Last & First: Mid-1800s Currency Issued by a Grundy County Bank in Morris, Illinois

Morris Illinois was a prime spot for commerce in the mid 1800s. The Illinois & Michigan Canal was located to the south of town, and new railroad tracks to the north. In the early 1860s the country and economy were going through major changes due to the Civil War. The federal governments banking system collapsed in 1836 leaving citizens wondering what was on the economic horizon. Gold, silver, and copper coinage were in short supply. The federal paper currency was not much better. Grundy County in general, and Morris in particular, was feeling the same pinch. A local Morris bank issued state backed paper currency for a short time until Abraham Lincoln and the Secretary of the Treasury came up with a plan for the country – The National Bank Act of 1863. Now a new bank in Morris could issue National Bank notes backed by bonds to keep the Grundy County economy moving. See and hear the stories surrounding the last of the obsolete currency, and the first of the National Bank currency issued in Grundy County. Presented by Dale Lukanich. Admission is free.