© 2016 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. all rights reserved. For public use.

Wells Fargo History Museum, Portland

Museum Text

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[Coach plate]

The Concord Coach

A stagecoach carried as many as 18 people – nine in the

leather-lined interior and nine more clinging to the top.

With a strongbox full of gold under the driver’s seat, a

stagecoach pulled by a six-horse team was an icon of

Western commerce and development. In 1867, Wells

Fargo advertised a “through-time” of 15 days from

Sacramento to Omaha on its route through “the beautiful

scenery of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains.”

Since then the Concord Coach has been the symbol of

Wells Fargo & Co.

Master craftsmen at the Abbot-Downing Company of

Concord, New Hampshire, joined ash, elm, basswood,

hickory and oak into the distinctive oval-shaped body,

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carried upon perfectly balanced wheels rimmed with iron.

Leather “thoroughbraces,” produced from ox hides, eased

the ride over frozen roads and hard, sun-baked trails.

This suspension system gave the coach a rocking motion

and led overland passenger Mark Twain to call it “a cradle

on wheels.”

This coach, Abbot-Downing #306, is the oldest in Wells

Fargo's current fleet. Built in 1854, it had a long career

carrying mail between Halifax and Pictou, Nova Scotia,

Canada until 1890. It had the honor of carrying two

British monarchs - the Prince of Wales (King Edward VII)

in 1860; and Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) in

1951.

A finished coach was painted red with a straw yellow

undercarriage. Artists added scroll detailing and a

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landscape on each door panel. Inside, leather upholstery

padded the jolts of the road.

[Stagecoach travel case]

Aboard the Coach

Climb Aboard! You’ve paid your $50 for a through six-day

trip to Sacramento, at 7 cents a mile. As you settle in on

the front leather bench with your back to the driver, you

eye the narrow jump seat with just a leather strap

backrest, and the rear seat beyond that. A peddler, who

has traveled these roads often, climbs aboard, and

suggests that another seat would be much more

comfortable. Figuring correctly that you have the best

seat aboard, you decline the offer, and eye the damask

hangings, instead.

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Two ladies with hoops and crinoline, take over the back

seat. One has a baby son, who has eaten something

sticky, and young fingers are dispersing it on all

neighboring garments, while lustily yelling. The peddler

and another seasoned traveler fill up the rest of the front

seat, while an elegantly dressed attorney and two Chinese

miners take the center, their knees interlocked with

yours.

A crack of the whip and you depart Portland in a hurry;

with the grand exit made, the driver soon slows the

horses. The finely crafted egg-shaped body of the

Concord is more roomy than it seems by appearance,

while the leather thoroughbraces give the Concord a

swinging and swaying motion, cushioning the shocks of

the ruts. You sit back and enjoy the scenery - through the

continual misty rain that blows in the open windows, even

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when the leather shades are down.

A Moment’s Rest

POP! Goes the whip, and the six horses pick up speed.

You must be entering a town. On a dry sun-baked road, a

plume of dust follows you, envelops you, and renders

your duster almost worthless. As the driver stops the

coach before the local hotel, hostlers quickly appear to

change your team. A half-hour for a meal at $1 a head.

Meat, potatoes, bread, butter, and the all-necessary

coffee appear before you. Best of all is the famed Oregon

fruit, in pies and fresh: peaches, plums, apricots, pears,

figs, strawberries and blackberries.

After two nights on the road, with hills, mountains, trees

and canyons shadowy bright in the full moon, and

abandoned cabins, claims, and sluices ghostly pale, you

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reach Jacksonville for a night of rest. Of your original

coach mates, only the Chinese are still with you. They will

leave the coach at Happy Camp, just over the California

border.

You retrieve your 25-pound bag, hoping to find something

dust-free, and a washbasin to remove the trip’s grime.

Settling into a bed, with your loudly snoring roommate, a

fitful sleep awaits. All too soon, the coachman’s horn

sounds. In darkness, you stumble out to the coach and

climb aboard to climb the Siskiyous into California.

While in the coach, your baggage - maximum weight: 25

pounds - joined the heap of luggage on top. Although a

wool suit and hat, or bonnet and dress, kept you properly

covered, on a chilly night’s run there was nothing like

fresh hot coals in the foot warmer.

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At the stations, if there was a moment and a bit of light,

you record your impressions of the day’s travel.

[Picture identifiers]

Roseburg

Springfield

Barron’s Station

[Small caption]

Omaha Herald, 1877

Tips for Stagecoach Travelers

“The best seat inside a stage is the one next to the driver.

Even if you have a tendency to seasickness when riding

backwards – you’ll get over it and will get less jolts and

jostling. Don’t let any “sly elph” trade you his mid-seat.

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In cold weather don’t ride with tight-fitting boots, shoes,

or gloves. When the driver asks you to get off and walk

do so without grumbling, he won’t request it unless

absolutely necessary. If the team runs away – sit and

take your chances. If you jump, nine out of ten times you

will get hurt.

In very cold weather abstain entirely from liquor when on

the road; because you will freeze twice as quickly when

under its influence.

Don’t growl at the food received at the station; stage

companies generally provide the best they can get.

Don’t keep the stage waiting. Don’t smoke a strong pipe

inside the coach – spit on the leeward side. If you have

anything to drink in a bottle pass it around. Procure your

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stimulants before starting as “ranch” (Stage Depot)

whiskey is not “nectar.”

Don’t swear or lop over neighbors when sleeping. Take

small change to pay expenses. Never shoot on the road

as the noise might frighten the horses. Don’t discuss

politics or religion. Don’t point out where murders have

been committed especially if there are women

passengers.

Don’t lag at the washbasin. Don’t grease your hair,

because travel is dusty. Don’t imagine for a moment that

you are going on a picnic. Expect annoyances, discomfort,

and some hardship.”

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[Quote]

On the afternoon of the 8th of October, I left Portland for

San Francisco by the overland route. At the time I speak

of the Oregon Central Railroad was only completed to

Salem. I took a seat in a coach of the California and

Oregon Stage Company to commence my long ride. The

day was warm and the coach well filled. Four gentlemen

and two ladies with children occupied the inside while the

driver had plenty of company on top.

So making myself comfortable with a pillow to deaden the

motion of the coach, I subsided into a corner and

thought.

Careful driving is required on these mountain roads,

necessarily narrow in the most dangerous places, so that

a few inches divergence from the single track would be a

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sure upset into the ragged abysses of darkness below.

The night was radiant. I never saw more brilliant

heavens, even in the tropics, than on the Oregon

Mountains.

-Frances Fuller Victor, 1870

[Across from gold mining cases]

Wells Fargo and the Asian Pacific Community: a valued

relationship

"The Company by its fair and impartial treatment of the

public, has always enjoyed the special favor and

patronage of the Chinese of the Pacific Coast, who have

unbounded faith in its responsibility and integrity, both as

an Express and a Bank." -1893 Wells Fargo advertisement

at the Chicago Exposition

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[Image]

Wells Fargo’s Directory of Chinese Business Houses listed

over 1,100 Chinese businesses, including clam dealers,

doctors, and grocers.

Sam Lee, clam dealer, Seaside, Oregon, c. 1900

Oregon Historical Society, bb014058

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Wells Fargo and the Asian Pacific Community:

a valued relationship

Wells Fargo’s connection with the Asian community dates

back to the gold rush era of the 1850s. Many Chinese

miners and business owners depended on the company

for secure banking and express services and became loyal

customers.

Wells Fargo reciprocated by publishing bilingual

directories of Chinese businesses and hired interpreters to

better serve the Chinese community. These samples from

the Wells Fargo Corporate Archives, the Oregon Historical

Society, and the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site

show this valued relationship for financial success.

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[Image]

Chinese gold miners, c. 1860

Oregon Historical Society, bb004353

[Image]

Hop Wo Laundry, Front Street, 1851 Wells Fargo’s first

Oregon office came to Front Street in 1852.

Oregon Historical Society, bb001815

Chinese businesses in Oregon

After Oregon’s gold rush ended, the Chinese worked on

farms, canned salmon, built railroads, and owned

businesses. In 1882, Wells Fargo supported its Chinese

customers by printing a bilingual directory of their

businesses. Among the 63 listed were Hop Wo’s laundry,

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the Wing Sing Company (a Chinese grocer and labor

contractor), and the Twin Wo Company (also a labor

contractor).

[Image]

The Wing Sing Company,

55 Washington Street, Portland

This photograph showed the aftermath of the 1894 flood.

Oregon Historical Society, bb002412

[Image]

The Twin Wo Company

244 Yamhill, Portland, c. 1900

Oregon Historical Society, bb010422

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[Image]

Interior of Twin Wo Company

Oregon Historical Society, bb013861

[Image]

Portland’s Chinatown

West Shore Magazine, October 1886

Oregon Historical Society, bb011782

[Image]

In 1913, Sadakuso Enomoto shipped his flowers from the

train station in Redwood City, California to New Orleans

by Wells Fargo wagon.

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[Image]

Chinese workers packed cherries for shipment at Seufert

Brothers Cannery in the Dalles, 1898. The Seufert

Brothers also used Wells Fargo to deliver salmon to New

York in only 5 ½ days.

Oregon Historical Society, bb014362

Getting crops to market

Wells Fargo transported anything and everything,

including farm crops, to markets across the United States.

Its fleet of refrigerated rail cars carried fish, dairy

products, vegetables, and fruit such as strawberries

grown by Japanese-American farmers near Sacramento

and Oregon’s Bing cherries.

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[Image]

Chinese laborers pried railroad track into place along the

Columbia River in 1910.

Oregon Historical Society, bb009946

[Image]

Chinese workers, Astoria, OR

Oregon Historical Society, ba020343

Overcoming the language barrier

Wells Fargo hired interpreters like Wong Ah Wah to help

serve their Chinese customers.

Wah’s obituary revealed the different occupations held by

Chinese working in the West:

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"Wah came to California in 1849, and soon amassed a

fortune by contracting to furnish labor for the building of

the early railroads. He also did some railroad construction

himself. Afterward he acted as interpreter for Wells, Fargo

& Co.” Express Gazette, 1893

[Image]

In 1902, Wells Fargo opened an express office in Manilla,

Philippines, handling money, valuables, and goods by sea.

[Image]

To better communication and aid Pacific Rim trade, Wells

Fargo opened an express office in China in 1916.

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[Image]

Check from Shanghai, 1918

Expanding operations to the Pacific Rim

In the early 1900s, Wells Fargo expanded its operations

abroad with offices in China and other Pacific Rim nations.

The company regularly sent money to China on behalf of

its customers and maintained correspondent banking

relationships with banks in Canton, Hong Kong, Peking,

Shanghai, and Tientsin.

Serving Kam Wah Chung

In 1888, Chinese merchants Lung On and Ing Hay opened

a general store and herbalist shop in the Kam Wah Chung

building in John Day, Oregon. They sold goods from

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China, canned food, and bulk goods. Their general store

was also an important place for socializing, employment,

and delivering goods. They relied on Wells Fargo’s

express business to ship goods and its bank to take care

of their money.

[Image]

Kam Wah Chung, John Day, Oregon

c. 1910

Oregon Historical Society, bb001859

[Image]

Kam Wah Chung today

Image from the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site

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[Image]

Lung On

Oregon Historical Society,

bb010985

[Image]

Ing Hay

Oregon Historical Society, bb006126

Correspondence with Kam Wah Chung,1940

On loan courtesy of the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage

Site

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Account books from Kam Wah Chung

On loan courtesy of the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage

Site

Correspondence with Kam Wah Chung, 1905

On loan courtesy of the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage

Site

Apothecary bottles

Courtesy of the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site

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Wells Fargo calendar, 1933

Courtesy of the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site

[Mining cases]

Wells Fargo’s Assay Office

With loose gold dust flowing down the Columbia River

from eastern Oregon and Idaho, Wells Fargo expanded its

services. On June 20, 1863, the Company advertised:

Assay Office. Wells, Fargo & Co. Assayers.

We are now prepared to receive Gold and Ores of every

description for Assay at our office in Portland. Returns

made in Bars or Coin within Six Hours. Bars discounted at

the very lowest rates.

Wells Fargo’s assayers prepared loose gold dust and

nuggets for shipment to the refiners and mints in San

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Francisco. They melted gold in a hot oven to separate it

from other minerals, and poured it into bars. They then

chipped a corner and tested it to calculate the purity and

value of the bar. The business depended on determining

the final refined value of the gold.

For example, in May 1865, a Mr. Botter sent down gold

from new diggings at Grande Ronde Valley, Oregon, in

the vicinity of La Grande, south of Umatilla. Wells Fargo

assayer Mark A. King assayed the gold at $17.86 per

ounce, or 860 fine.

When agent W.H. Reed placed the Express & Banking

firm’s advertisement in the 1865 directory, he also hinted

at the advantages of Wells Fargo’s assaying:

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Gold Dust, Gold & Silver Bullion, Milled and Assayed with

Correctness & Dispatch; Highest Price Paid for Gold Dust;

Advances made on Gold Dust sent to the Mint for

Coinage; Bars of our own manufacture will be discounted

at the very lowest rates.

By 1867, Idaho gold, and especially, heavier, bulkier

silver, went south to Wells Fargo’s Overland stage line

and the railroad, and not down the Columbia River. Wells

Fargo sold off the assay office, though it still advertised

“Advances made on Gold Dust" in the 1868 Portland

Directory,

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[Caption at assayer’s scale]

Serving customers at the busy Wells Fargo Assay Office

for Portland in the 1860s took skills with iron tongs,

chisels, scientific instruments, and great heat.

The procedure: place the miner’s eastern Oregon or Idaho

gold dust and nuggets into a ceramic crucible and melt it

in a hot kiln. Pour the molten gold into a bullion mold to

make a bar. Cut chips from opposite corners and weigh

the pair on the precision assayer’s scales. Then melt the

sample in a small bone dust cupel, which absorbs

ordinary metals. Add nitric acid to dissolve any silver,

leaving the gold pure. Comparing the original weight and

the weight of the remaining pure gold tells the purity of

the gold bar, and the value of the miner’s hard work.

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The miner could either wait for the gold bar to be minted

into coins in San Francisco and sent back, or accept the

assayer’s value and receive gold coins immediately. Wells

Fargo’s success was built on the accuracy of the assay

process, allowing the agents to constantly advertise

“Advances Made on Gold Dust.”

The ounces noted in receipts for gold are “Troy” ounces,

slightly heavier than the “Avoirdupois” ounces and pounds

used for everything from people to groceries. Today the

United States still uses both these weight measurements,

while the rest of the world uses France’s metric grams.

1 Troy Ounce = 1.09714 Avoirdupois Ounces = 31.1034

grams

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Mining Gold & Silver

Gold, it seemed, was everywhere. In 1851, placer gold

popped up in the Rogue River Valley, leading to a rush.

Jacksonville banker and expressman C. C. Beekman found

himself in the center of a gold district. At first, miners

worked the icy streams with picks and pans, looking for

nuggets. Then they built extensive gravity driven flume

systems feeding powerful water nozzles to wash away

whole hillsides to uncover more bits of the precious metal.

By 1859, miners were digging and blasting underground

directly in the gold-bearing quartz.

A real rush developed in eastern Oregon in the fall of

1861 when miners struck it rich on the Powder River and

John Day River. Soon Baker City and Canyon City,

Oregon, reveled in strikes. Other gold-seekers pushed on

into eastern Washington, and then Idaho, with Wells

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Fargo following to serve these intrepid miners and

merchants. Names like Walla Walla, Orofino, Lewiston,

Florence, Placerville, Boise and Silver City were on every

tongue. Gold flowed down the mighty Columbia - in the

charge of Wells, Fargo & Co.’s messengers, of course.

In 1863, Wells Fargo opened agencies in eastern Oregon

and Idaho. Steamers carried gold from Lewiston, Idaho

and way-stations down the Columbia to Portland, where

ocean steamers hurried it to San Francisco. At each

stage, a Wells Fargo messenger was aboard. From 1863

to 1867, Wells Fargo annually transported about $5

million dollars of gold out of Oregon and Idaho; from

1877 to 1879, Wells Fargo shipped seven million in gold.

“Messenger Burke, of Wells, Fargo & Co’s Express, came

down the Columbia yesterday (March 25, 1864) with a

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very heavy treasure express, amounting to about three

hundred pounds in gold [$70,000]. The connection was

through Boise.” - A typical note in an Oregon newspaper.

[Captions]

Miners used various methods to extract precious metal:

Placer mining for gold dust and nuggets eroded out of the

hills by nature meant wading in icy mountain streams,

such as at Willow Creek in southern Oregon [right].

[Below right] Impatient miners speeded up the process

with Hydraulic mining, washing away great chunks of

hillsides with powerful jets of water.

Hard rock miners tunneled into the sides of promising

hillsides. [Left] In 1896, citizens of Cornucopia pose for

the photographer - in their Sunday best - as if preparing

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to dig into an eastern Oregon hill.

The assay office at Sumpter, Oregon (south of

Pendleton), was typical. Though the building was rough,

assayers’ chemical skills accurately tested the purity of

metals. Note the boxed scales on the right.

[Mineral specimens]

Gold nuggets, that first attracted miners, are still found in

mountain streams which erode the bits of metal out of the

hillsides and tumble them smooth.

Silver, unlike gold, is found blended with other minerals.

This ore from Wallace, Idaho, has veins of Friebergite,

which is about a third silver, within a rock of siderite, an

iron oxide.

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Gold underground runs in veins of quartz.

Galena is the purest of the lead ores, and often found

along with silver ore.

Zinc is a useful mineral found in Idaho and Washington.

Miners called this dark variety Blackjack, found in veins of

quartz along with brassy iron pyrite - the infamous “Fool’s

Gold.”

[Staging cases]

Stagecoaching and Wells Fargo Express

The navigable Columbia and Willamette Rivers and a low

demand delayed the appearance of stagecoaches in

Oregon. In 1857, the first Oregon stage ran between

Portland and Salem, and Wells, Fargo & Company’s

express was aboard. Within three years, the California

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Stage Company linked Sacramento and Portland over a

710-mile route, the second longest stage line in the

nation. The enterprise included twenty-eight coaches,

thirty stage wagons, thirty-five drivers, fourteen district

agents, seventy-five hostlers, and five hundred horses.

Stagecoaches kept rolling along this route until the

completion of the north-south railroad in December 1887.

Wells Fargo’s express rode in other stage lines across

Oregon. “Having opened offices at Forest Grove,

Hillsboro, Lafayette, McMinnville, Butteville, and Dayton,”

Wells Fargo advertised in 1868, “We will dispatch an

Express [from Portland] every Monday and Thursday

morning by J.C. Jamison’s Line, carrying treasure, freight

and packages.” In Eastern Oregon, Wells Fargo

inaugurated expresses in 1864 from The Dalles, through

Canyon City, and from Umatilla by way of Baker City, thru

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into Idaho.

Knowing the Lay of the Land

For the average stage driver, a sudden stop by

highwaymen was, unfortunately, part of the job. On rare

occasions, a stage might be robbed twice in one day. By

1858, Wells Fargo had hired armed messengers to guard

its treasure shipments.

Throughout the 1860s and 1870s, stage robbing became

a growing business not only in California, but in Oregon

and other Western states and territories. By 1872, Wells

Fargo employed thirty-one messengers and eight guards,

who included company regulars Mike Tovey and Eugene

Blair and occasional “hired guns” like Wyatt and Morgan

Earp. These messengers were “the kind of men you can

depend on if you get in a fix,” wrote James Hume, Wells

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Fargo’s chief detective.

Robbers’ Methods

Most robbers planned their holdup of a moving target –

positioning themselves strategically along deserted

country roads at points the stage could be observed

approaching or country that had afforded trees, brush,

and quick avenues of escape. On more than a few

occasions, robbers stretched rope or a chain across the

road to halt or trip up the lead team of horses pulling the

stage. To cover their tracks and disguise their identities,

robbers sometimes did the job in stocking feet, put

booties on their horses, turned their clothing inside out,

and wore masks, of course.

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Wells Fargo Agents

Whenever a robbery occurred, Wells Fargo agents nearest

the scene of the crime reported the incident to local law

enforcement and company headquarters. Agents

determined losses, gathered evidence, organized pursuit,

and offered rewards for arrest and conviction.

In 1873, James B. Hume [seated on bottom right] began

a thirty-year career as Wells Fargo’s chief special officer,

or detective. Hume took each pursuit very personally,

perhaps because he himself was robbed twice traveling by

stage. Hume pursued one suspect 2,500 miles through

seven states until making an arrest with the help of

lawman J.E. Ousley, an African-American sheriff in Bolivar

County, Mississippi.

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Robbing Railroad Express Cars

A 1908 robbery near Rawhide, Nevada was perhaps the

last hijacking of a Wells Fargo treasure box carried by

stage. By the 1880s, bandits turned their attention from

stagecoaches to railroad express cars. Stopping trains

and accessing valuables in the express car safe

sometimes required extreme measures such as dynamite,

used to destroy a car in Tulare County California in 1898.

In this incident, Wells Fargo’s messenger escaped harm;

one of the robbers did not, being killed in capture.

Reward!

Wells Fargo offered a standard reward for the arrest and

conviction of stage and train robbers, plus one-fourth of

the treasure recovered. Later reward posters included

photographs and handwriting samples of suspects. Hume

and his officers aggressively pursued criminals, securing

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convictions for 206 stage bandits who robbed Wells Fargo

from 1870 to 1884.

Wells Fargo Bank revived the reward poster in 1991.

Since then, the James B. Hume Reward Program has paid

out over $1 million to bring modern robbers to justice.

Even in our Own Backyard

On December 6, 2006, a bank robber demanded money

from a teller at a Wells Fargo banking store in Salem,

Oregon. The robber did not notice two uniformed police

officers behind him, waiting in line to do their banking.

They immediately took him into custody.

Evidence at the Scene

Clues left at the scene of the crime and detailed

descriptions of robbers, their clothing, weapons, and tools

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such as axes, hammers and chisels, helped Wells Fargo

special officers and lawmen identify and apprehend

suspects.

Following the Trail

Wells Fargo special officers worked with local lawmen to

track down robbers, often following footprints left by

bandits or their horses. Detective Hume identified

suspects in an 1877 stage robbery by tracking their boot

prints in the dust, taking exact measurements of the

print, and noting distinctive defects in the sole and the

imprint left by nails used to attach the heel.

Forensic Ballistics

Wells Fargo Detective Hume used ballistic evidence in

pursuit of one stage bandit, determining that a bullet fired

in the robbery came from the suspect’s .45 Colt revolver.

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Armed Railroad Express Messengers

Armed messengers like Aaron Ross defended Wells Fargo

treasure traveling by rail. On January 22, 1883, Ross

fought off a gang of train robbers at Montello, Nevada

despite being wounded three times. Ross’ nickname

thereafter was “Hold the Fort Ross.”

Protecting Money Today

In stagecoach days, observers of an incident relied on

memory to describe robbers. Today, dye-packs, electronic

tracking devices, and other security measures help

prevent bank robberies. As criminals change their

methods, security measures to combat fraud and theft

evolve as well. Already PINS and passwords protect

customer accounts. In the future, biometrics such as

fingerprints, handprint measurements, eye retina scans,

and other physical features unique to you may become

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commonplace methods of identification.

Wells Fargo Corporate Security

As Wells Fargo has grown to become one of the nation's

largest banks, so has its need for security. Robbery

prevention is still a primary focus, but Wells Fargo's

Corporate Security also works closely with law

enforcement on both the local and federal levels in

response to workplace violence, bomb threats,

cybercrimes, and natural disasters. Security continues to

evolve at Wells Fargo, but Wells Fargo's Corporate

Security aims to provide the best protection to Wells

Fargo, its employees, customers, and assets.

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1875 Stagecoach Robbery in Oregon

Oct 21: Six miles outside of Umatilla, two men robbed the

stagecoach from Boise City and made off with gold from

the Idaho mines.

Oct 22: Portland’s Special Agent H. C. Paige sent a

telegram [front right] to John J. Valentine, General

Superintendent of Wells Fargo, informing him that the

extent of loss was unknown and agents were in pursuit of

robbers.

Oct 29: Paige wrote a letter [front left] from Baker City to

Valentine that reported a loss of upwards to $4,000 from

the stagecoach robbery [based upon the value of the gold

listed]. Once the loss was known, Paige issued the

Umatilla reward poster [above]. Paige first went after a

red-headed fellow he was always suspicious of, based on

a comb with hairs found at the scene of the crime, and

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identified by a nearby hotel keeper as belonging to the

suspect.

Nov 5: Paige wrote Valentine from Pendleton that two

other suspects, Ben Berry and James Maxen, were being

held and had confessed to the robbery.

[High rise elevator bay]

The North Pacific

There was excitement in the air whenever a steamship

arrived or departed a Pacific Coast port 150 years ago.

Steamers were one of a very limited number of ways

Americans could safely send and receive valuable

shipments.

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Wells Fargo used steamships like the fast North Pacific to

transport its customers’ gold, coin, packages, and

important documents around the Pacific Northwest.

Company messengers rode aboard to sort mail and guard

the shipments.

[Image]

Portland’s harbor looking north, Oregon Historical Society,

bb011823

“The arrival of the steamer at Portland was always a

noteworthy occasion and all hands. . . were required to

report for duty. The greater part of steamer night found

us all waiting at the office, and generally little sleep was

secured on those occasions.” Eugene Shelby, Wells Fargo

agent, 1870s

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[Steamers and railroads cases]

Ocean Steamers

From the 1850s until the completion of the north-south

railroad in 1887, steamships linked Portland and Oregon

with the cities on the coast. Competition was heavy

between steamship lines to provide the finest and fastest

vessels. The Oregon, Oriflamme, and the Queen of the

Pacific were favorites. Through the 1870s, steamers left

San Francisco every 4 or 5 days, and took 84 hours or 3

1/2 days.

Of course, Wells Fargo’s messengers were aboard,

guarding packages, mail and millions in gold. The arrival

of an ocean steamer meant a big day. In the early 1870s,

Wells Fargo’s agent for Portland, Eugene Shelby, recalled

“The arrival of the steamer at Portland was always a

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noteworthy occasion - and all hands, including the joint

messengers [for the railroads], were required to report

for duty.” However, no one knew when the steamer

would dock - except at night somewhere between 9PM

and 4AM. “The greater part of steamer night,” Shelby

said, “found us all waiting at the office, and generally little

sleep was secured on those occasions.” The expressmen

hauled the express to the office, rebilled it, and

distributed into runs for morning delivery.

Steamboats

Wells Fargo also took to the rivers, 13 miles south from

Portland to Oregon City and then 125 miles to Eugene,

and east along the Columbia. In December 1853, a

swallowtail pennant reading “Wells, Fargo & Co’s Express”

flew from the Portland-built steamboat Peytona delivering

valuables by Express up and down the Columbia River.

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In the first two decades of Wells Fargo’s presence in

Oregon, the Peoples Transportation Company dominated

the Willamette River - normally running to Corvallis, but

at high water pushing on to Eugene. In 1871, however,

Ben Holladay’s Oregon and California Railroad reached

Eugene. In typical fashion, Holladay cut rates so that the

steamers could not compete, bought the company, and

established his usual monopoly. Steamer traffic became

direct from Portland in 1873, when Oregonians built a

ship canal around the Willamette Falls at Oregon City.

In the 1870s, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company

returned to the Willamette, which Villard reorganized in

1879, as the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. In

1882, it had sixteen gleaming white steamers on the

Willamette, and running from Portland to the Cascades. It

50

ran steamers to Eugene until 1916.

In 1861, the rush to Idaho improved traffic on the

Columbia, “The Great River of the West. The Oregon

Steam Navigation Company put steamers above The

Dalles, to the upper Columbia and Snake Rivers.”

In 1867, the first wheat shipments came down the

Columbia from Walla Walla, W.T., leading to the growth of

the “down” traffic to Portland; by 1870, fruit shipments

joined them. By 1880, the Oregon Railway and Navigation

Company had 13 of its white steamers on 500 miles of

river, and 20 miles of portage railway. In 1882, the

company had 4 steamers between the Cascades and The

Dalles, and 7 above The Dalles on the Columbia and

Snake Rivers.

51

[Ship model]

A Gold Boat for Wells Fargo

In 1849, the side-wheel steamer Wilson G. Hunt was

launched in New York. Named in honor of one of the

entrepreneurs who worked to lay the trans-Atlantic

telegraph cable, the vessel was to be an excursion boat,

when news of the California gold rush arrived. The owners

saw opportunity and dispatched the Hunt around Cape

Horn to San Francisco.

She joined a fleet of boats on the Sacramento River, and

for the next ten years carried eager ‘49ers and supplies,

and brought back a fortune in gold, including many

shipments for Wells, Fargo & Co.

52

In the 1860s, she sailed the Columbia River between

Portland and the Cascades, bringing gold and silver for

Wells Fargo from the mines of Washington, Idaho and

eastern Oregon. One typical shipment: Saturday,

September 10, 1864, the Wilson G. Hunt arrived.

Messenger W.G. West, it was reported, “had in charge

that evening over eight hundred pounds in bullion

[$180,000].”

With another successful decade in her log books, the

Oregon Steam Navigation Company chose the Wilson G.

Hunt to build its business on Puget Sound, where she

sailed until retired in 1890.

53

Winter Runs

Between December and January 1866, the Columbia froze

over. Wells Fargo still sent express messengers between

Portland and The Dalles with the Letter Express. On

January 5, 1866, the Dalles Mountaineer reported the

arrival of messenger Major L.L. Blake, which attested to

the “energy and liberality” of Wells Fargo. Blake hired two

Indian carriers, and came on foot with the mail. Steamers

ran above the Cascades, and into mid-February, Wells

Fargo horsemen carried letters on into Idaho.

When treasure could not get through to Portland, Wells

Fargo issued paper drafts and sent them down with the

messengers. The newspaper reported, “Checks for

treasure in charge had been taken through, however, as

to obviate business difficulties from that cause.”

54

1868 was a particularly bad year, worse than previous

ones. The Columbia River froze below The Cascades,

snows were four feet deep, and no treasure or any

packages could get through. Portland agent Samuel E.

Briggs, however, on the arrival of the steamer from San

Francisco, sent a man and a mule to The Dalles with 100

pounds of letters and treasure. At the same time, “Old

Buck” Buchanan, agent at The Dalles, sent a messenger

down to connect with the steamer. When snow obliterated

the trail, the messengers cut their way through, making

114 miles in 3.5 days (33 miles a day). Thomas H. Cann

declared, “After carrying the express for ten or twelve

years and having never failed on a single trip, I had not

on this occasion the least idea of failure.”

55

On the Railroads

Wherever iron rails were laid across the west, Wells,

Fargo & Co. was aboard, in the express car at the head of

the train, right behind the coal tender. Railroads

expanded business and settlement, and greatly increased

Wells Fargo’s ability to move customers’ money, packages

and mail in these growing economies.

In Oregon, early lines such as the Oregon Navigation &

Railroad Company radiated out from Portland, skirting

rapids and speeding up commerce along the river valleys.

Rail barons competed to link Oregon with the east and

California. In the 1870s, Ben Holladay, the former

Stagecoach King, built the Oregon and California Railroad

through Salem and Eugene, reaching Roseburg by 1872.

Wells Fargo quickly made a contract with the railroad. For

56

$1,000 a month, Wells Fargo received a separate express

car on each passenger train running between Portland

and Roseburg to carry four tons of express and freight.

For the next ten years, though, passengers and express

were transferred to stagecoaches for the journey into

California.

In 1883, financier Henry Villard’s Northern Pacific Railroad

joined Portland with the Great Lakes, opening eastern

markets for Oregon products. He also took on completing

the north-south rail line, reaching Ashland in 1884. Then

Charles Crocker’s Southern Pacific stepped in and

completed the line through to California in 1887. Wells

Fargo’s express business jumped aboard and jumped in

volume.

Railroad building also continued to link Oregon’s coastal

57

communities. In 1885, the Willamette Valley & Coast Rail

Road Company reached Yaquina (Newport) on the coast,

while in 1898; the Astoria & Columbia River Railroad

Company arrived in Astoria. In October 1911, the first

train from Portland arrived at Tillamook.

Between August 24 and August 26, 1916, Coos Bay

celebrated when the first Southern Pacific train, with

Wells, Fargo & Co’s Express, arrived from Eugene. The

new railroad opened up this isolated, but rich farming

land, and gave Wells Fargo new opportunities to market

Coos Bay salmon and halibut.

58

[Caption]

On the railroads, which came to dominate Wells Fargo’s

express network, messengers kept shotguns and

revolvers handy. Railroad express cars contained safes,

with access strictly limited. Some combination lock

models came with removable dials, which messengers

kept in their possession at all times.

[Railroad trunk]

Anything and Everything

Wells Fargo’s railroad messengers saw to the safe

transportation of anything and everything, the common

and the unusual…

59

In August 1917, Messenger Lavet R.D. Erickson relieved

the San Francisco messenger at Ashland, and boarded

train #54, for a 342-mile ride into Portland. He loaded his

messenger safe, train kit box, bedroll, and shotgun into

the car, and settled down at the desk in the car center

with its rack for company mail. The shotgun went into a

rack, while Erickson strapped on a revolver. His express

included fruit, vegetables, dressed hogs, any commodity

that could be packaged, live chickens, money and

valuables, and anything else he could get in. Baggage

consisted of trunks, sample trunks, suitcases, and

bundles, and Messenger Erickson had to inventory every

piece, stamping each waybill.

On this particular trip, he had charge of three spider

monkeys, pets for a woman in Portland. Being an animal

lover, Erickson let them out to swing from the top parts of

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the car and race up and down the aisle. However, as the

engineer speeded up to make up a lost 18 minutes,

packages bounced around - and the monkeys

disappeared. All night he searched for them. As the train

pulled into Portland, the forlorn, monkeyless messenger

straightened up. As he tossed some scraps of paper into

the stove, out they popped, and right into their cage to

eat. Once unloaded, the owner lifted up the curtain,

declared “They look very happy!” and gave the sooty

Erickson a $3 tip.

[Caption]

Made by the same builder of the famed treasure boxes

that rode the stagecoaches, this “Safety Trunk” gave

customers’ small yet valuable packages a secure ride in

the railroad express cars.

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[Treasure box, gun case]

[Captions]

On the stagecoaches, valuables went into a green, iron-

strapped ponderosa pine treasure box. Made by J.Y. Ayer

in San Francisco, a typical box was 20 by 12 by 10 inches

and weighed 24 pounds. The box rode in the front boot

under the driver’s feet. When Wells Fargo carried

especially large shipments, a “shotgun messenger” rode

by the driver, ever alert.

A Victorian era symbol for the express business, “Jack”

the guard Dog stood for Wells Fargo’s famed reliable

service.

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Guarding Gold

In 1839, William Harnden began the express business

primarily to safely transport money, and successor

express companies kept that mission foremost. Without

today’s check-clearing system, which allows customers to

write a check on their home bank to be paid anywhere in

the United States, people paid distant bills with cash. In

West, that meant heavy gold and silver coins. $1,000 in

gold weighed 3.5 pounds, in silver, 58 pounds, 11 ounces.

Wells Fargo carried it all.

Of course, incidents did occur. In November 1916, the

First National Bank of Oregon moved into a new building

at 5th and Stark, and Wells Fargo handled a $1.5 million

shipment of gold coins from the San Francisco mint. At

the railroad station, the Wells Fargo crew loaded 70-

pound bags on hand trucks and wheeled them out into

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the street for loading. Depot clerk W. W. Wilson, helping

guard and load the bags, straddled a hand truck handle

as he passed gold up to the delivery wagon. With the load

gone from the rear, the heavy hand truck front crashed

down, catapulting Wilson four feet up in the air - and

sending his revolver clattering across the street to the

oppose curb. Fortunately, no armed robbers dashed out.

Robbers

The gold and silver carried in the Wells Fargo treasure

box of course drew the attention of highwaymen. On

Thursday, September 16, 1880, as George Case guided

the southbound stage up Siskiyou Summit near midnight,

a lone masked bandit ordered him to stop. Climbing up on

the box, the bandit smashed in the treasure box chained

to the stage and absconded with $1,000. A week later the

night-time bandit again stopped the stage, smashed in

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the treasure box with an axe, and departed with $1,000

in gold dust. The driver, Nort Eddings, who had been

stopped previously, “says he is getting tired of the sport.”

The outlaw? None other than Black Bart!

Wells Fargo, of course, fought back. Reports to Wells

Fargo detectives, tracking robbers’ activities, lead to the

capture of many of the outlaws. Resolute armed guards

drove off other would-be robbers.

[Sidebar]

At 3AM on October 23, 1901, two train robbers armed

with dynamite stopped the northbound train near Eugene,

Oregon. A dynamite blast ripped open the door, knocking

down messenger Charles F. Charles and shredding his

overalls. He made no noise, just waited. Then a stick

landed at his feet, the fuse sputtering. Charles jerked off

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the fuse, and still waited. The robbers tried to enter the

railroad car, but a volley from Charles’ shotgun drove

them off.

“I don’t see what those people are making such a fuss

about,” the modest messenger declared. “I am paid to

take care of the valuables placed in my charge and see

that they reach their respective destinations. ...I simply

did what I am paid for doing.”

Wells Fargo thought this veteran messenger did more

than just his duty. Charles received the only 1902 fifty-

year commemorative medal struck in gold, rather than

silver, plus a $1,000 reward.

66

[Caption]

The nation’s paper money took many forms on the way to

today’s Federal Reserve notes: Legal Tender, Gold Notes,

Silver Certificates, and National Currency. Sometimes

accepted only at a discount, they were still a part of

business, and Wells Fargo handled currency shipments as

carefully as gold, as seen in these receipts.

[Caption]

California & Oregon Stage driver Al Giddings and Wells

Fargo shotgun messenger Charlie Slade on the stage near

Ashland, Oregon.

Courtesy Union Pacific Museum Collection

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[timeline/company overview case]

Beginnings

[Left column]

In October 1852, William H. Barnhart, a friend of founders

Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, opened the Portland

Wells Fargo office. Barnhart offered a menu of Wells

Fargo’s banking and express services, from buying gold

dust, delivering letters, transferring funds, forwarding

packages to giving advice on the Oregon potato market.

“Before any mail facilities can be established,” the

Portland Oregonian remarked in 1865, “Wells, Fargo &

Co. send their messengers on ahead and become the

medium through which business is transacted.” Stage,

steamer, and railroad linked Wells Fargo’s Portland Bank

and its express offices throughout Oregon.

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[Right column]

Independence Day 1865 was joyous! As Portlanders

celebrated the end of the Civil War, hardware merchants

Addison and Lewis Starr organized - per its motto - “The

First National Bank on the Pacific Coast.” Hopefully only

coincidentally, the brothers also produced Starr Pure

Unadulterated White Whiskey. The bank’s glory increased

in 1869 after failing - that is, Mayor Henry Failing and his

brother-in-law Henry W. Corbett, U.S. Senator and former

owner of the California-Oregon Stage Company,

purchased the bank. Under their leadership, the First

National Bank of Oregon became the largest bank in the

Pacific Northwest.

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[Across both columns]

From these strong beginnings, these two companies

served Oregon into today. In 1996, the First National

Bank of Oregon (then part of FIB) joined Wells Fargo

Bank to serve the west.

Growth

In the 1880s, Portland boomed. The new transcontinental

Northern Pacific Railroad along with the iron rails into

California made markets for Oregon’s produce, livestock,

and lumber, as well as Portland manufacturing. The city

saw a growth in population from 90,000 to 200,000 in the

early twentieth century.

In 1894, Wells Fargo acquired Portland’s Commercial

National Bank to expand its financial services for the

Pacific Northwest. In 1907, another cyclical financial panic

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hit, and First National took the lead issuing Portland

Clearing House certificates, “IOUs” backed by the Rose

City’s banks, to ease the money supply. Through hard

times and good, both First National and Wells Fargo

regularly paid its dividends.

The prosperous city was able to deal with periodic

flooding, reminders that the rivers were still a part of life.

As Oregon’s economy grew, town business leaders started

banks throughout the state that are the roots of today’s

Wells Fargo in Oregon.

71

Change

In 1905, Wells Fargo decided to focus on its

phenomenally growing express network, and turned over

the Portland bank office to the United States National

Bank of Portland. In 1907, a brand-new 12-story Wells

Fargo Building on Sixth Avenue welcomed express

customers.

World War I shipbuilding boosted Portland’s economy,

while express moved vital supplies along the railroads.

That same war, though, led the U.S. to consolidate the

nation’s express into one government-run agency, and in

1918, Wells Fargo was suddenly reduced to one bank

office in San Francisco. From there, correspondent

banking continued relations with Pacific Northwest banks,

including ones that are now part of today’s Wells Fargo.

72

Oregon banking grew in the 1910s, and the Roaring

’Twenties merely increased the boom. Then came the

Great Depression. Banks a half-century old struggled to

survive this crisis. In 1930, California’s Transamerica

Corporation gained majority control of the First National,

and in 1933 began acquiring individual town banks. From

1933 to 1937, it acquired nine other Portland banks and

29 elsewhere in the state, bringing the strength of large

banking to small communities. The coming of the Second

World War mobilized Oregon’s economy, and doubled

First National’s size in three years.

[Caption]

The U.S. entry into the First World War brought new

tasks. In January 1918, the Tillamook Homing Club sent

23 cooped homing pigeons to Wells Fargo agent G.C.

Emmott, at Hillsboro, Oregon, 45 miles away as the

73

pigeon flies. He was to release them at 8AM. Those

finding their way in the quickest time were going to be

Army carriers “Over There!”

Modern

With the end of World War II in 1945, citizens returned to

build the American Dream. To reflect the bank’s expanded

service, on August 1, 1958, the First National Bank of

Portland became the First National Bank of Oregon - a

name the Starrs had wanted in 1865.

Portland served the post-war boom with timber, farm and

manufacturing products, and made changes for its own

growth. The First National expanded hours, previewed the

new “freeways” and “TVs.” Home and auto loans,

consumer finance and credit cards allowed people to

enjoy their new prosperity.

74

The bank also adopted electronics to keep up with a

growing number of customers. In 1961, First National

installed a computer. Meantime, other names changed,

too: First National’s holding company changed from

Transamerica through Western Bankcorp to, on June 1,

1981, the unifying First Interstate Bank name. The early

1980s, marked by high interest rates and deregulation,

saw Automatic Teller Machines blossom everywhere.

“Across the Territory” of thirteen states, First Interstate's

“Day & Night Tellers” were ubiquitous. In 1996, Wells

Fargo & Company and FIB merged, and the Wells Fargo

name returned to Oregon, reviving banking roots from

1852.

75

[Founders' portraits]

Henry Wells and William G. Fargo founded Wells, Fargo &

Co. on March 18, 1852.

Henry Wells, an entrepreneurial visionary, was a pioneer

in the express business, letter delivery, telegraph lines,

and women’s education.

William G. Fargo was President of American Express and

of Wells Fargo, Mayor of Buffalo New York, namesake of

Fargo, North Dakota, and an investor in the Northwestern

National Bank, Minneapolis.

Lewis M. Starr, a wholesale liquor dealer, incorporated the

First National Bank of Portland, and served as its first

president, 1865-1869.

76

Henry Failing, Portland’s mayor, took charge of the First

National in 1869, and made the bank prosperous over the

next 29 years.

Henry W. Corbett, an 1851 pioneer and hardware

merchant like his brother-in-law Henry Failing, had owned

the California Oregon stagecoach line and served in the

Senate before becoming bank president between 1898

and 1903.

Abbott L. Mills, previously the bank’s Managing Cashier,

worked as president from 1903 to 1927. During World

War I and the Roaring ’Twenties, the bank also boomed.

Ernest B. MacNaughton (President 1932-1947) guided the

bank through the Great Depression, World War II, and

Transamerica Corporation control. MacNaughton

77

aggressively acquired failing banks and extended the

geographical reach of First National.

C.B. Stevenson, president for seven years ending 1960,

changed the name to the First National Bank of Oregon,

and managed $1 billion in assets in the largest bank in

the state. In 1961, the bank would obtain its first modern

computers, and in 1964, its 100th office.

In the Town Bank

On Main Streets all across America, the town bank stood

as a bulwark of community pride and prosperity. Founded

by leading citizens and patronized by farmers,

storekeepers and workers, a strong bank meant a strong

economy and promising future. The typical bank showed

off this strength with stone columns, vault doors and

barred teller windows.

78

In 1933 and again in 1956, community banks across

Oregon joined under the First National Bank of Portland

banner. They gained the stability and prestige of alliance

with a strong regional bank. Their services and resources

also reached beyond state borders through correspondent

relations with distant banks, and by being part of

Transamerica Corp/First Interstate Bank.

Today, these community banks make up the network of

Wells Fargo’s financial services.

[Top left] At Union, Oregon, business men such as George

Wright [left], and Tom Wright [center] founded the First

National Bank of Union in 1885. Clerk Harvey Mondard

[rear] served customers and probable investors Frank Hall

and Marion Carrol [right]. In 1935, this bank joined the

79

First National of Portland.

[Top right] Interior of the Wells Fargo Building, Sixth and

Oak, decorated for the holidays, 1914.

[Above] The old and the new in the 1940s: one downtown

office of the First National Bank of Portland shines with

polished wood, brass and glass, while a newly remodeled

Main Office at Fifth and Stark shows off white marble and

forward-looking photo-murals.

[Left] The Flood of 1893 brought the river into the office.

Wells, Fargo & Co.’s Bank, Portland

From 1852 through 1873 Wells Fargo advertised itself as

an “Express & Exchange Company,” with a “Banking

Department.” This was Wells Fargo’s traditional banking

80

— sending bills of exchange [bank drafts] to the East

Coast and Europe; buying gold; sending money by

telegraph; and offering interest-bearing Certificates of

Deposit, and, in a time without clearing houses, arranged

to transfer the funds of checks and other paper written on

banks in distant cities.

In 1872, financier Lloyd Tevis became president, and the

Wells Fargo bank in San Francisco and its branches at

Virginia City and Carson City, Nevada and Salt Lake City,

Utah expanded services and began making loans. These

banks did a regular commercial business and spurred the

mining economy. San Francisco, a few steamer days away

from Portland, was the financial center of the Pacific

Coast, and certainly sought out distant customers in

general, and Portland in particular.

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Wells Fargo opened commercial banking in Portland

through acquisition of another bank. In 1886, Oregonians

founded the Commercial National Bank, with $100,000

capital stock. Prospering at 249 Washington Street,

corner of 2nd Avenue, the Commercial National Bank

increased its capital stock to $250,000. After surviving

the Panic of 1893, Wells Fargo purchased a controlling

interest on February 24, 1894 and increased the capital to

$500,000.

On August 12, 1897, the bank changed its name to Wells,

Fargo & Co’s Bank, Portland. Deposit accounts and loans

served Portlanders’ financial needs. With its branch banks

and growing network of express offices “Ocean to Ocean

and Over the Seas,” Wells Fargo made it easy for

customers to transfer money anywhere. All of this helped

Oregonians increase the businesses of lumber, wheat,

82

salmon, and other crops.

Change came with the new 20th Century, however.

Banking and express grew into different businesses, and

Wells Fargo sold the Portland bank to the United States

National Bank of Portland on May 31, 1905.

[Over letterpress]

Keeping Records

A common sight in a Wells Fargo’ banking and express

office was a heavy cast-iron letterpress, a bucket of

water, pieces of linen, and a bound book of tissue paper.

This was the copy machine of the 19th Century.

The clerk placed a letter written with iron oxide ink next

to a page of tissue paper, sandwiched them between

pieces of damp and dry linen and clamped it in the

83

letterpress. The brown ink “rusted” to the tissue paper,

making an exact copy of the writing. With practice, a copy

could be made in three minutes.

Accurate records were written in pen in weighty leather-

bound ledgers. Over the years, machinery has eased the

task of tallying up the deposits and withdrawals, the fees

and interest. But it has always been the people charged

with this task who earn the customers’ trust for a bank.

[Above] In 1914, at the E.G. Young Bank - now part of

Wells Fargo - in Oakland, Oregon, Billy Hiney pens

another entry into a huge ledger book.

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[Town bank space]

The Telegraph

Across the West, as soon as the electric wires were up,

Wells Fargo agents used the telegraph. They tracked

valuable shipments, transferred funds - and sent the

alarm on stage and train robberies.

The telegraphic transfer receipt [above] allowed a

member of the Castro family of San Jose, California to

conduct business in Portland swiftly.

In the mid-19th Century, tapping a simple key closed an

electro-magnetic circuit making a sounder click - and

created long-distance electronic communications.

Try your hand at early “e-mail.” Varying the time between

clicks make dots and dashes that stand for letters. Wells

85

Fargo and banks issued “cipher” books with short letter

strings replacing common phrases.

[Antique desk]

Busy Bankers

In the 1880s, the two Henrys - Corbett & Failing - were

big in Portland. Corbett, Failing & Co. was the leading dry

goods and hardware store, dating from 1851. Corbett also

invested in the Willamette Steel & Iron Works and the

Oregon Iron Works at Oswego; the Portland Hotel

Company; the Portland Street Railways Companies; and

the Portland Oregonian. Mayor Failing, president of First

National and Corbett’s brother in law, also presided over

the city Water Committee and served as a Port

Commissioner. Additionally, Failing became involved with

the Union Power Company, the City and Suburban

Railway Company, the Oregon Railway & Navigation

86

Company, the Northern Pacific Terminal Company, and

the Portland Gas Company. They were indeed busy

bankers!

[Counter case]

As Good as Gold

Bills of Exchange, issued in duplicate or triplicate, were

similar to cashier’s checks, and paid funds at long

distances. Wells Fargo sold its gray bills of exchange in

Portland payable at its banks in New York City or Boston.

They were as good as gold.

For Pacific Coast transactions, Wells Fargo agents, such

as Jacksonville’s Cornelius C. Beekman, sold customers

checks payable on their accounts in San Francisco, the

financial center of the West. They were acceptable

anywhere.

87

The Post Office introduced money orders in 1864,

requiring laborious applications for a money transfer that

could only be cashed at one post office. Developed in

1885, Wells Fargo money orders were simple to purchase

and could be cashed anywhere.

[Agent’s office space]

Wells Fargo for Portland

In October 1852, William H. Barnhart opened Wells

Fargo’s Portland express office in his general store on

Front Street. That December, he added a Wells Fargo

banking office. Although buying Oregon gold dust “is yet

rather an experiment with us,” Wells Fargo’s San

Francisco banker Reuben W. Washburn wrote Barnhart,

the company trusted him to use his “best judgment” and

“discretion” in all cases.

88

Barnhart, Wells Fargo’s agent until September 1855,

certainly accepted that challenge, advertising: “Gold dust!

W.H. Barnhart & Co. Portland are always prepared to pay

the highest price in CASH, for any amount of clean Gold

Dust.”

Wells Fargo, as a new company, was careful with its

capital, but trusted Barnhart. The San Francisco office

told him in 1853, that “We do not object to your retaining

$10,000 in Company capital provided you can keep it

actively and profitably employed.”

Through the next two decades, handling gold and express

mail kept the Portland office busy. As more Oregonians

settled into farming and ranching, the nature of business

shifted. With the coming of the railroads, the amount of

goods and money flowing through Wells Fargo’s Portland

89

offices multiplied.

Top- Wells Fargo agent Harvey Beckwith moved up from

the San Francisco office to serve Portland from 1906 to

1914.

Above - As with all Wells Fargo agents, Eugene Shelby,

agent from 1884 to 1906, prominently displayed his

appointment that described his duties and authority:

“receive Money, Valuables and Merchandise to be

forwarded … receive money for Bills of Exchange or

Certificates of Deposit, and for the purchase of Goods.”

Top right - Wells Fargo’s imposing office at First Avenue

and A Street (later Ankeny Street) was inundated in the

flood of 1893, forcing the office to move away from the

river.

90

Right - In July of 1917, these groups of normally busy

messengers and clerks at the railroad depot paused to

pose for clerk Sylvan O. West’s camera. He and some of

these same fellows were shipping out with the Army, as

the U.S. had just entered the First World War.

The Wells Fargo Wagon

Today, trucks boast of hundreds of horsepower. In early

20th Century Portland, Wells Fargo’s horsepower came in

ones and twos. Once shipments arrived in town by stage,

steamship or railroad, Wells Fargo drivers and

messengers delivered items to their final destinations via

the famed “Wells Fargo Wagon.” The drivers were also

alert for outgoing express. Instructions stated,

“Wagonmen should never drive by call cards, but should

stop and secure the shipment.”

91

The red and blue diamond-shaped signs were familiar

across the U.S., and became a Wells Fargo logo.

Top- Long-timer Hugh “Deacon” Callwell, who managed

the thousands of cans of cream moving through Portland

daily, poses with “Fargo,” a favorite horse.

Above - Wells Fargo delivered no matter what. When

Salem was blanketed with icy snow, the crew simply

replaced the wagon wheels with sled runners.

Top left - The camera catches A. E. Doney on his rounds.

Left - The favored horse “Fargo” normally pulled the

money wagon, driven by messenger Edward F. Bontty. It

carried cash to small business around town, and was the

last to be replaced by the new motor vehicles visible in

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the background. If robbers tried to make off with the

money wagon, they would be easily overtaken - loyal

“Fargo” would not move for outlaws.

Agents for Oregon

Wells Fargo expanded slowly in rural, agricultural Oregon

in the 1850s, keeping pace with the lumber trade and

coastal steamer stops.

In September 1853, Barnhart in Portland was instructed:

“You will please select and appoint your own Agents at

Oregon City, Salem, and elsewhere. We think well of

Messrs. Preston, O’Neil & Co., and should you decide to

give them the Agency at Oregon City, it will be entirely

satisfactory to us.” This appointment was also entirely

satisfactory to Barnhart.

93

A through stagecoach line to California in 1860 and gold

strikes in eastern Oregon, Washington, and Idaho brought

great changes. From a few offices in the late 1850s, the

number exploded in 1863. Wells Fargo’s messengers rode

mail stages south and steamboats west down the

Columbia, guarding millions in gold dust.

Wells Fargo quickly opened offices at the mines and along

the routes east and south. Agencies were often in the

town’s general store or hotel, and sometimes in the

saloon, while agents such as John Conner of Albany were

able to provide almost anything, as advertised [left].

Growing business in large towns brought new buildings,

and when the railroads arrived, Wells Fargo often shared

space in the depots.

94

[Left] A selection of impressions from Wells Fargo wax

seals, used on money packets and bullion bags, from

around Oregon.

[Far left] In 1880s Linkville - now Klamath Falls - citizens

from farmers and blacksmiths to the judge [the formally

dressed bearded man on left] and Wells Fargo agent E. R.

Reames [bearded man with watch chain] gathered on the

steps of the Reames, Martin & Co. store.

Women also became Wells Fargo agents and filled other

jobs in express offices and railroad depots.

[Above left] From 1892 to 1897 in Ashland, Emma

Howard delivered Wells Fargo’s express from the O.

Winter general store. In Roseburg, Kate Buick served as

agent from 1898 to 1912.

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[Below left] In 1910, Ashland agent Dan Applegate and

the money clerk greeted customers from the bright office

at 69 E. Main.

[Portrait in metal frame]

The Dalles

The Dalles became the second largest city in Oregon in

1863 when the Oregon Steam Navigation Company

established its machine shops there.

To serve the suddenly big town, Wells Fargo appointed

A.W. Buchanan, the favorite steamer messenger “Old

Buck” of the Pacific coast, agent for The Dalles. All the

gold from Idaho, southeast Washington, and northeast

Oregon came through the town, and $2 million in dust

passed through Wells Fargo's doors monthly. Buchanan

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provided sure delivery between The Dalles and Portland,

and to the mines south at Canyon City.

On February 10, 1868, the Dalles Mountaineer

announced, “Arrival of Wells, Fargo & Co.’s Express,

Thirty-six hours from Portland. Dates to February 8th.

Wells, Fargo & Co’s Express, Mr. John Sheppard,

Messenger, arrived last evening (Sunday 9th) at six

o’clock, in THIRTY-SIX hours from Portland. This is the

quickest trip made this winter. We are under many

obligations to Mr. A.W. Buchanan, resident Agent, for

complete files of the Oregonian and Herald.”

Messengers Thomas Cann and A.J. Sheppard routinely

made trips to Portland with 200 pounds of treasure and

the Letter Express. The trip took 36 to 48 hours, often

arriving at night. They always came through, even when,

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as Sheppard reported on February 19, 1868, “the trail is

in a horrible condition and almost impassable.”

[On counter]

Scene in the Agent’s Office

Farmer: “It’s harvest time and I can’t leave the place,

least not for more’n an hour, includin’ the time it takes

Old Nell to get me there and back. The combine’s coming

in tomorrow and have to pay the hired hands. Finally paid

off the land, so gotta get my deed recorded. Mother-in-

law has been asking for Joaquin Miller’s Songs of the

Sierras, while my brother showed up from Idaho two days

ago with a bag of gold dust and nuggets. He bothers me

every five minutes about its safety. Have to write my

wheat broker to expect the crop and give me an advance.

The wife has an eye on a dress out of one of them mail

order catalogs. Well, I paid for the land by Wells Fargo’s

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express and got my deed in return, so maybe Wells Fargo

can help me with the rest.”

Wells Fargo Agent: “Good morning, Sir. How may I help

you? A literary man, I see. I’ve read Joaquin’s poems

myself. Comes from around Eugene way. Yes, here is the

receipt for the book. Your mother-in-law will be thanking

you in a few days. Jed’s bothering you, you say? We’ll

send his gold to the San Francisco Mint on a slight

commission, and return the proceeds in gold coin to you.

Likewise, your deed will out by today’s express to be

registered at the county seat. Wait a minute. I’ll telegraph

your Portland broker about the crop and advance.

Meantime, our Letter Express will carry your written

confirmation to him; we beat the Post Office all the time.

Coin for the workers will be up by the morning’s express.

Ah, the new dress! Here, fill out this money order

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request, and I’ll get it off. Quickest and safest way to

send money I know. She’ll have it in a week.”

[Platform of boxes]

Goods In and Out

On any given day, Wells Fargo’s agents, drivers and

messengers handled a wide variety of material for and

from Portland. The receipts for express tell the story -

businesses, farmers and individuals relied on Wells

Fargo’s reliable speed.

The Meussendorfer hat company maintained offices in

both San Francisco and Portland, and were one of Wells

Fargo’s best customers.

Eggs from McMinnville and from as far away as Medford

arrived from growers looking to get into competitive

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markets.

Barrels of salt were needed for many processes, both

agricultural and industrial.

So many cans of milk and cream came to town that there

was a special depot clerk to track it all. In 1917, that was

senior clerk “Deacon” Caldwell.

Crates of apples from Oregon’s famed valleys of orchards

sped south and east.

And, of course, what’s a morning without fine coffee?

Milk and Eggs

In 1912, an affluent Portland bride faced calamity and

humiliation. Her special wedding cake, weighing 100

pounds, and shipped from Glasgow, Scotland, had not

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arrived. As soon as the steamer from Great Britain docked

in San Francisco and the cake cleared Customs, Wells

Fargo sped it north on the train, and the wedding went on

as planned.

In 1914, Portland became the center of a new business,

thanks to Wells Fargo. Dairy farmers in Tillamook County,

unreachable by railroad until 1911, had too many

newborn calves. Wells Fargo’s Tillamook agent, E.T.

Watkins found that farmers in the Willamette Valley would

pay good money for calves. As described in the company

magazine [below], within a year Wells Fargo had shipped

4,000 calves, all less than 4 days old. Before leaving

Portland, the express crew fed the little critters warm,

sweet milk, and sent them on their way.

Wells Fargo has always served agriculture. One of Henry

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Wells’ early express feats was to speed oysters fresh from

the Atlantic Ocean to Buffalo, New York in perfect edible

condition. In the 1890s, Wells Fargo had its own fleet of

refrigerated express cars, and sped fresh Oregon apples

and fish to eastern markets. Wells Fargo promoted this

service for growers and grocers through innovative

packing processes, posters on its wagons, and exhibits at

state and county fairs.

This Old Shoe

The messengers and clerks on the Oregon - California

route had some literary fun with a single woman’s shoe

found in one of the offices. It was passed on down the

line from Eugene to Ashland to Drain and a dozen other

offices. In each agency or depot office, the local poet

wrote a bit of doggerel on a Wells Fargo tag, attached it

somewhere to the shoe, and sent it on.

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[Counter case]

Letter Express

From 1852 to 1895, Wells Fargo offered a fast mail

service, its Letter Express. In a growing land people

needed rapid and reliable communications. The U.S. Post

Office -designed for an established East - couldn’t keep up

with the rapid spread across the West. Wells Fargo

bought prepaid three-cent envelopes from the Post Office,

marked them with its “frank,” and sold them for 10 to 25

cents each. Businesses especially relied on the Letter

Express, and Wells Fargo often carried more letters than

the Post Office.

For Portland, the Letter Express was of prime importance.

As agent Eugene Shelby recalled, even before the

steamer docked - even as late as midnight - the Wells

Fargo messenger tossed the letterbag ashore. Inside was

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a letter list, quickly posted on the Wells Fargo office

bulletin board. “For an hour or more thereafter, the office

was flooded with business men.” He added, “every

employee of our company was on terms of personal

acquaintance with every prominent merchant and

banker.”

On the frozen rivers in winter, the Postal agent twisted

arms and bent regulations to get the weekly mail

through, while Wells Fargo’s twice weekly mail, including

newspapers, went through as a matter of course. The

Boise, Idaho, and other upstream publishers relied on this

service for news to print.

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[Poster]

The most polite and gentlemanly treatment of all

customers, however insignificant their business, is

insisted upon. Proper respect must be shown to all - let

them be men, women or children, rich or poor, white or

black - it must not be forgotten that the Company is

dependent on these same people for its business.

-Wells Fargo & Co. General Instructions to Agents, 1888.

“Give her the opportunity!”

Henry Wells said these words in 1864 as an advocate for

women’s education and employment. He put his words

into action when Wells Fargo hired Mary Taggart as its

first woman agent in 1873.

Wells Fargo agents in Oregon included Emma Howard

from Ashland (right) and Kate Buick (above) who also

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worked as a telegraph operator and railroad agent in

Roseburg. Hundreds more women worked for Wells Fargo

as auditors, clerks, copywriters, stenographers, and

telephone operators. Today, about two-thirds of Wells

Fargo employees are women.

Telegraph Communications

When Samuel F. B. Morse demonstrated his new

invention, the telegraph, in 1844, he sparked a revolution

in communications. No longer was vital news received

weeks or months later. People sent and received

important information across the nation and eventually

around the world instantaneously. Telegraph lines often

ran alongside railroads, allowing the Wells Fargo agent at

a town’s railroad depot to also serve as the local

telegraph operator.

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When telegraph lines connected Oregon to the east coast

in 1864, the headlines from the Oregonian newspaper

announced the news was “only 20 hours old!” Wells Fargo

quickly adopted this swift means of communication to

send money over long distances in a matter of hours

instead of weeks.

Morse Code

A telegraph system used batteries and wires to produce

and carry an electric current over long distances. When

the telegraph key was held down, it interrupted the

electrical signal and produced short sounds called dots

and longer sounds called dashes. These dots and dashes

made up and alphabet called Morse Code that was

interpreted by telegraphers such as Mason Charles Arnold

who pulled double duty as a Wells Fargo agent in Moray,

Kansas (pictured above).

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Jack box (reproductions)

Telegraph offices often had more than one line connecting

them to other offices. Lines were selected using a jack

box.

Try lines 1 and 2. They will connect you to other Wells

Fargo History Museums.

Listen in on actual, historical Wells Fargo telegrams on

line 3.

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[Captions for large photos]

Front Street in 1852, near the foot of Morrison Street.

Behind the two gentlemen in top hats, William H.

Barnhart stands in the doorway of his general store. In

October of 1852, he became Wells, Fargo & Co.'s agent

for Portland.

-courtesy the Oregon Historical Society.

The Oregon portion of a minerals map of the United

States, 1866.

Two miners at the Victor Mine in Cornucopia, near Baker

City, Oregon, about 1900.

Stagecoach Passing Mt. Shasta, lithograph by Wells Fargo

officer Aaron Stein, 1870s.

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Portland’s busy waterfront, 1899, from a print by H. A.

Hale.

Train of the Oregon & California Rail Road, with Wells

Fargo's express as the first car, near Ashland in the

1880s.

[Low rise elevator bay]

Portlandia by Raymond Kaskey

Installed in 1986, this is number two of twelve miniatures

cast from the mold used for the original maquette

presented to the Metropolitan Arts Commission for the

competition for a statue for the Portland Building, Michael

Graves, architect. Portlandia was selected by a vote of the

citizens of Portland.

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Cast by the lost wax method at the Maiden Foundry,

Sandy, Oregon.

[Caption for cornerstone]

Dedication stone for this building, the tallest in Oregon.

The completion of the 541-foot tower crowned the many

achievements of the First National Bank of Oregon

Under the leadership of Ralph J. Voss.

Today, the tower serves as the Oregon Headquarters of

Wells Fargo & Company.