Here is an old postcard I picked up not long ago. Nothing special, as the scene is common and is a printed rather than real photo card. You have often seen the bank in other posts on this blog, some of which I will list at the end. What caught my eye was the ink stamp on the front, Caldwell Commercial Bank, with a neatly drawn arrow to the bank building. The card is postmarked 1913 but the street scene appears slightly earlier. I do like that interurban coming right at us!
The stamped name, Caldwell Commercial Bank, is a bit perplexing. The Caldwell Commercial Bank was established in 1894 (date is suspect) by A.K Steuneneberg, John Rice and E. H. Plowhead. In circa 1903-1904, the new building was constructed on the corner of Main and Seventh streets where it remains today (now the
Bird Stop Coffee House). A short time later it commenced business as the Caldwell Bank & Trust with Frank Steunenberg as President and AK Steunenberg as Cashier.
On the written side, we see a date stamp used by the writer ("Dad") in addition to the Caldwell post mark and the CVCo Cardinell-Vincent Co. logo.
Although difficult to see in the original, an enlargement of the postcard shows the full Steunenberg
block in place. I am guessing perhaps a batch of these postcards had been stamped with the old bank name and utilized for advertising. The first
portion of the bank was built in 1904. A short time later, I
believe circa 1904/05, the bank was extended to form the Steunenberg
Block as seen here.
Many of the dates I have found over the years have been
a bit conflicting as to when buildings were built, names changed or events took place. Feel free to let me know if you have other
information (see "Caldwell Commercial Bank/Bank & Trust Co." link
below).
Now you have to wonder, who stamped that postcard with Caldwell Commercial Bank? Most likely it was somebody associated with the bank...Frank, AK, E.H. Plowhead, John Rice....one never knows. Or maybe it was just plain old "Dad."
Other bank related posts:
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Caldwell Banking and Trust Company
Friday, August 1, 2008
Automatic Teller Bank from the Caldwell Banking & Trust Co. Ltd.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
"Caldwell Commercial Bank, Caldwell, Idaho"
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Caldwell Commercial Bank/Bank & Trust Co.
