This week’s trip takes us to a different part of Massachusetts, almost in Connecticut, the state that was the original home for this attraction — The Thompson Bank. According to Q. David Bowers’ Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money, Volume 2:
"The Thompson Bank was chartered in May 1833 and opened that same year. Capital remained constant at $50,000 between October 1, 1854 and 1857. Circulation ranged from $60,000 to $70,402, real estate stayed the same at $1,700, and specie ranged from $4,262 to $6,807.50. The bank ran into difficulty in the late 1850s but by the early 1860s was on solid footing once again. The Thompson Bank transitioned to become the Thompson National Bank, which was chartered on June 22, 1865."
According to Bowers’ book, the Thompson Bank issued obsolete notes in the denominations of $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100, many of which have a rarity of "None known."
After 1865, the Thompson National Bank issued Original Series, Series of 1875 and Brown Back notes in denominations that included (across the various series) $1, $2, $5, $10 and $20. These National Banknotes are very rare, with only two known — a $1 and a $10.
While the town of Thompson, Connecticut still exists, you can’t visit the bank there. To do so you have to go to Old Sturbridge Village, an "1830s New England Living History Museum," located on Route 20 in Sturbridge, Massachusetts (website: osv.org). There, amidst many other historic displays can be found not a replica of the bank, but the actual bank building, which was moved to Old Sturbridge Village in 1963. The Old Sturbridge Village website describes it:
"Designed in Greek-Revival style, the bank is furnished with astral lamps, a cast-iron stove with classical columns, and a regulator clock attributed to celebrated clockmaker Simon Willard. There is also a counter, cashier’s desk, and a granite-walled vault safeguarded by a massive iron door.
"While many of the buildings at Old Sturbridge Village were dismantled and reassembled after being moved to the Village, the Thompson Bank was moved in one piece aboard a flatbed truck."
Of course, while at Old Sturbridge Village you will want to take advantage of the many other exhibits and events offered there.
Additional attractions near Old Sturbridge Village
Sturbridge Concerts on the Common: Tuesday evenings through August 23
Tantiusques: A loop trail through quiet woodlands and the site of a former lead mine
Brimfield Massachusetts Antique Show: the world’s largest outdoor antique show — July 12-17 and September 6-11, 2016.
The EcoTarium: A unique indoor-outdoor museum in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The note images shown are from the C. John Ferreri Collection and were used in Q. David Bowers’ Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money, Volume 2.
