Page 3 - The History of Watertown Savings Bank_Neat

Foreword

In 1893, a group of business leaders set out with a goal New York State, and to some extent even into the history
to conduct business as a financial institution in the best of our country. I thought that perhaps this information
interest of the citizens of this community. These wise and would be interesting on some level to people other than just
philanthropic founders wished to establish a depository for those closely associated with the bank. This led me to the
the purpose of promoting thrift and prosperity among the endeavor of celebrating our 125th anniversary by creating a
working class – they were high-minded altruists. The result commemorative book to share with our community, customers,
of their efforts was the formation of Watertown Savings and friends.
Bank (WSB). The early years

Today, 125 years later, the bank’s name, structure and of Watertown
mission remain the same as the founders originally Savings Bank
established – a mutual savings bank with no stockholders, are especially
governed by a board of local trustees to be effectively interesting, as
managed in order to stand the test of time. they provide a
look into the
As we celebrate the bank’s 125th anniversary, it prompts
many worthy questions: who started the bank, why was the industrialization
bank started, what was it like in the early years, how did the and prosperity of
bank fare through historical events like the Great Depression Watertown at the
and World War II, who was the first president, and who time the bank was
were the trustees? formed. Many
of the founders
The answers to all of these questions were found in the were local
many WSB historical documents and records scattered in business owners
various locations. My initial goal was to simply answer these who wanted to
questions and gather all the records in one central place. establish a bank
However, something happened along the way in my research. for the growing
Specifically, it became clear that the history of the bank number of “wage
was much more than just that, but rather it was also a earners” in the
glimpse into the history of Watertown, the history of community.
(continued)

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