Title
Banking Industry
Files
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Description
"As formal business institutions, banks emerged very slowly during nineteenth-century Indian Territory but quickly appeared with the land runs that populated central and western Oklahoma Territory. As occurred during the early settlement periods of other states, in Oklahoma local merchants often performed the role of banker during the territorial era. In the 1870s, for example, James J. McAlester in Indian Territory (I.T.) provided farmers, coal miners, and other residents banking services from his mercantile store. In Doaksville, Choctaw Nation, I.T., competition occurred between the Doak and Times Mercantile Company and the Berthelet, Heald, and Company, both of which performed banking functions. In 1873 James A. Patterson established the Patterson Mercantile Company in Muskogee, I.T., where he provided a safe for out-of-town customers, especially wealthy cattlemen who traveled with large amounts of currency in canvas bags. He eventually established a bank that offered passbook and checking accounts."
Publication Date
2009
Publisher
Oklahoma Historical Society
Keywords
Oklahoma Economics, Banking Industry
Disciplines
Economic History | Finance and Financial Management
Recommended Citation
Doti, L. P. Banking Industry. In Encyclopedia of Oklahoma history and culture. Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma History Center.
Peer Reviewed
1
Copyright
Oklahoma Historical Society