocok took over the banking rouse some years later. Originally the building had a basement and on the roof was an ornamental railing describing a square in the center of which was a cupola or lantern The 90-year-old building- vetcran of local banking history will fade from the landscape with the passing of the current year It must give way to larger Gavitt aNt onal Bank building The picture covering its span of years discloses the faces of other pionper Lyons bankers who did business within its Loach, R. N Ames, Thaddeus W Patchen. Daniel Chapman, Caleb Rice Samuel L. Cole, Nelson R Miirck, John L. Cole and others The old building has seen many panics and resulting extended depressions in business Banking was a precarious undertaking in the time preceding the stabilization of the currency The country was flooded with flat money Issued by bankers all over the land without means for redemption Currency good today would be worthless or worth 50 per cent of face value tomorrow Borrowers were numerous but not so many payers The bankers Whosticking to the chief fundamental of banking could loan money and get it back pulled through the unsettled years In the middle background stands the First Presbyterian -church. built in 1825 with Jonas Parker and Lyman Leach foremost among the supporters of the society and the Rev Lucas Hubbel pastor John Perrine and Abraham Romeyn were the first elders of the society In 1849 the building was sold to the society of the First Lutheran church and was continued in use until destroyed by fire April 20. 1885 The society was organized in 1830 with 19 members including Jacob Kreiss. George Frey B Ganasz Michael Stell Peter ill jr Michael Strohm and John Stann. In the middle ground on the south side of Church stree. in the picture stands the building hous11g the Wayne County court house and the county jail built soon after Wayne county was set off from Ontario county in April 1823 John E Talmage was the first county judge The building was destroyed by fire on Nov 7 1853 The Centre Building stands in the right foreground in the picture It and the bank edifice have outlived the other structures shown The old building which has been modernized has performed an important part in the business life of the village It was built in year the village -by Zalman Rice who owned and occupied the residential property later and nov known as Richmond Hill the home of Charles T. Ennis The build ing was repaired by Ira Mirick in 1867 and again by Mrs Dewitt Foster in 1897 Many and varied were the business activities centered there years ago. The postoffice was located there when Dr. Robert W Ashley, Daniel Watrous Benjamin Ellis and John Hano were postmasters Another tenant many years was the Rudd book store and American Express office The late Col. William Kreutzer had a hardware store next to the Rudd store. In the later years the Mapes cigar factory occupied considerable part of the first and upper floors For an extended period of years prior to 1869 the Wayne Democratic Press office was on the second floor Here William Van Camp Sr. the publisher was assisted by his brother-in-law William Ten Broeck Schermerhorn who later established paper in Michigan and whose son James Schermerhorn is now nationally known as a writer and speaker When the Democratic Press was there Robert W Ashley the 2d attorney and Clark Clapp, Esq. justice of the peace, had offices in the building An Amusing Anecdote of Chief Little Turtle Among the noted chiefs of the Six Nations whose exploits very conspicious are Brant, Logan and Little Turtle Of the latter an amusing anecdote is related He was sitting for his portrait in Philadelphia. An Irishman was sitting for his at the same time Both were given to joking and several meetings passed off very pleasantOne morning Little Turtle did not take much notice of his friend and was rather sedate, which was construed by the Hiberian as a victory in the joking game When Little Turtue understood it he said to the interpreter, "He mistakes: I was just thinking of proposing to this man to paint both on one board. and there could stand face to face with him and blackguard him forever."