Guide to the Bank of Krupp Records
1903-1908

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Overview of the Collection

Creator: Bank of Krupp Records, 1903-1908
Title: Bank of Krupp Records
Dates: 1903-1908 ( inclusive )
Quantity: 4 containers. (2 linear feet of shelf space.) (1750 items.)
Collection Number: Cage 326
Summary: Correspondence, accounts and transactional records of a small country bank, variously known as the Bank of Krupp (ca. 1902-1905), the Krupp branch of the Citizens Bank of Wilson Creek (1906-1907) and the State Bank of Krupp (1907-1908), primarily regarding efforts of the bank's owner J.D. Bassett, and its manager, J.J. Phillips, to establish its viability in the recently developed town of Krupp (later Marlin) and their eventual withdrawal in favor of a rival bank.
Repository: Washington State University Libraries
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections

New Holland Library
Pullman, WA 99164-5610 USA
(509) 335-6691
http://www.wsulibs.wsu.edu/holland/masc/masc.htm

Languages: Collection materials are in English 
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical Note

The date of organization of the Bank of Krupp cannot be determined. However, it is known to have been interrelated with the State Bank of Wilson Creek by late 1903. As a private, or unincorporated bank, it stood outside the jurisdiction of regulatory agencies; accordingly its existence is documented only by its own records and references in the press.

The bank came under the ownership of John D. Bassett in March, 1904, who added it to the chain of central Washington banks which he controlled between 1900 and 1909. Bassett also assumed ownership of the State Bank of Wilson Creek a few months later, changing it to a private bank which he renamed Citizens Bank. This firm then took a supervisory position relative to the Bank of Krupp and eventually the Bank of Krupp became known as the Krupp branch of the Citizens Bank. John Brewer, Cashier of the Citizens Bank served as nominal Cashier of the Krupp branch, while day to day operation of the branch fell to an Assistant Cashier, a position filled by Jesse J. Phillips, who managed the branch during most of its existence.

Bassett apparently saw the bank at Krupp as an experimental or trial operation. Most of its management remained at Wilson Creek and even the hours kept at Krupp do not appear to have been regular. Moreover, Bassett's position in Krupp was quickly challenged by others who found this tentativeness unsatisfactory. Bassett described this competition in the following comment:

"The Washington Land Company have had a considerable correspondence about buying out the Krupp bank and have threatened to start a branch. I hardly see how we could sell and keep our business interests each side of Krupp, but offered them to do all their business at Krupp and Wilson Creek without charge, providing they keep out of the way. I still hope they will decide to leave us alone, but do not know that I can do any more." (Bassett to Phillips, August 13, 1906.)

Efforts of competitors quickly prevailed despite Bassett's efforts. In September of 1906 a rival group organized a second private bank, the Farmers Bank, in the little town of Krupp. The following summer both banks filed for incorporation, following provisions of a recently adopted state banking code. The Bassett bank then took the name State Bank of Krupp, with J. J. Phillips elevated to Cashier, while the rival became known as the Farmers State Bank.

Both banks apparently struggled through the monetary stringencies associated with the panic of 1907. This experience apparently convinced Bassett that there was not room for two banks in Krupp. His Cashier also apparently desired to leave to follow other opportunities. Accordingly, in late 1908 Bassett abandoned the field at Krupp and the Farmers State Bank absorbed the State Bank of Krupp. Until 1934, the Farmers State Bank continued in business at Krupp, the name of which was changed to Marlin in 1917. When the little town could no longer support the bank, the officers moved it, in April, 1934, to the neighboring town of Odessa and renamed it the Odessa State Bank. The firm continued under that name until 1951, when the Seattle First National Bank acquired the business and converted it into a branch in its system.

Content Description

Records of the bank have been fragmented. Extant records consist of those kept at the parent bank at Wilson Creek. The principle component is a correspondence file which runs from September 1905 to December 1907. A few scattered items document the bank's existence from mid-1903. Likewise a few items date from the bank's last months of existence in 1908.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access :  

This collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation :  

[Item Description]. Cage 326, Bank of Krupp Records. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

The arrangement follows the letter-box system employed by the bank. The one exception is the sequence running from July 1906 to June 1907 in which the alphabetical order was disrupted sometime prior to transfer of the records to the Washington State University Library.

Acquisition Information :  

The records of the Wilson Creek State Bank were deposited with the Washington State University Library in 1974 and 1975 by E. Roy Mundy of Ephrata.

Processing Note :  

These records of the Bank of Krupp, a commercial bank located at Krupp (Marlin), Washington, and also known as the Krupp Branch of the Citizens Bank of Wilson Creek and the State Bank of Krupp, were separated from the records of the Wilson Creek State Bank (Cage 325).

Separated Materials :  

The remaining records of the Wilson Creek State Bank are held as Cage 325.


Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series 1: General Correspondence, 1905-1907
1600 items.
Container(s)
Description
Box/Folder
1 / 1 1903
September 1905-June 1906
Box/Folder
1 / 2 A-D
1 / 3 E-O
1 / 4 P-V
1 / 5 W-Z
July 1906-June 1907
Box/Folder
1 / 6 I
2 / 7 II
2 / 8 III
July 1907-October 1907
Box/Folder
2 / 9 A-G
2 / 10 H-Q
2 / 11 R-S
3 / 12 T-Z
October 1907-December 1907
Box/Folder
3 / 13 A-L
3 / 14 M-S
3 / 15 T-Z

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Series 2: Legal and transactional records, 1907-1908
123 items.
Container(s)
Description
Box/Folder
4 / 16 Articles of Incorporation of State Bank of Krupp, and related papers,, 1907
2 items.
4 / 17 Checks, receipts, debit slips, statements and other transactional records, 1907-1908
120 items.
4 / 18 General ledger, 1907-1908
1 volume.

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Subjects

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

  • Personal Names :
  • Bassett, John Dowd, 1858-1937
  • Phillips, Jesse James
  • Corporate Names :
  • Bank of Krupp. --Archives  ( creator)
  • Citizens Bank of Wilson Creek. Krupp Branch
  • State Bank of Krupp.
  • Geographical Names :
  • Washington (State)--Marlin
  • Subject Terms :
  • Banks and banking--Washington (State)--Krupp
  • Banks and banking--Washington (State)--Marlin

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