In the 1860s, Utah Territory began relying more on mining over agriculture, with eventually hundreds of claims dotting its landscape. Salt Lake City, serving as Utah Territory’s capital, benefitted most from this economic expansion, attracting miners and investors alike. Warren G. Hussey, a gold broker operating across the Intermountain West, expanded into the financial realm by purchasing the Miners’ National Bank of Salt Lake in 1869, notably the year of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion, reorganizing it into the First National Bank of Utah.
\nHussey quickly established this new bank as Utah’s most important financial house, with total assets in 1871 amounting to $582,000. Hussey appeared so adept in banking that dividends, or returns to shareholders on investments, amounted to one hundred percent in 1871-2. In 1872, Hussey bought out any remaining stock in circulation, becoming First National’s sole owner, and decided to construct a new banking facility.
\nCommenced in early 1871, First National’s new building opened in September 1873. Designed by Thomas J. Johnson, a San Francisco-based builder, and Richard M. Upjohn, one of the United States’s foremost architects. No expense was spared, with total cost ballooning to $140,000, far higher than initial estimates. Its opening also aligned with the Panic of 1873, an economic recession causing bank runs across the United States. In response, Hussey suspended deposit payouts the month the new building opened. He also held interests in Utah’s Emma Mine, an operation riddled with fraudulent activity, losing tens of thousands of dollars upon its closure in 1873 after reports of its rich silver deposits being falsified.
\nHowever, First National’s economic condition appeared sound. The U.S. Comptroller, the monitoring office for financial activities, reopened the bank in October 1873 after reporting that the bank’s resources were four times higher than deposits. Within fourteen months, however, the Comptroller shut down First National in December 1874, citing incompetent management. After its liquidation was finalized in 1878, only twenty-five percent of clients received compensation.
\nHussey embezzled First National’s remaining assets into a personal account and continued opening banks across the Intermountain West. Notably, Hussey opened the Spokane National Bank in Washington in 1888, again investing considerable sums into a lavish headquarters. This bank failed in 1891, attributed to risky mining investments and negligible financial practices. Hussey, aged eighty-three, died in his Spokane home in 1920.
\nIn 1875, First National’s building suffered from a city-wide fire, losing its fourth story, never to be rebuilt. However, the structure continued serving as office spaces, and the Deseret National Bank (now Zion Bancorporation) occupied the first floor into the 1880s. Utah’s territorial archives lodged the second level, and the Oddfellows, a fraternal society, filled the third story until 1896, with their private library located on the second floor.
\nAround 1885, Simon Bamberger, a Utah financier, purchased the building to house his business offices. Eventually, Bamberger became Utah’s governor in 1917 and the building served as a movie theater for several decades. Since the 1990s, the First National Bank Building has housed multiple commercial businesses, remaining one of Salt Lake City's most recognizable nineteenth-century structures.
","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"As of 2022, the First National Bank Building is available for rent by InterNet Properties.","lede":"The First National Bank of Utah, once the Territory’s most publicized financial institution, failed because of the shady operations of its president, Warren Hussey, closing only five years after its incorporation.","website":"","related_resources":["Anderson, Ron. “Hussey, Warren.” Mormon Trails Association, March 15, 2012. https://t.ly/dBYYC.","Arrington, Leonard J. “Banking Enterprises in Utah, 1847-1880” The Business History Review 29, no. 4 (December 1955): 312-334. https://doi.org/10.2307/3111862.","“At Home And Abroad,” The Bozeman Courier, September 27, 1873. The Bozeman Courier Archive. Courtesy of Newspapers.com https://is.gd/OVy4vN. ","“Card To The Public,” Deseret News, October 24, 1873. Deseret News Archive. Courtesy of Newspapers.com http://rb.gy/31pmbq. ","“Changed Hands,” The Weekly Telegraph, March 04, 1876. The Weekly Telegraph Archive. Courtesy of Newspapers.com https://rb.gy/hvt396.","“Closed Doors,” Spokane Falls Review, December 18, 1890. Spokane Falls Review Archives. Courtesy of Newspapers.com https://is.gd/66DQTE.","“Fire In The City,” Deseret News, November 17, 1875. Utah Digital Newspapers. Courtesy of the University of Utah https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=2642874.","“First National Bank,” Salt Lake Herald-Republican, December 20, 1872. Utah Digital Newspapers. Courtesy of the University of Utah https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/details?id=11567317. ","“First National Bank Suspended,” Deseret News, September 27, 1873. Deseret News Archive. Courtesy of Newspapers.com http://rb.gy/31pmbq. ","Friedberg, Ira S., and Arthur L. Friedberg. Paper Money of the United States: A Complete Illustrated Guide with Valuations. 22nd ed. Williston, Vermont: Coin and Currency Institute, 2021.","“Indiana,” The Democratic Leader, January 02, 1874. The Democratic Leader Archives. Courtesy of Newspapers.com https://is.gd/ppksHP.","Jackson, Turrentine W. “British Impact On The Utah Mining Industry” Utah Historical Quarterly 31, no. 4 (Fall 1963): 347-376. https://issuu.com/utah10/docs/uhq_volume31_1963_number4.","Roberts, Allen D. “National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: First National Bank” National Parks Service Digital Asset Management System, 1976. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/72001307. ","“Spokane’s Exposition,” The San Francisco Examiner, September 30, 1890. The San Francisco Examiner Archives. Courtesy of Newspapers.com https://is.gd/662O6B.","“State Notes,” The Capital Journal, January 26, 1891. The Capital Journal Archives. Courtesy of Newspapers.com https://is.gd/DGNhAa.","United States Comptroller of the Currency. “Alphabetical List of National Banks by States” Library of Congress, 1912. https://www.loc.gov/item/12035669/. ","United States Comptroller of the Currency. “Annual Report of the Comptroller of the Currency” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 1871. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/annual-report-comptroller-currency-56/1871-19087. ","United States Comptroller of the Currency. “Annual Report of the Comptroller of the Currency” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 1875. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/annual-report-comptroller-currency-56/1875-19091. ","“Warren Hussey Dead; Pioneer State Banker.” Midland Empire News, February 12, 1920. Midland Empire News Archive. Courtesy of Newspapers.com https://is.gd/iLjfKG. "],"factoids":["Interestingly, in January 1874, an Indiana-based newspaper claimed that in 1856/7, a man named Warren Hussey narrowly escaped jail-time for counterfeiting and embezzlement in Boone County, Indiana, suggesting these men were one and the same. While it is unknown if these men were the same person, in response, Hussey sued the Indianapolis Journal Company for $100,000, claiming libel against his public image.","The First National Bank of Utah printed several denominations of national bank notes, the $1, $2, $5, $20, $50, and $100 across a single printing series: 1863. Printing series dates do not align with the note’s printing date, rather they determine the bill’s design period. Current estimates conclude that only one note exists today, making it exceptionally valuable in comparison to most national bank notes."],"files":{"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/3d811606a4f71a89ee1b5030426bbffe.jpg":{"id":3579,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"First National Bank Building, Salt Lake City","description":"Exterior photo of the First National Bank Building taken in 2019, facing South Main Street. At the top of the structure, notice “1871” engraved into the façade, the inaugural year of its construction. This design does not appear in earlier photographs available, indicating this is a re-addition within the last few decades. Architecturally, the bank building resembles the Italianate style, common in the late nineteenth century, utilizing strict symmetry and ornamentation in its decoration, visible towards the structure’s top, plus the small balcony on the second story.
| “First National Bank Building, Salt Lake City” Tamanoeconomico, May 17, 2019. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/3d811606a4f71a89ee1b5030426bbffe.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/b0adceb4238aa5bee50c3d1caeb8fe6d.jpg":{"id":3580,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"Exterior view of the First National Bank Building, 1976","description":"An exterior view of the First National Bank Building facing South Main Street in 1976. At this time, the structure served as a movie theatre, specifically for Plitt Theatres as the “Utah 3.” A screening room existed on each of the theater’s three floors. Note the lack of “1871” atop the building. During the 1980s, the First National Bank Building was converted into commercial spaces, a design it retains today.
| “76001825” National Register of Historic Places, May 21, 1976. National Park Service Digital Asset Management System. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/72001307.","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/b0adceb4238aa5bee50c3d1caeb8fe6d.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/93f36f9664a78fb705ce4ac9db51e0e2.jpg":{"id":3581,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"Sketch of the original exterior of the First National Bank Building in 1874","description":"Sketch of the original exterior of the First National Bank Building in 1874. Placed in the Utah Mining Gazette to advertise the bank and its appearance, the accompanying article describes in great detail the expense allocated for its construction. Black walnut, a highly expensive wood, adorned most of the ceilings, with the carved sections also gilded, or painted, in gold. The Gazette claimed the total cost of construction at over $100,000, about $27,000,000 in 2023, accounting for inflation.
| “The First National Bank Building” Utah Mining Gazette, July 18, 1874. . Utah Mining Gazette Archive. Courtesy of Newspapers.com. https://rb.gy/zat0ng. ","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/93f36f9664a78fb705ce4ac9db51e0e2.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/59f965ba9c7219092e58494d1a37fabf.jpg":{"id":3582,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"Utah Mining Gazette newspaper advertisement, 1873","description":"An 1873 newspaper advertisement from the Utah Mining Gazette. Like other national banks, a regular selling point was its capacity as a federal depository for the federal government. Instead of transporting assests long distance, national banks were obligated to store any federal resources within their vaults. The advertistment also notes First National as the oldest banking instituion in Utah.
| “The Bankers of Salt Lake” Utah Mining Gazette, September 07, 1873. Utah Mining Gazette Archive. Courtesy of Newspapers.com. https://is.gd/lXSb8W. ","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/59f965ba9c7219092e58494d1a37fabf.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/f21b6466f1b9d8dbec29412844b27ce6.jpg":{"id":3583,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"Simon Bamberger, circa 1920","description":"Photograph of Simon Bamberger circa 1920, the eventual owner of the First National Bank Building. Bamberger, an investor in hotels, railways, and mining operations, bought the structure to house his personal offices, including those of attorneys. Ultimately, he became one of the most influential men in Utah, being elected its governor in 1917. He was also the first Democrat to hold the governor’s seat and the only Jewish politician as of 2023 to serve in such a role.
| “Simon Bamberger, Governor” Harris & Ewing, c. 1920. Harris & Ewing Collection. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hec/item/2016860696/. ","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/f21b6466f1b9d8dbec29412844b27ce6.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/b9a925aceea237ca61b597e2eebc3951.jpg":{"id":3584,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"1863 $1 national bank note","description":"An 1863 Series $1 national bank note from The Miners National Bank of Salt Lake, photographed by Heritage Auctions. While this note was not printed for the First National Bank of Utah, First National absorbed the Miners National Bank in 1869, so there is corporate continuity. The vignette in the center, entitled “Concordia,” existed on all $1 national bank notes printed from 1863-1878. This printing series represents the first issues of national bank notes and are some of the hardest to find today. In these early notes, printing style was not universal, as this bill lacks its charter number (#1646). The grading condition “20” indicates that it experienced circulation but remains in very good condition visually, retaining most of its color, with no visible damage. From 1863-1928, currency was 30% larger in size, and shrunk in 1929 to save on printing costs. This note sold for $24,600 in 2023.
| Heritage Auctions. “$1 Original Fr. 380a The Miners National Bank Ch. # 1646,” available at https://is.gd/ZX1LmT.","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/b9a925aceea237ca61b597e2eebc3951.jpg"}}}