Page 7 - The History of Watertown Savings Bank_Neat
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The Early Years
Watertown’s industrial center along the Black River.
The story of Watertown Savings Bank begins
with a group of prominent and dedicated city
residents who wanted to establish a new mutual
savings bank that would be owned by
its depositors.
The diligent city residents who joined
together to establish Watertown Savings Bank
in 1893 were working during a time when the
city of Watertown was a thriving and bustling
community. The era of railroad building had
already taken place, linking Watertown to Rome,
Utica and Ogdensburg and beyond,
with connecting lines in towns throughout
Jefferson County.
As industry was booming and the labor force
was on the rise, the city became ripe for the
formation of a new bank that would serve the
working class.
The great wealth generated by these successful It was a time when America’s rapid used to develop the fast-growing paper industry
business operations had created a larger pool of industrialization was enticing many people to along the Black River.
working class residents, or “wage earners.” As relocate to expanding cities, and Watertown was By 1882, there were five large and thriving
the number of workers grew, so did the number no exception. By the late 1800s, Watertown had paper mills harnessing that abundance of water
of people who were in a position to start saving become a growing center of trade and industry in power for their operations. Those mills included
some of their money. New York State. Taggart Brothers Paper Mill, the Remington
It was this economic expansion happening Although the city had been incorporated in Paper Company, C.R. Remington, Knowlton
in the late 1800s throughout the north country 1869, the most rapid increase in population Brothers, and the Watertown Paper Company.
that helped set the stage for the creation of the occurred between 1880 and 1900, when water The paper-making industry had become a major
Watertown Savings Bank. power was becoming a major source of energy employer in Watertown.
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