First Public Appearance

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National Bank Notes > North Dakota

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Stanley, First NB, W9472
Fr. 644 $20 1902DB
Grade: PMG Fine 12    

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Stanley is the county seat of Mountrail County and it had a single national bank that was organized on June 15, 1909. After issuing a miniscule 1,043 large sheets, it was placed into receivership on December 15, 1926. This note is well used but evenly circulated and has excellent pen signatures of Thomas Lincoln Beiseker, President and B.W. Taylor, Cashier. Beiseker was arrested in 1921 for fraud. This note is new to the census and now there are two. B. W. Taylor was born in Steele county, Minn., near Owatonna, Mar. 12, 1871. He came to North Dakota in 1903 and became cashier of the First National Bank of Stanley. A state representative, he was also the delegate to Republican National Convention from North Dakota in 1924 and Sergeant-at-arms at the 1948 Republican National Convention. Stanley is the county seat of Mountraill County. The population was 1,458 at the 2010 census. A post office was established here July 3, 1899 with Edsell H. Sikes (later a state senator) as Postmaster, but development did not begin until 1902 when George W. Wilson platted the townsite. The name honored Col. King Stanley, a pioneer in the area, although some say it was named for David Sloane Stanley, the former Commandant of Fort Berthold. Stanly incorporated as a city in 1909 with Frank Alger mayor and a peak population of 1,795 was reached in 1960. It was chosen as Mountrail County seat in 1910. The Mountrail County Courthouse in Stanley, North Dakota was built in 1914. It was designed by architects Buechner & Orth in what can be termed Academic Revival architecture and/or Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals architecture. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Stanley is known for its decorative fire hydrants. Every hydrant in town is painted with a different historical figure. Strolling around town you could pass anyone from Betsy Ross to Abraham Lincoln to Neil Armstrong.

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