Niantic Bank, Westerly

The Niantic Bank was founded in the southern Rhode Island town of Westerly in 1854. It became a national institution on February 2, 1865. As a national bank, it issued $1,744,440 in currency, 13 notes of which survive to this day.

Throughout its existence, the bank was located at 14 High Street. A large fire consumed an entire block in February of 1888 and left the bank but a shell. The institution reported $11,000 in loses, only $9,000 of which was covered by insurance.

On January 11, 1905, the National Niantic Bank was acquired by the Industrial Trust Company and its offices became the Westerly branch of that institution. Records indicate that the original brick building was rebuilt in 1916 in granite in the Beaux-Arts style, although images of the structure bear the date 1887, (ie. MDCCCLXXXVii). This likely refers to the year that the Industrial Trust Company was founded in Providence (which was indeed 1887) and not the year the building was constructed.

1850s Proof. Durand 2466, Haxby RI-550-G6a, Bowers RI-1600-003-G030a

The original brick bank building on High Street sometime between 1905 and 1916 (note the Industrial Trust signage in left window).
Niantic Bank, Westerly, WC 0029. Rhode Island Collection, Providence Public Library, Providence, R.I. Reprinted with permission.

An early 20th-century postcard showing the Niantic Bank building at right, with the white-columned Washington Bank in the background at center.

The location of the Niantic Bank, at 14 High Street in downtown Westerly, is visible at the center of this map. Directly below is the Washington Bank.
From D.G. Beers, Atlas of Rhode Island, 1870.

A letter from the bank dated January 30, 1862 and signed by J.M. Pendelton, cashier.

Blank bank check.