Log in
|
Help
|
English

English

Engish-Pirate

한국어

Search

Advanced Search

Find results with:

Add another field

Search by date

to

Searching collections:

Alwin C. Carus Coin Collection

Add or remove collections

Home United States, Michigan, The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank, 1835-1839 AD

Reference URL

Share

Add tags

Comment

Rate

To link to this object, paste this link in email, IM or document

To embed this object, paste this HTML in website

United States, Michigan, The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank, 1835-1839 AD

View Description

Download

small (250x250 max)

medium (500x500 max)

large ( > 500x500)

Full Resolution

Print

Loading content ...

you wish to report:

Your comment:

Your Name:

Submit

Cancel

...

Back to top

Powered by CONTENTdm®

Select the collections to add or remove from your search

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Select All Collections

A

Alwin C. Carus Coin Collection

C

Civil War Miscellanies

College Yearbooks

H

Hadley-LeFleur Civil War Collection

Hillsdale College Archives

Hillsdale College Postcards

K

Kimball Civil War Collection

S

Student Literary Magazines

OK

Cancel

Rating
Title	United States, Michigan, The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank, 1835-1839 AD
Obverse	President Franklin Pierce in the Center, Commerce on the right, Ceres on the left
Type/denomination	Five Dollar Railroad Bank Note
Origin	Michigan
Period	1835-1839 AD
Description	This railroad paper money was circulated by The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank. It was chartered in March 1835 by the Michigan Legislative Council. It was established during the free banking era - when lots of scandals and cheats were setting up banks, issuing notes and certificates of deposit, but never redeeming them. These banks were known as wildcat banks. The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad was started when the railroad first began its expanse across the inland United States, supplanting business for the canal boats in the 1830s and 1840s. The railroad’s objective was to extend from Lake Erie to the Kalamazoo River, which is how it got its name The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad. The E&Z was commissioned in 1832, started construction in 1835 and by late 1836 had its first - and what became its only - portion finished of thirty three miles of rails. It ran from Port Lawrence (modern day Toledo), Ohio to Adrian, Michigan. At first, horses were used to pull cars. Quickly, however the decision was made to use a steam powered engine which arrived in Port Lawrence in June of 1837. The two engines acquired for the E&Z were named the “Toledo” and the “Adrian.” The finances for this venture proved a great muddle of difficulty. The construction had started without much money and quickly put the railroad in debt. A bank, the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank, was created to finance the railroad but it did not have much capital and therefore did not support the railroad but dragged it down. The bank closed in 1839. In May 1849 the railroad was “leased in perpetuity” to the Michigan Southern Railroad Company which in 1869 became a part of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, which in turn became a part of the New York Central lines. The bank was bought and reopened in 1853 but then closed in 1854 for good. In the center of this note, President Franklin Pierce is pictured with two red 5s on either side, flanked by Commerce on the right and Ceres on the left. Often with the wildcat banks, the pictures on the notes were intended to build confidence in the bank. Commerce indicated the bank’s commitment to advancing commerce and Ceres, goddess of agriculture, suggesting abundant crops and prosperity. The date “August 1st, 1853” is on the right lower corner, beneath the red 5.
Publisher	Hillsdale College
Donor	Alwin C. Carus
Accession number	20051297
Catalog Number	MI-5: G34b

Find results with:

Searching collections:

Home United States, Michigan, The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank, 1835-1839 AD

United States, Michigan, The Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad Bank, 1835-1839 AD

Description

Tags

Comments