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National Bank Notes > North Dakota

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Binford, First NB, W8265
Fr. 651 $20 1902PB
Grade: PMG Ch. Fine 15 Net    

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Here is a super rare one-bank town in Griggs County. The Bank was chartered in June 1906 and continued in business through the end of the National Bank Note issuing period. There are only two surviving examples from the 2,750 sheets issued; the other known note is a #1 Red Seal which we sold in June 1996 at $9,900. This is an evenly circulated note with a minor stain on the back. Excellent pen signatures of Emil Olson, Assistant Cashier and Otto Pritz, Vice President. This was the first note that Glen purchased from John Hickman and it cost him a whopping $100. No doubt because the large outstanding in 1935 was $90; of course now we know how inaccurate those numbers can be. PMG notes: stains. Emil O. Olson was born August 27, 1890, near Benson, Minnesota. He secured employment as a bookkeeper with the First National Bank of Binford in May 1926 at a salary of $65.00 per month. During World War I he was drafted into the United States Army and he served several months in France. He returned to Binford and continued in the employment of the bank. Early in 1926 he left the bank and sold life insurance. After the death of bank cashier Oscar Greenland, Emil returnmed to the bank and became cashier on December 6, 1926. Binford is located in Griggs County; the population was 183 at the 2010 census. Settlers were here as early as 1877, when Gabriel Gilbertson settled here and a rural community called Blooming Prairie began. In 1899 the Northern Pacific Railroad built a station on this site and named it for Ray Binford, an attorney from Charles City, Iowa. The post office was established November 17, 1899 with Oscar Greenbaum as Postmaster. The village incorporated in 1906 and reached a peak population of 393 in 1920. In the fall of 1899, a lumberyard and general store opened. A hotel was built in 1900. In 1905, Binford had its own newspaper, a bank, grain elevator, a hardware store, two groceries, a couple of pool hall/bowling alleys, two churches, and various other establishments.

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