Unique Town

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National Bank Notes > North Dakota

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Omemee, First NB, W6475
Fr. 642 $20 1902DB
Grade: PMG Fine 12    

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Omemee is a small town in Bottineau County that had one national bank. Chartered in October 1902, the bank printed a scant 1,647 sheets of the 1902 Series notes before liquidating on November 20, 1929. The bank actually issued five sheets of small size notes but none are known. It was later purchased by the Merchants National Bank of Willow City (#7332). Pen signatures of officers Henry A. Batie, Vice President and Adam Robson Batie, Cashier. Omemee is a ghost town in Bottineau County. It was a railroad hub in the early 1910s, located at the junction of two major railroads, the Soo Line Railroad and the Great Northern Railway but has been abandoned since the late 1980s. Omemee was founded in 1887. It is named after Omemee, Ontario, in Canada, which was the hometown of Omemee's first Postmaster. Omemee itself is an alternate spelling of the Ojibwe word omimi, meaning "dove." The post office opened in 1890 and closed in 1967, with mail service transferring to nearby Willow City. The town was incorporated in 1902 and was moved slightly in 1903 to the junction of the Great Northern Railway and the Soo Line Railway in 1903. The city had a high population of 650 in 1906. At that time the town boasted numerous businesses including general stores, banks, hotels, a restaurant, school, opera house, and a newspaper, the Omemee Herald. Omemee Brick Company operated a plant three miles north of town. The town also claimed it had "one of the best brass bands in the state". Omemee disincorporated as a city prior to the 1990 census and currently has no population. All that remains of the town are two rundown buildings (one brick, one stone) and an abandoned power line.

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