First National Bank of Missoula

The First National Bank was organized in 1873 in Missoula, Mont., under the name Missoula National Bank. The bank was not only one of the first businesses in Missoula, but one of the first banks in Montana Territory. Bank officers included Christopher Higgins, Francis L. Worden, and J.P. Reinhard. Within a few months of its creation, the bank survived the Panic of 1873, which forced 172 banks across the U.S. to liquidate. During the last decades of the nineteenth century the Missoula bank played an important role in the gold trade in western Montana. It acted as the middleman in transferring the gold from the prospectors to the large financial institutions of the east coast. All of these gold transactions enabled the Missoula bank to obtain more currency, which was important to the growth of the Missoula and western Montana economy. In 1976, the bank became the First National Montana Bank of Missoula. By 1986, it was First Interstate Bank. The Missoula Trust and Savings Bank was incorporated in 1903. Officers were Frederick D. Whisler, President; Dr. Oel. S. Misick, Vice President; and John W. Hicklin, Cashier. Its charter expired in 1953.

From the description of First National Bank of Missoula Records 1866-1965. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 57120394

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